Friday, June 10, 2005
This is only infomational: Bear Creek Trail is actually in Gilmer County (just east of Murray). We have a couple of log cabins within a few miles; see www.uniquecabins.com for details. If you hike up only to the Gennett Poplar, it's a relatively easy one mile trail with a few easy water crossings.
Monday, March 24, 2003
Mark (3years old) and Steve (Dad) hiked approx. 4 hrs. along Bear Creek. Eary spring day March 23, 2003. Temperature in the 60's and mostly sunny. Trail has lots of stream crossings and is easy to follow. Good place to take on a easy to moderate hike with the soothing sound of water...lots of rain the past 5 months helped break the 4 year drought and bring the forest back alive with life. Mountain bikers were very courtious to us and stopped or slowed down not to hit us. Thank you to all the friendly riders. One note: if you have a motorcycle, don't ride it on the trail...one Dad did with his daughter about 1/4 mile up the trail and it looked out of place in this natural setting.
Wednesday, March 12, 2003
October 2002, Started this hike at the end of the parking lot with the sign. Took my two sons as well as my nine-year old daughter. Great hike during leaf season! The trail needs more marking, but hiking in the clockwise direction, it is not hard at all. Plenty of fresh water, with several shallow stream crossings. About three wide open spaces good for camping (if backpacking ).
Monday, September 16, 2002
A quick tip: there is a trail map on the information board at the campground parking lot (there are also bathrooms there). We parked at this lot and walked a mile up the road to the trailhead. Watch out for mountain bikers as they are plentiful (but very polite). Also watch out for snakes sunning themselves in the trail. The one we saw was a harmless water snake, but he was good size. Overall, a beautiful trail and a great hike
Saturday, July 13, 2002
I took my 4 children and our dog on the Bear Creek Trail this afternoon. We did not see anyone else on the trail the entire time were were on it. We had wanted to take the "loop" trail, but as far as we could tell, it didn't loop. If looking at the creek from the parking lot, we took the trail to the left. We followed it up to the road where we found a sign that pointed in both directions for the loop. We chose to turn toward the right. After walking for a long time, we came to another sign, but for the loop it only pointed in the direction we had come from and pointed into the woods for the Bear Creek Trail (without the loop). Since we had already been on the trail for almost an hour and a half, we were afraid to take the trail into the woods since we knew that it would be getting dark in another hour and a half and we weren't certain it would lead us back to our car. We decided to continue following the old road in the same direction we were going for another 15 minutes in case it really did loop around. Within that time, the trail dead ended, so we turned around and went back the way we came. By this time, my youngest sons were getting tired, so I alternated between giving my 80 and 40 pound 5 and 3 year olds piggy back rides for most of the trip back to the wooded trail. About half way through the wooded section on the way back to the car, the dog spotted a bear that was in the woods about 8 feet away from the trail. The bear was coming our direction and the children and I were very scared, but I was able to keep the kids from running, and I don't know if it was the dog barking or my yelling at the kids not to run but to keep walking or something else, but fortunately the bear did not continue coming toward us. We had seen a bear earlier in the week at Duke Creek Falls but that bear (a young one) seemed just as scared of us as we were it and ran away from us, so this was much more frightening. Fortunately, we made it back to the car before it got dark. I think that this trail could really benefit from a map at the parking lot. Aside from the bear and badly marked signs, the section closest to the parking lot really was lovely, but after this hike, I will not be taking my children on any more hikes in national forests again. We will only be hiking in the state parks, which are well marked and maintained.
Monday, January 28, 2002
Not a hard hike, but be careful!!! If you start the hike below the parking area (where it crosses the stream right away) and intend on doing the shorter of the two loops, you must take the path into the woods from the logging road (about a mile into the hike) EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS THE LOOP TRAIL CONTINUES ON THE LOGGING ROAD. This is not correct; the main trail continues on the logging road for quite a ways, and then turns back into the forest and joins the stream. Otherwise, the signage appears correct...although there is information only on one side of each sign.
Sunday, September 30, 2001
Just returned from Bear Creek Trail not too long ago. As far as hiking goes, the trail is an excellent hike. From the parking lot walking towards the trail signs is probably the better way to go. I am assuming it is a more moderate hike. I started where the loop trail ends, going the other way around. If you want a strenuous hike, start there. There is a small sign to let you know that it is the loop trail. This is the basis of my report. It is almost constantly uphill until you get to the old road. The trail has 2 major problems. The first problem is that neither the loop trail or the regular trail are marked with any blazes, and once you start walking on the old road, you begin to wonder if you are still on the trail. The second problem is that the trail signs on and near the old road are wrong. Someone needs to really get that problem solved. When I followed the sign that said "loop trail" it ended up being the regular trail. If you're not careful, you could be walking on that road for 2 hours. That's when the frustration sets in. Don't worry though, even when you see the "Road Closed" barrier. Just keep going another hour and you'll come to an intersection where another service road and the trail are. Take the fork that goes downhill and you'll be ok. After my experience with the trail, I would suggest hiking from the large trail signs at the end of the parking lot. The chances of feeling lost won't be as bad.
Monday, April 23, 2001
Hiked the loop on 4/21/01. This is a really scenic trail, but the markings are terrible. The sign where Bear Creek Trail goes to the right and the loop precedes left is incorrect. It shows that the Trail goes to the left and the loop to the right. The trail and loops need some TLC, but it was well worth the trip. However, next time I will wear more water-proof boots!
Sunday, August 13, 2000
hiked this great trail 8-13-00 STARTED AT 1020AM FINISHED AT 1230PM CLEAR AND COOL ABOUT ACCESS..FIRST 100 FT OF FSR 241 WORRIED ME BUT ROAD SMOOTHED OUT AND IN REALLY GOOD SHAPE REST OF WAY...HELPFUL HINT..WHEN YOU GET TO FORK AT CAMPGROUND PARKING LOT GO LEFT TO DEAD END..ROOM FOR ABOUT 5 CARS TO PARK... GREAT EASY TO MODERATE TRAIL UP TO POINT WHERE TRAIL GOES UP SIDE OF MTN.. TRAIL IS IN GREAT CONDITION, EVEN CREEK CROSSINGS SEEM SET UP TO KEEP YOUR FEET DRY. SCENERY AROUND TRAIL AND CREEK IS BEAUTIFUL..CREEK CLEAR AND VERY VOCAL, CASCADES ABOUT EVERY 100 FEET. NO BLAZES BUT IF YOU FOLLOW THE MOST USED PATH (WORN) SHOULD BE NO PROBLEM. DID TAKE A SHORT DEAD END RIGHT WHEN TRAIL WENT UP SIDE OF MTN, I WENT STRAIGHT FOR ABOUT 50 YRDS THEN REALIZED I HAD FOLLOWED WRONG PATH...THE GANNET POPULAR TREE....UNBELIEVABLE...I KEPT THINKING I HAD MISSED, AND THERE WERE SOME PRETTY GOOD SIZE TREES ALONG THE PATH...JUST AS I DECIDED I HAD MISSED THERE IT STOOD....ALL 100 FT HIGH...ALMOST 18 FT AROUND BASE..I COULDNT BELIEVE THE SIZE AND SPENT ABOUT 15 MINUTES LOOKING, TOUCHING, LAYING AT BASE LOOKING UP, TAKING PICTURES AND GENERALLY TRYING TO COMPREHEND THIS MAGNIFICENT SPECIMEN. THEY SAY ITS THE 2ND LARGEST IN GA...I CANT WAIT TO SEE THE LARGEST...PLENTY OF COOL SPRING WATER SO BRING A PURIFIER AND ENJOY. VERY COOL, SHADED, AND REFRESHING HIKE NEXT TO BEAR CREEK. SAW 5 BIKERS AND 2 HIKERS ON TRAIL. BIKERS WERE SO INTENSE ON BIKING THEY DIDNT FEEL OBLIGATED TO RETURN MY GREETINGS AS I STOOD OFF TRAIL IN WAIST HIGH WEEDS SO THEY COULD GLIDE BY... LOTS OF YELLOW AND DARK COLORED BUTTERFLYS OUT...ONE DARK ONE HITCHED A RIDE ON MY HIKING STICK UNTIL I COULD FUMBLE WITH MY CAMERA AND TRY TO TAKE A QUICK PIX, THEN IT TOOK OFF, GOT A GOOD SHOT OF END OF MY STICK THOUGH... TAKE THE KIDS ON THIS ONE, THEY WILL ENJOY PLAYING IN THE CREEK AND THE COOLNESS OF THE TRAIL... BILL JONES JONESBORO, GA
Tuesday, July 13, 1999
Very easy hike. Trail not blazed. Met some folks on bikes that gave us some direction. Sees that at the Knob the bikers go left and we continued straight. Trail at that point not well kept until it ran into forestry road. Didn't seem like it was anywhere near 6.4 miles. We did take the loop instead of the shorter one. In all, found it to be scenic and peaceful. Jim Heffernan
Trail Length:6.4 miles
Location: Murray County
Features:
Last hiked:06/21/2002 | Type of trail:Loop
Our rating:
Your rating:Moderate (36)
Date added:09/09/1996
Trail Usage:
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