It's not only a really cool thing to see, you can also get some satisfaction of going to an off the beaten path hidden gem in a town full of tourist attractions.
It's on private land, so tourist offices and hotels will not (should not) direct you to the tree's location. It's surprisingly easy to find and is close walking distance from downtown Santa Elena on the road on the south side of the MegaSuper center (the road with the Frog Pond on it).
If you're coming from the MegaSuper lot, you'll turn left on the road. Just after the sharp turn, there will be and unmarked dirt path doing down to your right just before Felix Room. If you're driving, there's plenty of room to park on the sides of the road. Here is the approximate location of the trail head.
That's the entrance to the trail right there bottom right of photo. That orange rock is Felix Room.
The path looking up from the bottom toward the road.
Parking near the trail entrance.
Down the unmarked muddy path.
There are a couple of little signs to guide you along the path. When you get to the big cement slab (an old wall?), go around it on the non-river side, not over it like I did.
Little signs have been added to assure you that you're still going the right way.
The path actually goes behind this cement slab.
Climbing up on the right side looks daunting, but it's really quite easy. There are plenty of footholds and roots to hold on to. Even climbing down was easy. The actual bridge, however. Going out onto the woven roots 15 feet up made me a little shaky but it was easy enough to find a place to sit or even stand.
This is where you climb up to get on top of the bridge.
It's kind of hard to tell, but this is looking out over the top of the bridge.
Climbing up the root wall.
A little nervous getting out there!
Yay! Love this!
