Bearfence Mountain Summit Hike in Shenandoah National Park

The summit of Bearfence Mountain in Shenandoah National Park offers a 360 degree view of the surrounding area. It is considered by many one of the prettiest areas of the park. Bearfence trail is a short uphill hike from the parking lot followed by a rock scramble to reach the summit at an elevation of 3,553 feet.

The parking area for Bearfence trail is located near mile marker 56.4 on Skyline Drive. Hikers cross the road from the parking lot and head uphill. The trail has an elevation gain of 311 feet. There is a rock scramble at the summit of the mountain.

NPS ranks the trail of moderate difficulty. Due to the rock scramble and the proximity of the trail to some steep drops off the mountain, the hike is not recommended for young children. If you have problems with heights, this is also probably not the trail for you.

As you can see from the map, there is an alternate hike that utilizes the Appalachian Trail to reach a viewpoint at the top of the mountain.

Here are some of the views that we got from the summit of the mountain: