Bear Mountain, rising 8,841 feet in Glacier National Park’s northern Lewis Range, stands above a lake-filled alpine landscape and offers wide views of notable surrounding peaks, including Mount Cleveland, Mount Merritt, and Chief Mountain. Its rugged setting reflects the park’s steep rock walls and glacially carved valleys. Geologically, the mountain is made of sedimentary rock laid down in ancient shallow seas from the Precambrian through the Jurassic. Its present form is linked to the Lewis Overthrust, which began about 170 million years ago when a vast mass of older rock was pushed over younger Cretaceous rock. The mountain’s alpine subarctic climate brings long, intensely cold winters and short, cool summers.