7 Reasons to Visit High Steel Bridge Over Vance Creek Bridge

While Vance Creek Bridge is one of the most popular spots to explore in Washington State, the fact that it’s illegal to go there is one of the reasons why I don’t recommend it. But don’t worry because there happens to be another, better bridge close by that’s actually legal to access and it’s called High Steel Bridge. 

Quick info:

• Name: High Steel Bridge.
• Location: Olympic National Forest, 15 minutes away from Vance Creek Bridge.
• Height: 300+ feet high.
• What is it? An even taller bridge than Vance Creek Bridge that you can drive over.
• Is it legal to go there? Yes!
• Rating: 5 out of 5.
• Recommended? Yes! Every negative there is to checking out Vance Creek Bridge, High Steel Bridge makes up for and I’ll show you all of that in a moment.

What is looks like:

I had to go far to get that shot! But overall, as you can see, it’s not that different in terms of looks and the surrounding area is amazing. In fact, some people might even think that’s Vance Creek Bridge if you show them that photo.

In hindsight I am very surprised at the lack of advertising High Steel Bridge gets, considering how massive and nearly identical to Vance Creek Bridge it is. I’ll tell you how I found it shortly, but it wasn’t exactly easy to do.

7 reasons High Steel Bridge is better than Vance Creek Bridge:

1. It’s legal to go there (Vance Creek Bridge is not).
2. It’s taller than Vance Creek Bridge.
3. The views are better in my opinion. 
4. High Steel Bridge is actually not broken like Vance Creek Bridge.
5. High Steel Bridge is a road bridge, Vance Creek Bridge is an old trestle.
6. It’s actually close to Vance Creek Bridge (About 30 minutes from it).
7. There’s no hike required to get there.

If nothing else, these are the most important things to know about why visiting High Steel Bridge is a much better (and safer) option than Vance Creek Bridge. And if you’d like to know what else there is to see there, read on:

I was traveling through Washington State on a major road trip across the Pacific Northwest and one of the spots I wanted to visit was Vance Creek Bridge. Yes I knew it was illegal to actually go there but I also knew there were tons of people who still took that risk, got the tickets and then posted the photos on Instagram. I considered being one of those people when I was headed there. Who knew, maybe I’d get lucky.

While I also knew that it was dangerous, I just wanted to see the area and not exactly enter the property (Vance Creek Bridge is apparently on private property). Once I was there, I figured only then I would make the decision on whether or not to actually go to the location itself (if there were people, and the conditions were safe, I would have considered it). Then a snowstorm hit the night before:

And all of plans to visit Vance Creek Bridge fell apart as tons of snow covered most of the area in it, and the access to even get to the parking area of Vance Creek Bridge was also closed and from multiple locations too, so I was basically unable to even get close to it. However, this setback would end up being a blessing, because a Google search showed me an alternative bridge to check out: High Steel Bridge.

And with it only being 15 minutes away and actually being safer and legal to visit, I figured I had nothing to lose. And so I put the GPS on and let it take me to this spot (here is the location to High Steel Bridge):

While that area was also snowed in and at times it was rough to get there, it was very much worth it. Here are some things to note about this location and the difference between it and the other (illegal) spot:

Getting there:

Reaching High Steel Bridge is fairly simple but it is a 1 lane road on the actual bridge. The other location (Vance Creek Bridge) is an abandoned railroad which you have to hike up to and while I don’t mind hiking and also like train bridges, such as the one I visited in Vancouver Island, and here’s a picture of it:

The point is, because Vance Creek Bridge can be dangerous and illegal to get to is itself a reason not to go. There’s not just High Steel Bridge (the closest alternative) nearby and this one I just mentioned but a few others below that I’ll talk about which you can also explore.

You can park near it:

Then you can exit and enjoy the views, while on the other spot, you will have to park far away, hike to the location, then climb it and risk injury or even death. I will say though that High Steel Bridge is not completely safe. When I was there, the metal barriers (rails) were SO small and basically were as high as my thighs. I was very scared the closer I got to the tip and because there was snow and ice, I didn’t risk getting too close, it just wasn’t worth it. So please be careful if you visit that spot. Some of the shots I took weren’t easy but they are beautiful so enjoy 🙂

The views are just as good:

Both bridges do cross a river, but in my opinion, based on the images, and my experience, it’s more beautiful at High Steel Bridge because there’s also a waterfall that you can see off it (It is called Vincent Creek Falls):

I won’t deny the allure of going to Vance Creek Bridge, for it’s popularity, and the fact that it’s illegal makes it even more attractive to hikers and risk takers, but people, I have to tell you, it’s stupid to risk going there and in my case, who knew how much more dangerous it would be if I did end up going, in the snow, on top of all the other dangers?

At the very least, you’ll get a hefty fine, and at the very worst, you may die, as that spot is NOT taken care off, and High Steel Bridge is as it’s an official road that’s being monitored and updated. I am honestly very surprised at all the things I read and saw that High Steel Bridge is not recommended by more people, across more forums.

I had to go through several sites and forums to actually see ONE person recommend it and being that I found this spot better, it’s a huge surprise to see that it’s not being advertised better. Now at least you have 2 sources (mine is that extra source). Hopefully this post gets out to more people, so they can stay safe and see great views in the Olympic National Forest area, which is where these bridges are located (it’s very close to Olympic National Park too).

If you go during winter, use a 4 wheel drive:

I say this because that’s what I had to do the first time I went here. There are a lot of icy and snowy roads in this region of Olympic National Forest and I’m glad I had a 4 wheel drive when I was there. I also wore very protective gear that kept me dry and warm which was:

• The REI Co Op Stormhenge 805 Down Jacket.
• Waterproof socks (a lot of snow means a lot potential wet areas too).

High Steel Bridge reviews:

They are all awesome and this is what I actually looked a lot (besides the photos) when I was first looking for Vance Creek Bridge alternatives to see. At the time (this was many years ago) the area didn’t have that many reviews but today, there’s around a 1,000 and nearly at 5 stars as a whole:

Photos:

Common questions:

Can you still go to Vance Creek Bridge?

The land Vance Creek Bridge is on is still on private property and if you get caught, you will have to pay a fine. Then there’s also the natural dangers of being on it to consider.

How high is Vance Creek Bridge?

Vance Creek Bridge is about 350 feet high.

Where is High Steel Bridge located?

On the south eastern end of Olympic National Park and only about 30 minutes north of Vance Creek Bridge.

Related: 

1. The Goldstream Trestle in Vancouver Island (that I mentioned above) is one of the best options. You can’t drive under it but you can hike over it.
2. New River Gorge National Park which is located in West Virginia has a gigantic road bridge you can cross, and a beautiful park to explore underneath it. I’ve been to this area and will include a link for things to do there soon. So with this option, you can hike and drive over it.
3. Big Sur in California has an equally amazing spot called Bixby Bridge that you can drive over and get great photos off. You can’t hike underneath this place though, but you can still get amazing experiences driving on it.
4. Russian Gulch State Park in California also has an iconic giant bridge you can drive over and under and there are beautiful places nearby to explore too (like Glass Beach California).
5. Deception Pass State Park on the Washington Coast also has another amazing bridge that you can hike under.