Bear Mountain Trail (Sedona)

Bear Mountain Trail is one of Sedona‘s tallest peaks you can hike. An out and back style at just short of 5 miles round-trip. You will gain a little over 2000 feet of elevation throughout this hike. But nearly all of it is just in the short ~2.45 miles up. It is located out off Boynton Pass Road right across from the trail head to Doe Mountain. The parking for Bear Mountain Trail is actually the same as the parking for Doe Mountain. You will just need to cross Boynton Pass Road in order to start. Don’t be mistaken by Doe Mountain which will be located on the same side of the parking!

The beginning of the trail is fairly calm as it brings you to the rocks and where the fun begins.

You actually go through a little gate which looks as if you may be trespassing if you continue. But don’t worry, this is the correct way to go. The gate latches, but isn’t locked, make sure you close it completely so it latches. This gate has a sign on the left giving you all the warnings for the national forest. Give it a quick read to learn what the area is about. Not too far from here, (took us about 15 mins) you will then get to some pretty steep sections where you might want to use all fours to climb. It isn’t a bad climb at all, but some people like the extra security of being able to assist with their hands. Once you’ve gone up this little steep section, the trail flattens out. Now it’s back to a hiking trail and not as much of a “climb”. Just a little bit further up you’ll encounter a little bit more of a climb again, but as I recall, slightly easier than the first one. Once you reach the top of this, you are roughy halfway there.

From here the trail gradually increases elevation(nothing drastic) with a sea of plants all around. Which we got blessed enough to see covered in snow! Once we got up the second steep section, it became a winter wonderland. We knew it had rained the night before but didn’t realize it snowed at all nor this elevation. All around us was lightl fluffy snow covered bushes and trees. Luckily the trail was mostly dry due to it being rock. It seemed as if the snow was only stuck to more like wet surfaces, such as the trees and bushes.

As we approached the summit, the snow actually accumulated on the trail itself! We created the first footsteps on this fresh snow. This was a sure sign that we were definitely the first people to summit for this day. At the summit there were a few inches of snow blanketed all around. So like every “child in us” would, we walked around making the 1st foot prints all over while enjoying the stunning views. Sitting at over 6000 feet, we had a full 360 degrees view of Sedona and surrounding areas. It was awesome because we could look across the Coconino National Forest and see other snow-capped mountains from the night before. Which when we had arrived was non existent!

We did not encounter a single soul until we were about halfway back down the mountain. Once we encountered the first couple, we started seeing more and more people. As we got closer to the bottom, with about 1 mile left…we passed way too many people. When I say too many people, I mean I would NOT want to be hiking up with all of them. Defeats the quietness and relaxing part of nature. Although this made me very happy we went as early as we did. The AllTrails website/app has this trail rated as a highly trafficked hike(like everything else in Sedona HAHA). I would agree with AllTrails, especially for the normal time of the day. If you are an early bird like us then you may be able to have the trail to yourself.

We also had amazing sunrise views as we decided to hit the trail before the sun was up. We used our flashlights for about the first 10 minutes and then the sky started lighting up.

These sunrise views were something I couldn’t explain, even the pictures don’t do justice. With the red rock of Sedona, bright orange sun and the white snow, made for an amazing combination.

Overall it was a great trail and took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete it all. But I know we moved a little slower because we were soaking in the “Snowdona” we had never seen, as well as making sure we didn’t slip on ice or any sketchy areas. For those of you that are going to go in the summer months. I would recommend bringing copious amounts of water, as it gets really hot there in Sedona. Also it is mostly exposed with no sun coverage. In addition to having plenty of water, make sure you have the right sun protection. Lastly come equipped to hike/climb the planned elevation and hike moderately technical areas. Dogs are allowed on leash.

As always pack it in and pack it out!

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