Trail Overview

Bear Valley Loop Trail is a beginner trail located off Hwy 89 starting right at "Little Truckee Summit". The loop takes off and ends at the Bear Valley Campground. Head in on Cottonwood Road off of Hwy 89 to find the trailhead. The Loop consists of mostly loose dirt and fire roads, with the occasional rock garden featuring smaller sized rocks suitable for any high clearance SUV or 4x4. Parts of the trail feature harder winch hills, or bonus lines, but all such areas have bypasses. The loop features multiple scenic outlooks and is a great trail for the whole family with multiple shortcuts that take you back to the main road. The trail is adopted by the Diablo 4 Wheelers, and is often overgrown early in the season with lots of manzanita bushes. Some parts of the trail can get narrow due to the bushes, so be prepared for some pinstriping.

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Difficulty

The trail is mostly dirt road with a few very small rock gardens. All of the winch hills offer bypasses, and there are multiple escape routes on the trail that connect back to the main road. This is a great beginner trail.

Technical Rating

Brad Chalstrom

Apr 25, 2026

Open

Drove my jeep in, so I started at marker 19 which is closest to Hwy 89. Did the entire loop and cleared the downed trees off the trail. I drove over the last two, so those will need to be dealt with. Trail was dry.

Baltazar Gonzalez

Dec 20, 2025

Open

A lot of mud. After the loop detou to the right (starting from the 89)r, it gets muddier and larger rocks. Had to turn back..but beautiful place. The begining is muddy and fun to play with the car.

Eric Bogard

Jul 07, 2024

Open

Did the lower loop, which was only 2 hours. Nice easy trail. A couple of short sections that might be considered a 4 but stock 4x4 can make the loop.

George Lewis

Nov 04, 2023

Open

Garrett Barina

Jul 26, 2023

Open