dark island swinging bridge

The bridge is fun. It's worth a stop to walk over & take a photo but I would not drive out of my way to get to it. The kids really liked it. We found two swinging bridges in Townsend & they are about the same except the one had Christmas lights on it so we stopped again at night for a pic. that one is on the main road so be careful crossing the road. We parked at the real estate office across the street & walked across.

Neat lil way to spend about 20 minutes are so.. Very romantic lil bridge over the water... Nothing really fancy.. Just something we had never done.. I would recommend it.. Go make a memory.!!

while camping in Townsend, we road our bikes down the paved bike path along hwy 321 and stopped at the swinging bridge. it is a very short distance down Depot St, right off the bike path. If you are on the opposite side of the road, there is a place where the bike path goes under 321 near the IGA grocery store. The bridge is a neat area to visit and the kids enjoyed walking across it.

Good sturdy bridge. Easy to find, parking available at the beginning of the bridge. Beautiful view from bridge. Private retreat on other side of bridge.

The past two times we've visited Townsend, this wonderful swinging bridge has been closed. This bridge represents the city of Townsend and, also, provides a path for Dark Island residents to shop in Townsend. I certainly hope that this beautiful (and useful) landmark is repaired very soon. Visiting Townsend is not the same without a few trips across this wonderful bridge.

This was a fun quick stop. You can see the tubers below. Nice view of the river. If you are in the area or having lunch at miss lilly's, it's worth stopping and walking across. I saw a few people get their tubes out and hop on the river from this point.

Not very easy to find, and if it wasn't for Trip Advisor we wouldn't have known anything about it. It was fun to go across, very nice view of the river. Something different to do.

We had read about this bridge on Trip advisor and thought it sounded like a fun place to visit. We stopped there as soon as we got into town and it was a great way to start our vacation because we laughed so much. Its a weird feeling to be on the swinging bridge and for some reason it set us to laughing and being silly like 2 kids instead of 55+ adults celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary! The view of the river was excellent also. We were there only about 10 or 15 minutes and our first reaction was...this is it? But it ended up being a great memory and we'll probably go there next visit also. Seeing the tubers on the river made me want to go tubing too but my husband nixed that idea!

If you've never been on a swinging bridge this is a lot of fun. It bounces up and down when you walk on it and has a pretty view of the river. Take 10 minutes out of your day to make a memory. Easy to find, just turn by the Subway shop near the Heartland Chapel

We had just eaten at Miss Lilly's Cafe and walked behind it to the little swinging bridge. It's not a bad little bridge, not too long, not too scary. Doesn't take long to walk across and back. Worth taking the time.

Really, dont pass this up. if you never been on one then nows your chance. my kids were freaked out and ran off it while i video taped. i laughed the whole time. its alittle hard to find just look for the rainroad muesum and its behind it to the right. super fun time and will charish that memory.

It seems to be a tradition to visit the swinging bridge. It is like all other swinging bridges but if you have never walked across one, this one is easy to get to and offers great views of the little river. Watch the people tubing the river float past you below.

A very good place to stop, take pictures and see the Little River. You can watch tubers come down the river as well as watch the geese that reside in the area. It is just plain simple fun!

This is not too far outside the Townsend entrance to the Smokey Mt National Park. It is worth the quick stop. How many opportunities will the average person get to walk across a swinging bridge? Pretty view up and down the river.

My husband and I have visted this bridge a few times. It is the same swinging bridge that is used as an exit point on the lower float for River Rat. But, you can get the the bridge without having to float the river. It is basically located behind the Little River Railroad & Lumber Museum in Townsend. There is enough parking for a few cars there too.This swinging bridge is in really great shape. We have walked out onto the bridge a few times from the side near the museum, but we have never exited the other side since it seems to be private/residential property on the other side. However, you can get a nice view of the river down below & the river-ratters coming down the final stretch from the bridge. We will often check out the swinging bridge while we are waiting for the River Rat shuttle bus to take us back to the start of the float. Overall, this is a nice bridge & in really great shape. It is nothing spectacular, but still a nice swinging bridge in the area. In my opinion, it is nicer than the one by Kinzel Springs. It will only take a few minutes to view this attraction.