Hike to the Bear Lake Overlook
Camping, Photography, Hiking
Beginner
Spring, Summer, Autumn
Distance: 6.4 miles roundtrip. Elevation gain: 400 ft. Beautiful view of Bean and Bear Lakes. Day hike with camping options. Beautiful fall leaves.
Leave from the carpark on Superior Hiking Trail. The trail climbs a little before descending into a valley and winding around the hills.
In about 2.5 miles, you will reach a clearing with an overlook above Bean Lake. Some people camp here, but the actual camp site is about another mile down the trail.
At around 3.6 miles you will see a communal campsite on the right, with a number of first-come-first-serve sites, and a trail to the lake. From here it is a quick climb up the trail to the overlook at Bear Lake, where you can see both Bear and Bean Lakes together.
Always practice Leave No Trace ethics on your adventures and follow local regulations.
Reviews
Overall rating:
Nice hike
Went on this hike Labor Day weekend. It wasn’t very busy. There were nice views at the top. The trail goes up and down quite a bit with lots of rocks and mud when after it rains so make sure you wear good hiking shoes.
Two thumbs up
Beautiful hike today, still snowy, but quite silent and serene. There were about 1-2 inches of snow on hard pack, in some sections there were frozen knee deep post holes from another hiker in softer snow. Awesome hike, can't wait to do it in the summer and fall.
Trickier in the Snow but Still a Spectacular Hike
My wife and I hiked this SHT section in mid April and there was still quite a bit of snow left. This made the hike a bit harder but it was still a very scenic and worthwhile hike.
