bear run nature reserve (orange trail)

I have a list of 60 local trails I’d like to hike this year. I gave my husband my list and let him chose our path. On this 90-degree day, he chose what he thought would be a somewhat easy 4.1-mile hike which rounded to be 6 miles via Alltrails.

I have driven past the Bear Run Nature Reserve numerous times. I never knew there were over 5,000 miles of hiking trails hiding behind it!

We parked in a big lot behind the building and quickly found the trail entrance. There is only 1 way in that is immediately separated by 4 color coded trails.

We opted for the orange. At first, I was a bit disappointed because the wooded trail was just that-a wooded trail. There was an upward hill to hike on top of many stones to which would be the reason this trail was categorized as “medium” in difficulty. Other than walking on rocks, this trail was easy. The wooded area does have nice surprises throughout such as a walkway through beautiful hemlock trees, manmade bridges that cover gorgeous streams, and boulders that line some of the trail. It is hilly at times but nothing difficult at all. If you are looking for a trail with a nice lookout, this is not the trail for you. But if you would like a nice quick walk in the woods with clear directions on where to go, I highly recommend this one. It took us 2 hours to complete this hike and we stopped a few times to rest simply because it was so hot and humid. I’m glad we completed this orange trail before the other 3 because the others look like they offer more scenic views, such as Falling Waters. That being said, this was still such a nice area that my husband asked if I wanted to do the 10-mile black colored trail soon and I can’t wait!!