Hike Beehive Loop
What to Expect
Safety Advisory
This trail has genuine cliff exposure with drops of several hundred feet and no guardrails. The iron rungs are the only thing keeping you on the mountain in places. If you have any fear of heights, this is not the trail to test that theory.
Wet granite and wet iron rungs become dangerously slick. Skip this hike after rain or in fog — there is no safe way to descend the rung sections if conditions deteriorate mid-climb.
Despite the 'wheelchair accessible' tag on the NPS website, the rung-and-ladder route is emphatically not accessible. The accessible portion refers only to the Sand Beach area at the base.
Trail Details
Pro Tips
Start early — by 9 AM in summer the rungs turn into a single-file traffic jam, and passing people mid-cliff is nobody's idea of fun. A 7 AM start gives you the whole face nearly to yourself.
Wear shoes with sticky rubber soles and leave the trekking poles in the car. You need both hands free for the rungs, and poles just clang against granite and get in the way.
After summiting, take the Bowl Trail connector to peek at the Bowl — a hidden glacial pond sitting in the saddle between Beehive and Champlain. It adds maybe fifteen minutes and almost nobody bothers.
Photos
NPS
