Umtanum Suspension Bridge - Manastash, WA
Posted by: 
HeyRob4449
N 46° 51.333 W 120° 29.043
10T E 691787 N 5192185
The Umtanum suspension bridge is in the Yakima River Canyon between Yakima & Ellensburg, Washington.
Waymark Code: WM2JGN
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 11/11/2007
Views: 48
I first crossed this bridge about 40 years ago while chuckar hunting with my dad and older brother. I returned a few years ago to get photos & coordinates to claim it as a locationless cache. Now that I'm waymarking, it was my first thought when thinking of establishing a Waymark in this category.
There's not much history available on the Umtanum footbridge, but there is some information. Early county maps show the railroad gave the confluence of Umtanum Creek and the Yakima River the name Umtanum. There was also a schoolhouse in the area once, according to an 1890 plat map.
Old county maps and Bureau of Land Management officials reveal it is likely the railroad constructed the suspension bridge around the dawn of the 20th century. Prior to the bridge's construction, the railroad had been using a cable to get across the river at Umtanum.
In 1987, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Bureau of Land Management cooperated to rebuild the bridge, and in 2001 the BLM gave the bridge a fresh coat of paint and redecked it again.
Visit Instructions:
Walk across the bridge! That is why you came here, wasn't it?
Bring a camera so that you can take a photo of the bridge. Upload at least one photo that you took of the bridge, you or others can be in the photo.
Include any additional history that you may know or have learned about the bridge.
Last but not least, include any story you may have about finding the bridge or your journey across the bridge.