I first found out about Horseshoe Bend quite a few years back but I never took time out of my schedule to actually visit (Even though it’s a fairly short trip from where I am). From the 1st time I has seen picture from the cliff I was amazed at how naturally beautiful it was. I did research because I had no idea the name of the place but not too extensive because it is very popular and there are very many google results.
My trip from Scottsdale, Az wasn’t very bad but long and tiresome indeed. It was about a 4 hour drive and iPhone maps indicated being only 15 minutes away and I couldn’t have been more excited. Finding it is pretty tricky because there aren’t any signs until you reach the actual parking area and if you are driving fast you can easily overlook it. There were several cars and even a bus there so I figured it’d be pretty crowded (it was around noon on a Monday). I was also unaware that there is about a mile and a half hike both ways and wasn’t really prepared because I had my wife and kids with me. I ended up pushing my sons stroller through the trail and I must admit it was a workout in the 90° heat! At last we arrive and it was breathtaking! People everywhere yet there still seemed to be ample opportunity and room to take photographs. There is no barrier or means of keeping tourist safe so exercise complete caution if you plan on taking photos or just site seeing. I stood on the ledge and it went straight down. I didn’t have to spend much time because it was hot and I didn’t want to ruin our family trip by trying to overtake it with photography so I restrained myself (even though it was quite difficult) and enjoyed the view with the family. It’s so easy to get caught up in taking pictures and completely ignore and ruin the event for everyone, so I definitely didn’t want to do that .. at least not today lol. After we were done site seeing we hiked back to the car to continue our trip and on to other adventures! I would recommend this site to anyone that loves landscape and photography, and also to anyone that just wants to see something very cool. I plan on taking a trip back very soon to capture some images 1st thing in the early morning but for now here a few snaps from the trip.. enjoy✌🏼️
Giovanni McGlothan 