Beartown State Forest — Attraction in Monterey

We hiked the Pond Loop in Beartown State Park mid April and it took us about 1 hour 40 minutes.

The reason it took so long was because there were a lot of muddy spots and we had to navigate around them.

This would be considered a pretty easy hike. For the majority of the hike you are walking quite close to the water, and for about 40% of the hike you are walking through the woods.

I was wearing running shoes, and even though it was muddy I was able to keep my shoes relatively clean. The trail is quite easy to walk on rocks and at places where it's very wet they have boards or little bridges.

We were a group that consisted of five year olds all the way up to 55 year olds, and the hike was perfectly fine for everyone. We took it slow, and there was really no exertion required.

It was a really nice way to spend a good portion of your day. Bring along snacks or even a picnic because they have plenty of...

Awesome mountain with lots of trails. We spent most of our time at Benedict Pond pulling out a ton of sunnies and a few small mouth bass and carp. Perfect for the kids who lose interest without electronics as the fish never stopped biting. The pond loop was perfect for the family; just challenging enough to keep everyone on their toes but not too tough. Benedict Pond also offers a clean public restroom and swimming but no life guard. We also did a small hike up Wildcat Trail after parking at the ORV lot (another clean port-o-potty) looking for the wildcat privy but due to Covid-19, it was closed. We drove around the forest more than we hiked and got out a few times to enjoy the flora and fauna... we even spotted an owl going down Beartown...

Back again a second time with an incredible waterfront site, magnificent views, watched the full moon rising over the mountains! Loved camping here because there's so much to do in the general area. My campsite was perfect, spacious and on it's own and the pond was all of 30 seconds away. Beartown lives up to its name, a bear paid me a visit a couple of hours after sundown, looking for food but mine was in one of the sturdy bear-proof lockers on site. The pond is gorgeous from sunup to sundown and you can kayak, the water is only 5-8 feet deep so it's safe. Highly recommended, both for things to do in the surrounding area and the campsite itself! (I hiked up Monument Mountain while there,...