America's abandoned bridges are infrastructure poetry — steel and concrete spanning rivers, canyons and ravines for purposes that technology or economics rendered obsolete. A 347-foot-high railroad trestle in a Washington forest accessible by a single-lane gravel road. A kinked 1929 bridge over the Mississippi that appeared in Escape from New York. A Civil War-era covered bridge still standing in the Pennsylvania countryside. Here are the 5 best abandoned bridges in the USA, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
1. Vance Creek Bridge – 1929 Shelton, Washington — 347-Foot-High Railroad Trestle, One of the Tallest Abandoned Bridges in the USA, Mason County (Known Location)
Built in 1929 for the Simpson Logging Company to carry logs across a deep ravine in the Washington rain forest, the Vance Creek Bridge stands 347 feet above the creek below — one of the tallest standing railroad trestles in America. The logging railroad was abandoned when the old-growth timber was exhausted; the bridge has stood without maintenance since. Accessed via a 3-mile hike through Washington rain forest on private Simpson Timber land. The combination of extreme height, the forested ravine and the sheer engineering audacity of a 1929 logging railroad make this one of the most photographed abandoned bridges in the USA.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Vance Creek Bridge
2. Chain of Rocks Bridge – 1929 St. Louis, Missouri — The Kinked Mississippi Bridge with a 22-Degree Mid-River Bend, Filming Location for Escape from New York (Known Location)
The Chain of Rocks Bridge is the only bridge in America with a kink — a 22-degree angular bend at mid-river, built to avoid a rocky shoal in the Mississippi. Closed to vehicles in 1970, it appeared in John Carpenter's 1981 Escape from New York as the bridge Snake Plissken crosses into Manhattan. Now a pedestrian and cycling path managed by a local nonprofit, the bridge remains one of the most atmospheric and most cinematically distinctive spans in American infrastructure. The two 1894 water intake towers visible from mid-bridge are among the best river photography subjects on the Mississippi. One of the best abandoned bridges in the USA.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
4. Abandoned Industrial Swing Bridge – Original Pivot Mechanism Still in Place, Rusting Over a Famous River, Rust Belt City (Exclusively on Our Map)
Pennsylvania has more covered bridges than any other state — over 200 surviving examples of the 19th-century timber engineering that protected wooden truss bridges from weathering by enclosing them. An 1880s Bucks County covered bridge closed to traffic when modern weight limits exceeded its capacity still stands in weathered abandonment, its original Town lattice truss construction visible in the shadowed interior. The combination of dappled light through the gaps in the siding, the rushing creek below and the late 19th-century American engineering make this one of the most photographically rewarding and most quietly beautiful abandoned bridges in the USA. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned 1880s Covered Bridge – Original Timber Lattice Truss Construction, Creek Still Running Below, Pennsylvania Countryside (Exclusively on Our Map)
An 1880s covered bridge in the Pennsylvania countryside — closed to traffic when modern weight limits exceeded its original timber construction capacity. The wooden lattice truss interior with dappled light through the gap siding, the original abutment stonework and the creek running below create one of the most quietly beautiful abandoned bridge scenes in the USA. One of dozens of covered bridges surviving across Pennsylvania, this example is among the least visited and most atmospherically intact. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips
- Never walk on unsecured bridges: metal fatigue in untested abandoned bridges can cause sudden structural failure — only cross bridges that have been officially assessed for pedestrian use
- Heights and water: many abandoned bridges combine extreme height with river or ravine hazards — always maintain safe distance from unguarded edges
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person
❓ FAQ
What is the most famous abandoned bridge in the USA?
The Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis — a 1929 Mississippi River crossing with a unique 22-degree mid-river kink, closed to vehicles in 1970 and famous as the filming location for Escape from New York in 1981. Now a pedestrian path, it remains one of the most atmospheric bridge experiences in America.
What happened to the Kinzua Viaduct?
A tornado struck the 1882 railroad viaduct in July 2003, toppling 11 of 20 towers. The collapsed steel was deliberately left in place rather than removed; the surviving 9 towers now carry a glass-floored viewing platform to the edge of the collapse. The mix of surviving towers and tornado-twisted wreckage makes it one of the most dramatically photogenic sites in Pennsylvania.
Why is the Vance Creek Bridge so famous in urbex?
At 347 feet above the creek, Vance Creek is one of the tallest standing abandoned railroad trestles in America — built in 1929 for a logging railroad in the Washington rain forest and abandoned when the old-growth timber ran out. The 3-mile forest hike to reach it adds to its reputation as a genuinely earned destination.
🎯 Summary
America's abandoned bridges are infrastructure at its most poetic — a 347-foot logging trestle in a Washington rain forest, a Mississippi River bridge with a mid-river kink and a Pennsylvania covered bridge where the creek still runs under a century of weathered timber. Each of these 5 abandoned bridges in the USA is a monument to a specific engineering era and the moment it was superseded.
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