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Bear Peak-west ridge

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Highlights:

Along a lonely canyon to a ridge leading to a peak
Near:Boulder, CO
Scenery:
Distance:7.7 miles round trip
Elevation Gain:3181 ft
Hike Time:5 hours
Difficulty:Strenuous
Trail Condition:Well maintained trail
HikeType:Loop


Summary: This hike starts at the NCAR parking lot. Head west to the Mesa trail then south. At the Bear Peak canyon trail junction head west. This canyon takes you to the bear peak west ridge trail leading to the peak. After a break, head north down fern canyon trail until it curves and reaches the mesa trail, then continue back to the start of your venture.
Trailhead: In south Boulder, head west on Table Mesa Dr all the way to NCAR parking lot. Broadway and US 36 cross this road. (Lat:38.97819 Lon:-105.27615)
Trail Guides for Bear Peak-west ridge:
Best Seasons: Fall, Spring, Summer,
User Groups: Hikers,
Ranger Contact: 
Localhikes Reporter: This hike was submitted by Dennis Camell, who has posted  21 other hikes on this site
Trail Reviews  Submit your own review
Reviewed by Eric on 4/20/2008
Did this yesterday and it's great. If you just want a quick hike don't do this...takes a full day. Also, you might want to do the reverse and come up fern and down bear. Fern was covered with snow and ice and coming down was rough. The views are great though and bear peak is awesome!

Reviewed by NWK on 4/19/2008
This was nice and very beautiful, but a workout! We did it in 6.5 hours plus breaks and were wiped. In mid April, there were still some very slick, steep snowy areas. I'd recommend crampons (and strong knees).

Reviewed by Erin on 3/23/2007
WOW!! This trail sucks in March! Lots of ice and snow and the creek is IMPOSSABLE to cross (given the fact you have to cross it at least 7 times before you get to a bridge WHICH HAS NO FRIGGIN USE (there is no creek running under it)) great scenery (when your looking up which isn't often b/c ur trying not to fall through the waist deep snow)BRING HIKING STICKS THEY SAVED OUR LIVES...then again my friend and i are out-of-shape teenagers who are from Berthoud, where the steepest hill here is the stairs to out bedrooms. But other than that great hike lol

Reviewed by Sean on 10/13/2005
Fantastic Hike! Very pretty scenery, well-maintained, well-marked trails. I recommend taking the reverse route, up the fern canyon trail and down the Bear mountain west ridge trail. The Fern Canyon trail is very steep and seems like a hard descent for the knees. A great workout and a beautiful hike!

Reviewed by Matt on 8/30/2005
The scenery is incredible, the trail is very well maintained, and the workout is fantastic! Not a big fan of the last 30 feet..some of those rocks are pretty loose so you gotta be careful...but face your fears and go..the view at the top is a view of a lifetime. It is well worth the trip. The trail from NCAR to the mountain is a great little, very cool, very pretty trail as well!


Notice: Traveling in the backcountry can be hazardous. You are responsible for informing yourself about these hazards and taking necessary precautions. Information on this web site comes from volunteer reporters and may contain errors or omissions. A current guidebook and proper equipment are essential for safe enjoyment of the hikes posted on this site.
Keys: Colorado Hiking, Colorado Trails, Colorado Hikes, Boulder County Hiking, Boulder County Trails, Boulder County Hikes

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