Black Bear

Black Bear is a trail that splits off the Skalkaho Rye Trail. This trail is a steady but mild descent the entire way in from Skalkaho Rye. This is a trail that has two distinct sections. The first section (the half closest to Skalkaho Rye) has been cleared of overgrown bushes and trees recently (as of summer 2025). Here, you will have no problem getting down the trail in a full-width vehicle. You will, however, want to take it easy, as there are a fair number of water diversion trenches that sneak up out of nowhere. These trenches are maybe 8 inches deep, but they are pretty abrupt and could cause some vehicle damage if cruising through them. The trail is a dirt and rock double track. It is a little rough, but nothing that most vehicles can't do. The rocks don't exceed 5 inches in diameter in this section. There are also some potholes scattered throughout the trail that can be fairly deep. There is one muddy spot with standing water, but it's shallow and short. There are some good views of the surrounding mountains near Skalkaho Highway and of the Gird Lookout Tower area. There is a light switchback at Mile 3.8, which is where the second section of this trail starts. Here, if you are in anything wider than a 50-inch vehicle, you will want to turn around and head back for Skalkaho Rye. At this point in the trail, it is no longer maintained and fairly quickly disappears more and more as you go. All of a sudden, the bushes and trees are overgrown into the trail, and it just gets tighter and tighter. The trail surface becomes mostly grass, and there are some larger loose rocks in the trail, up to 10 inches in diameter. This trail ends prematurely as there is just too much vegetation growing in and on the sides of the trail. This includes trees growing in the middle of the trail. This trail is open from December 2 - August 31. This trail can have deep snow in the winter, so know the limits of yourself and your vehicle.