Hiking the Bear Creek Overlook Trail in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana
Distance: 5.2 miles / 8.4 km
The Bear Creek Overlook Trail in the Bitterroot Mountains of western Montana is one of the country’s best hidden gems!
There’s something to be said about a hike where you don’t know how good it’s going to be until the very end, and that’s exactly what the Bear Creek Overlook Trail entails, as the hike winds its way up a number of gradual, fairly easy switchbacks to one of the most beautiful viewpoints imaginable—especially when hiked at sunset!
I say all this because, personally, I have held few hikes with such high regard as the Bear Creek Overlook, and if I had a top five list of the best hikes I’ve ever experienced, it would go Pēpēʻōpae, Awaʻawapuhi, the Weeping Wall, the Kalalau Trail and the Bear Creek Overlook!
Bear Creek Overlook Trailhead Parking
Parking for the trail is located at the very end of the long and bumpy Bear Creek Overlook Trail Road.
Most 2WD cars should be able to make the drive, granted that the road is snow-free. However, please note that the road from the pavement to the trailhead is a long 5.8-mile (9.3 km) drive on mostly single-lane windy road, with steep drop-offs on one side.
Google Maps Directions: Bear Creek Overlook Trailhead
Hiking Checklist - Bitterroot Mountains
The Bitterroot Mountains in Montana is both black bear and grizzly country. Therefore, you should be hiking with bear spray for your own safety.
Hiking the Bear Creek Overlook Trail
The Bear Creek Overlook Trail begins directly adjacent to the parking area at the end of Bear Creek Overlook Trail Road.
At the initial split following the trailhead, go left to stay on the Bear Creek Overlook Trail.
The path to the right is a shortcut for the switchbacks, but it is not the established trail made the National Forest Service.
After the initial split, the Bear Creek Overlook Trail climbs a series of 22 switchbacks from the trailhead to the overlook.
Although that may sound like a lot, the hike up the Bear Creek switchbacks climbs one of the gentlest slopes, making the Bear Creek Overlook one of the best effort-to-reward trails I’ve ever hiked!
One of my favorite things about a trail like the Bear Creek Overlook is that you don’t know what you’re hiking up to until the end, which makes the viewpoint one of the best surprises when you finally arrive!
Toward the upper switchbacks, you’ll likely notice the trees thinning out up the hillside, which is a nice mental checkpoint that you’re getting close to the overlook.
Bear Creek Overlook
At the very end of the trail, you arrive at the stunning Bear Creek Overlook, which overlooks both the North Fork and Bear Creek.
Additionally, the ridgeline at the very back of the two valleys marks the Montana-Idaho border.
Alternatively, you can scramble up the peak to the right of the official trail, as shown in the photos below.
Personally, this upper viewpoint at the Bear Creek Overlook is one of my favorite places to watch sunset, and it’s always a hike that I will revisit every time I come back to Glacier National Park.
Warning
While the Bear Creek Overlook is one of the most beautiful hikes in the world, it can also be one of the most dangerous.
Every cliff along the edge of the overlook is a place where you cannot afford to fall, as it would almost certainly result in death.
I say this to say: enjoy the beautiful views, but be careful along these dramatic cliffs. The end of the official trail is actually an overhanging cliff that you cannot see until you’re standing on the upper viewpoint shown above.
