The Sundial Bridge in Redding crosses the Sacramento River. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

Art you can touch. That’s one way to describe the Sundial Bridge in Redding.

While not open to vehicles, this bridge that spans the Sacramento River is one of the highlights of the greater 300-acre Turtle Bay Exploration Park. It opened to pedestrians, cyclists and dogs in 2004.

It’s an actual working sundial, with the high point 217 feet, making it one of the largest in the world. This mast is what casts a shadow on the ground indicating the time—assuming one is adept at telling the time without numbers and only a shadow. The shadow moves about one foot per minute.

This part of the bridge casts a shadow so it’s possible to tell the time without a watch. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The actual bridge is 700 feet long and 23 feet wide. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava, a world-renowned Spanish architect.

“The cable-stayed structure has an inclined, 217 foot pylon constructed of 580 tons of steel. The deck is made up of 200 tons of glass and granite and is supported by more than 4,300 feet of cable. The structure is stabilized by a steel truss, and rests on a foundation of more than 115 tons of steel and 1,900 cubic yards of concrete. The McConnell Foundation, a private, independent foundation established in Redding in 1964, funded the majority of the bridge’s $24 million cost,” the Turtle Bay website says.

The Sundial Bridge in Redding is popular with locals and out-of-towners. (Image: Kathryn Reed)

The walking surface is a series of nonskid glass panels, set in a steel framework.

Because no part of the bridge is in the water no aquatic life are affected by the structure.

The bridge is impressive from every angle—approaching it from either side, seeing it from a distance, and actually being on it.

There is no fee to cross it, and it is open 24/7.