Trail Overview

Bear Creek Mountain trail is an off-roading "Jeep" trail as designated by the sign. The surface is mostly dirt with a lot of pine needles on the road. There are some bigger rock,s especially at the south end, but nothing that would hurt the differential if you have a high-clearance vehicle. Cars are not recommended along this route at all. It is very narrow with lots of brush and trees that could scrape the paint. It's also steep, technical, and washed out. If you come from the east, you can take the side spur trails and explore those first. They're off Gladstone 11. Then hit Powell Mountain Road which leads to Bear Creek.

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Difficulty

This is a very narrow trail with lots of branches, bushes, and steep hill climbs/descents. It is one lane only with no area to pass. The trail is heavily traveled by SxS and ATVs.

History

Bear Creek East Loop Trail Information-https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5084309.pdf

Technical Rating

Blaine Seitz

May 27, 2025

Open

Extremely overgrown. I cut down 50+ trees and branches and still didn’t come close to clearing the trail. It’s beautiful and scenic but the most overgrown trail I’ve driven. In a massive gen2 sequoia it was like going through a “car wash”. Even Dad in his 2 door Rubicon was brushing up against trees the whole trail. Very tight in spots with low hanging branches and overgrowth on both sides

JohnnyB Toyota

Nov 02, 2024

Open

Fun trail, coming in from the West side starts off the first 3.5 miles as a wide 4 wheeler trail. At the peak of the mountain, Powell Mountain 1785 feet. You will most likely need 4WD on this trail and at the start of it there are some washouts you have to drive over so you need to have a good break over angle. But you never really NEED to use 4Lo to get to the top, it just makes the ride a lot smoother and less jerky. I would recommend having 4Lo if you want to drive this trail. There also is an old US Coast and Geodetic Survey point. About 10-15 yards away from the marker is an old well that looks like it might have been hand dug. It is a beautiful historic site and there is an opening next to the well where you can fit 2-3 vehicles and camp at. There’s not much of an overlook because of all the trees. But it is a very peaceful feeling spot to sit at or camp at