Bear Lake Trail

[Keith W]

Date: Aug. 29, 2009

Location: The put-in for the Bear Lake Canoe Trail is located about 1.75 miles north of Flamingo, at the end of the Bear Lake Road, which parallels the Buttonwoood Canal. There is a parking area at the end of the road, and it's a short drive west to the dock at the put-in. The Trail can be also be reached by boat from Buttonwood Canal by landing at the dock on the canal, and then portaging about 250 yards to the put-in.

Condition: Bear lake Trail is now clear and passable for it's entire length out to Bear Lake, about 1.6 miles, The Homestead Canal beyond Bear Lake is still blocked by storm debris, and this will be the next stage of the ongoing clearing project. Please note that the gate to the Bear Lake Road is normally locked during the off-seaon, and the road is currently in very poor condition. The Park service usually mows the roadside and fills in the worst of the potholes at the start of the fall season.

[Bob Quirk]

If you made it to Gator Lake than you made it to the Cape. The canal from Gator to Lake Ingram is wide open. Be careful back there it's easy to get lost and have trouble finding the creek entrance back to Bear especially after dark. I use surveyors tape which I gather up on the way out. The Trail has become my preferred route to the Cape since I paddle a 17 ft solo canoe with a canvas deck. There is also a small passage from Bear into the canal on the NW side that gets you to an interesting area for a walk.  A suggestion for transiting the entire canal in a day. Get a friend with a power boat to mothership you canoes/kayaks to the dike at lake Ingram then paddle back. Good luck and stay out of trouble back there the ranges do not want to get hit with a bunch of search and rescue.

[Amazon Bill]

The gate to Bear Lake Trail was locked the weekend of Dec 13-14, 2014. The rangers at the visitors center said it was to muddy for cars and some trees were down low over the walking part of the trail.