2418. Cross the swinging bridge in Columbus Junction

 I stumbled upon a list of road trip stops in every state on Facebook. Many of them I've heard of and some I've even been to but the one in Iowa was intriguing. Popular Mechanics claim you need to stop at the Swinging Bridge in Columbus Junction. After a some google-mapping, it turns out that we were going to be going pretty much through Columbus Junction on our way to Ottumwa. Since it was not out of the way, I decided we were going.

The swinging bridge, also known as Lover's Leap Bridge, is in Swinging Bridge Park and was originally built in 1880. After two bridges were condemned and broke, the current bridge was built in 1922 with a span of 262 feet. It was last refurbished in 1954.

There is a path through the woods to get to one end of the bridge. The hubby and I followed the path to the start of the bridge. I am not sure how high the bridge is over the valley below but from the bottom it looks like a long way. The walk is a bit buggy and the path narrow. Best to wear decent shoes.

The hubby took one look at the bridge and said "Hell, no". He doesn't like bridges. I thought it didn't look so bad. The hubby went back the path we just took and I ventured across the bridge. 

262 feet is a long way across especially when the bridge moves under you. The faster I went, the more it moved so I walked slowly. If I walked slow across it wasn't so bad. I was afraid of dropping my phone if I took too many pictures. 

I did make it all the way across. Would I do it again? Maybe. Could I cross it and then walk back over it to get back to my car? Probably. It does take a lot of nerve to get across but it was a great feeling to say that I did it. I have to admit it was probably my favorite stop on vacation.

If you don't have a fear of bridges or heights and can handle cross a suspension bridge in mid-air, it is definitely worth the stop. If not, the hike to view the bridge from below is pretty amazing. You never know what you can do until you try it. 

 I'm still not sure why Popular Mechanics claimed I needed to see this except there is a service station not far from the bridge. There are much better places in Iowa to see that don't require nerves of steel. It was free at least.