Bear Run Nature Reserve

What a great place!!! Who knew??? I know we’ve driven by here dozens of times going to Ohiopyle or Fallingwater and just thought it was a parking lot of some sort. But NO! This place is amazing! A big thanks to Susan D and her list of hiking places for pointing it out! This is not to be missed if you’re looking for some outdoor adventure and some great hiking along miles and miles of trails.
We drove out here solely to spend a great fall day in the woods. Armed with trail maps we got online we picked out roughly the miles we wanted to hike and started off. What surprised us was the condition of the trails — amazing! Some were pine covered making for soft comfortable walking. Others were moss or grass covered and a few had some loose rock that you had to be careful with. I know this is Laurel Mountain but I was amazed to be hiking through dense forests of spectacular mountain laurel and rhododendron. What a gorgeous place! We were there after all the leaves were gone but we are sure to come back when the place is in bloom or in full fall color. We didn’t run into a single person anywhere during our extensive hike (we enjoyed it so much we went far beyond our initial hiking plan!).
If you enjoy hiking and being outdoors, I highly recommend you give Bear Run a try. It’s worth the drive!

Please note that the address shown is an approximation, based on Fallingwater which is right across the road.
At 5,079 acres, Bear Run Nature Reserve is the largest property owned by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and is considered their flagship property. The nature reserve is managed to protect, conserve and restore land and water for the diversity of the region’s native plants, animals, and their ecosystems. BRNR is integral to biodiversity conservation in the Laurel Highlands, including its streams, watersheds, forests, and common and rare native species. The nature reserve completely encircles Fallingwater, the famous Frank Lloyd Wright designed for the Kaufmann family. My girlfriends and I came out here for a hike and believe me, it was well worth the 50+ mile drive from Pittsburgh.
Bear Run Nature Reserve has over 20 miles of trails, of which we hiked about half. The trailhead is just off the parking lot, right behind a converted barn. Here you have a choice of taking the short Tree Trail or the longer Arbutus Trail into the reserve. We chose the latter, descending downward towards rhododendron thickets. At 1.1 miles long, the Artubus Trail is one of the most popular. Here we saw the Bear Run Valley, following the stream for a short distance. We then picked up the short (0.5) Wintergreen Trail before turning right onto the Hemlock Trail. This trail is almost 2 miles long and it’s probably the steepest one here. We passed through a strand of mature hemlocks and at that point we had a choice of either taking the inland Ridge trail, or following the outer loop of the Bear Run Trail. We chose the Bear Run Trail, turning right at a primitive campsite, because we wanted to follow Bear Run itself. The Bear Run Trail is about 2.3 miles long and it loops up to the highest part of the reserve. In fact we’d been descending and climbing on our hike so much, we stopped for a snack break at the junction with the Tulip Tree Trail.
From here we went on to the next part of our hike, the 1 mile Tulip Tree Trail and then onto the 2.5 mile Laurel Run Trail. The Laurel Run Trail forms the northern loop of the reserve and it follows the scenic Laurel Run Valley for much of its length. As we reached the junction with the Peninsula Trail, we would have liked to have followed that loop because it leaves the reserve and follows the Youghiogheny River for a spell. We had, however been hiking for several miles by this point. We did want to see the highlight of the trip, the Paradise Overlook, so we took a shortcut, remaining on the Laurel Run Trail.
It was worth seeing the Paradise Overlook though. The vistas of the Yough River Gorge are absolutely spectacular! I could see a part of the parallel Great Allegheny Passage Trail, which my husband and I biked the entire length last year. And Paradise Overlook makes for another good snack break location. Well by this point it was time to go home, so we hiked down Tissue Lane, which is Fallingwater’s northern boundary, back to the car.
So all in all we did about nine miles worth of hiking this morning. But Bear Run Nature Reserve is so much more than hiking. Bird watchers will find several species in here and there are several tree species in here including the red maple, the chestnut oak, sugar maple, and black cherry. Just remember to pack snacks and water – there aren’t any places in the park to obtain these. You should also dress in layers on a cold day and wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots.