Bearfence Viewpoint Trailhead — Attraction in Shenandoah

What beautiful hike! This offers a challenging climb, or "scramble", and 360 views of the amazing Shenandoah mountains and park. If you're an avid hiker, I definitely recommend this hike! There are parts where it feels like you're on a real mountain climbing adventure, and the views and sense of satisfaction are worth every second of head scractching as you plan your next move. Some creative navigation is necessary, but most of it is passable, and there are blue blazes along the way to mark the path (though sometimes they are difficult to see).

This also connects to the Appalachian Trail, and you can take that along the base of the fence (or cliff) where the scramble is.

For those with kids or fear of heights, please take warning!! There are some very narrow, close-to-the-edge passages which gave even my experienced-climber 7-year-old son some anxiety (and his mother and I several heartattacks!!).There are no safety railings! We did complete the scramble and are glad we went for it, but there were moments we almost turned back. On our way to the trail, we met a family with older kids than ours that DID turn back. Please take care of your little ones, and if they're not experienced hikers or won't listen/stay close, I highly recommend taking the lower trail (though the views aren't as nice) or finding another of the park's beautiful...

Nice, quick hike. I think the NPS site estimates it will take about an hour to two hours to hike, but we did the loop in approximately 40 minutws and we stopped a couple times for the view and I was a little slow on the rock scramble. The parking lot is small, which means you might need to wait for a spot, but it also means that it isn't too crowded on the trail.

The trail starts off a little steep, but manageable and doesn't last the whole way. The rock scramble wasn't too bad. Without the scramble, I would probably rate the trail as easy in terms of length and elevation. The ground is rocky, though, even if you don't include the rock scramble. With the scramble, I would rate it as easy/moderate. The rock scramble is definitely not as strenuous as Old Rag. And overall, the hike didn't really get my heart pounding as other trails do such as Humpback Rock.

Since we were hiking at the end of December, the views weren't quite as nice at the top as I imagine it would be during any of the other three seasons. But the lack of leaves also allowed us to enjoy the view as we were climbing as we could see the mountains through the bare trees. Fairly windy at the top, but the view was definitely great. As a few mentioned, since you get 360 views, it's a good spot for sunrise and...

Visited on a Friday in late May 2023 (memorial day weekend). We arrived around 9AM and there were only 3 other cars in the parking lot. Plenty of space for us. The trail was nice and short with not too much of an incline (relatively speaking). It's a nice easy rock scramble loop (compared to Old Rag) for those who have never done a rock scramble before. The trail is pretty well marked on the rock scramble. The trick is to go left (clockwise) and come back on the AT which is nice and flatter. There were a couple rock obstacles that would've been much harder in reverse. We hiked it with 6 adults (30 yr olds) and a 13, 11 and 8 year old who have some pretty good hiking experience. It will be difficult for younger children with small legs just because some of the rock scramble you have to span a larger gap. Our 8 year old was able to do it with assistance.

Hike was relatively short and the view was fantastic on top. We only saw maybe 2 other groups the entire time on our hike. We stayed at Big Meadows Lodge and did this hike early in the morning. The trail head does start just across the street up the flight of stairs so be careful with young children crossing. Would totally do this...