Vance Creek Bridge

WA · Satsop Hills → Shelton

A logging railroad's sky-high arch, left standing in the woods.

Heads up: Closed private property with cameras, and the approaches have no deck. A fall here would be fatal. View it from a legal spot only.

In 1929 the Simpson Logging Company built this steel arch to carry its logging railroad across the deep gorge of Vance Creek in the Satsop Hills of Mason County. At 347 feet high, it's the second-highest railroad arch in the United States, after the nearby High Steel Bridge.

The bridge went out of use in the 1970s as logging on the Olympic Peninsula declined, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In the early 2010s it became famous online with photographers and thrill-seekers, even though it was never open to the public.

After graffiti and fires, the landowner, Green Diamond Resource Company, put up barriers and cameras in 2014. In 2016 it removed the wooden deck and ties from the approaches to keep people off. Plans to turn it into a public walkway or a bungee-jumping spot have been discussed but haven't happened.

⚠️ Before you go: every railroad on this map is private property. A line that looks abandoned may still be owned by a railroad, used to store rail cars, or put back into service at any time — sometimes with no warning. Before going near any track, make sure it's truly abandoned (no recent use, rails not polished, no signals or cars stored on it) and that you're allowed to be there. Never assume a track is dead.

📷 Photos & stories from riders

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