Bearfence Rock Scramble: possibly the perfect short trail

Bearfence Rock Scramble in Shenadoah National Park is the best short trail I’ve ever been on and it’s not close.

Bearfence Rock Scramble is at milepost 56.4 on Skyline Drive. I hadn’t hiked it until my last trip to Shenandoah National Park, preferring to head up Old Rag to feed my rock scrambling obsession. I wondered if it would leave me disappointed.

As I wedged my feet in the boulders and hoisted myself over the lip of a stone slab I stopped questioning if the trail had earned the title ‘rock scramble’. Jagged peaks and an endless horizon were calling and I was going.

There are two ways you can approach Bearfence Rock Scramble. One takes you along a forested path with an easy to moderate climb at the end to a pretty overlook. That’s not the hike you want. There are several other short hikes in Shenadoah National Park that you should hike instead.

The other route forces you across sharp rock and unstable footing and pays with stunning 360 degree views of the surrounding mountains.

You don’t need to be an expert rock scrambler to tackle this trail. I’m not sure if that’s even a thing. But you will need two free hands and some sturdy shoes.

Hitting Bearfence Rock Scramble Trail

The trailhead for Bearfence Rock Scramble is directly on Skyline Drive across from a smallish parking area. If you want to be sure to get a parking spot, I recommend getting to the trail early on weekends.

The trail is marked by blue blazes and quickly intersects the Appalachian Trail.

When you come to this intersection, you have a choice to make. Follow Bearfence Rock Scramble or take the Appalachian Trail.

To Scramble or Not to Scramble?

Before you get to the parking lot for Bearfence Rock Scramble you should decide if you are going to scramble or not.

After doing the rock scramble, I don’t think the physical effort is the difficult part of the scrambling section. If you don’t have a fair amount of flexibility and aren’t sure-footed, the scrambling section could take awhile.

But, it’s fun.

Seriously fun and stunning and challenging.

I think it’s probably not worth going on this hike if you are going to bypass the rock scramble. Go to Stony Man or Black Rock Summit instead. The overlook at the end of those two is better than the final overlook along the Appalachian Trail at Bearfence.

How Hard is the scrambling at Bearfence Rock Scamble?

Overall the rock scrambling isn’t too tough or dangerous if you stay on route.

Much like rock climbing or bouldering, rock scrambling can, I believe, be judged by the crux. If you don’t already know what ‘the crux’ means, it is the most difficult or technically demanding section.

The spot that seemed the toughest to me was early in the rock scramble. The trail has two multi-tiered climbs close together that put some of the hikers I saw in a bit of decision purgatory, not sure if they were up for the work. I can see this being a problem on days when the trail gets crowded.

You need to be able to use both your hands and your feet to climb up the rock and continue on.

You won’t need to support your weight with your grip at any point, your hands will be for balance. From there, its more just about foot placement and figuring out how to move around on the steep rock.

Thankfully, blazes are frequent and do most of the mental work for you. Just follow the blazes and you will be on the right path.

Young kids may struggle a little and parents, at least this parent, will need to monitor their blood pressure near some of the steeper slopes.

You don’t need any special equipment for the rock scramble, but I’d make sure to have everything stowed on the scrambling section. My hiking buddy had his expensive camera slung around his neck while we negotiated the rocks and he had trouble keeping it from smashing into the rocks a few times.

The Views

About halfway through the rock scramble you reach an amazing view. 360 degrees of uninterrupted beauty.

It’s one of the most beautiful spots I’ve been to in Virginia. Few people were there because we visited midweek on a cold and windy October day. This made the beauty even more complete.

From the stunning overlook it isn’t much further to the end of the rock scramble. It took us about 20 minutes to complete the scrambling section and I really, really wanted it to be longer.

Once you reach the end of the rock scramble, you intersect with the Appalachian Trail again.

You can follow it to the last overlook or head back to the parking lot. The path to the second overlook is just a short walk from the intersection.

After seeing the overlook from the rock scramble, I was less impressed with the second overlook.

It’s very pretty but I think the first overlook spoiled me.

The hike back along the AT is an easy decline back to the parking lot. Looking back I wish I had just gone back on the rock scramble instead of the AT.

The whole time we walked back, I kept looking up at the rock I wasn’t on. Next time.

I can’t think of any rock scramble I’ve been on that had such a short preamble. Usually there is at least a mile or two to cover before you get to the good stuff.

Bearfence is all good stuff.

Old rag has some of the same feel but it’s a multicourse meal. Bearfence is candy, and so tasty.

So is Bearfence Rock Scramble perfect? Almost. I think another half mile of rock scrambling would make it perfect for me. I can’t wait to go back and take the rock scramble out and back.