Smolen-Gulf Covered Bridge – OH

If you punch “Smolen-Gulf Covered Bridge” into your nav, you’ll probably end up in a spot where you can see a giant covered bridge from above. You’ll think, “Well that was easy.” You’ll take the photo. You’ll leave.

And you’ll accidentally skip the best part.

This stop is a two-for-one: the massive Smolen-Gulf bridge up top, plus a smaller covered pedestrian bridge down in the gorge that feels way more intimate and “covered-bridge-y.”

The headline attraction: the big bridge

Smolen-Gulf is not some tiny nostalgia bridge. It’s a modern, drivable covered bridge that’s 613 feet long and about 93 feet above the Ashtabula River. It was dedicated in 2008, and it’s widely described as the longest covered bridge in the United States.

If you like engineering details, it’s a Pratt truss style bridge, and multiple sources credit former county engineer John Smolen with the engineering and structural design.

The part most people miss: go down into “The Gulf”

Here’s what threw me: the first place navigation tends to drop you is basically an overlook and parking area where you can admire the big bridge.

But the smaller bridge is down below, and it’s worth the short extra effort.

When we were there, the clue was a little road down the hill with a “Dead End” sign (it said 750 ft). You drive down, then walk the path to the lower bridge.

That lower bridge is the Riverview Covered Bridge, a pedestrian-only covered bridge dedicated in 2016 (about 150 feet long).

Official visitor info even calls this out pretty directly: access it from the Indian Trails Park parking lot, and drive down the hill for additional parking.

What to expect once you’re down there

• A calmer, more photogenic angle, because you’re at bridge level, not “tourist looking down from the top of the world.”
• A cool stacked-bridges view, with the big Smolen-Gulf bridge towering above the smaller Riverview bridge below.
• A nice short walk that feels like you discovered something, which is basically the Always Detour brand. :-)

Minor rant: the trees are blocking the money shot

This is the part where I sound like I’m campaigning for the position of “bridge-view HOA president.”

I genuinely think the park would benefit from selectively trimming (or removing) a few trees that block clean sightlines of the lower bridge. I’m not normally on team “cut trees,” but in this specific spot the whole purpose is: “Come see the bridge.” So in the pic above, you an see the trees on the right in the foreground… those need to go so you can get a better side view of the bridge and the river below it. Currently there is just no good view.

If the bridge is the star, let it be the star.

One other little thing to be aware of. When I say there was a swarm of insects at the top parking lot, I mean the likes of which I’ve never seen! I know this photo looks grainy, but it’s not. Those are the bugs! Look close…