The last time we were in Page back in 2008, we decided against visiting Rainbow Bridge because it seemed pricey just to look at a natural bridge, even if a spectacular one. Ever since, I wondered if we’d missed an opportunity, not knowing if we’d ever return to Page. As luck would have it, we did come back, and this time we were going to go, as much to see this natural wonder as take the cruise on beautiful Lake Powell.
It is easily accessible by boat tours on Lake Powell. Although the monument itself is located in Utah, the tour’s starting point is Page in Arizona. Tours also originate from Bullfrog Marina in the northeastern part of the lake in Utah. We took the half-day cruise from Page.
It took two hours to reach Rainbow Bridge. Once we got near, the boat slowed down and maneuvered into a small canyon, one of countless others along the lakeshore. It’s an entirely different sensation to move through these canyons on boat instead of on foot. The burnt orange walls glide past.
Because the water level of Lake Powell has been receding, what used to be just a short walk to the monument’s base from the boat landing now is about a mile away. In one sense, it’s more dramatic when the entire span of Rainbow Bridge suddenly appears as you round the final bend in the hiking trail.
At the monument site itself, there was a very entertaining park ranger who had no end of fascinating stories and facts to tell. We could’ve listened to him for hours. Imagine a natural rock bridge almost as high as the Empire State Building. Imagine too that it is the largest natural bridge in the world, standing at 290 feet tall and 275 feet across. This is Rainbow Bridge.
The story of its creation is the part of the story of the entire Colorado Plateau. Here, a stream undercut a fin of Navajo sandstone and started the process of bridge-building through water erosion. Eventually, like all such bridges, Rainbow will collapse as other bridges are being created.
The weather had been overcast almost the entire day, with forecasts of heavy rains. As we were returning to the boat from the monument, an epic rainstorm opened up. All around us were deafening claps of thunder and bright flashes of lightning. The rain was so heavy that we got to experience something rarely seen on tours, ephemeral waterfalls by the dozens, cascading down the sandstone mesa tops, some so voluminous that they were spewing out like hydrants and some so choked with red earth that they were rusty in color.
While we were away from the campsite, that same rainstorm practically blew our tent away. Luckily for us, a neighbor was good enough to re-stake everything and gather our camp chairs that had blown away. We learned from another couple at dinner that their 4WD slot canyon tour was visited by a tremendous hailstorm that covered the ground in several inches of white.
The tour lasted about 5 hours in total. A long day, to be sure, but worth the experience of the monument and the thrilling storm afterward.
zoomeboshi 
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