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| Big Bear Lodging Home | Big Bear Lodges | Big Bear Lake Activities | |
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Apples
Bed & Breakfast Inn & Group Retreat Center Big
Bear Manor Jacuzzi Cabins Black
Forest Lodge Cathy's Country Cottages Cozy Hollow Lodge Knickerbocker Mansion Mallard Bay Resort
Mountain Lodging Oak
Knoll Lodge Sleepy
Forest Cottages Timber
Haven Lodge Wishing
Well Motel
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Big Bear Lake Activities Big Bear Lake is Southern California's premiere four season resort. At an elevation of almost 7,000 feet, Big Bear Lake offers seasonal as well as year round activities. Boating With more than 22
miles of shore line, the lake offers respite during the warmer summer
months as well as the spring and fall. Usually lake related activities
begin in May and run well into October and even November. Everything
from small paddle boating to a pontoon boating can usually be rented
at one of the marinas on the lake. In addition, some offer boating tours
that give you guided tours on the history of the lake and facts about
the lake. More about boating
activities. Boating Guides, Tours, and Fishing If boating is not your cup of tea, the lake offers some of the best freshwater fishing in Southern California. Cantrell's Boating Guide Service will even take you out on a private fishing excursion. If you'd rather solo, check with Cliff Fowler (The Fishing Expert) of Big Bear Sporting Goods before you venture out fishing. He can tell you the latest information on where the fish are and how deep. Mountain Biking Even if you have an aversion to water, Big Bear Lake offers non-aquatic activities in the summer. Mountain biking has become a summertime favorite of Big Bear Lake visitors. Whether you are just biking along the Alpine Pedal Path on North Shore or riding down the trails at Snow Summit, mountain biking can be an invigorating form of exercise as well as great way to see the valley. More info on mountain biking. Snow Summit Sky
Chair and Trails
Hiking Hiking is an activity
that can be conquered most of the year. Big Bear offers many trails
in varying degrees of difficulty. Bring a camera, because the view from
up there will be so breathtaking, you'll want a picture of it to remember
it by. The Ranger Station on the north shore can assist you with maps,
as well as provide information on degrees of difficulty. In addition,
the Big Bear Discovery Center (located near the Ranger Station) can
also assist you with hiking maps and details. They can even lend you
a tape of a self-guided tour through the old gold mines in Holcomb Valley.
You knew that Big Bear (actually Holcomb Valley) had the most successful
gold mine south of Sutter's Mill, right? Remnants of that old mining
town can still be seen today. Throughout the year they offer guided
tours and programs. A favorite among winter visitors is the weekend
Bald Eagle counts. More information on the Big
Bear Ranger Station and the Discovery Center. Jeep Off-Road Tours Jeep off-road tours are also offered during the warmer months (May-October). What a way to see the back roads of the mountains! Among the tours offered are Butler Peak, Rose Mine, Santa Ana River, Jacoby Canyon, White Mountain, and High Meadow. They range from 1 ½ -5 hours each. Jeep off-road tour details. Skiing and Snowboarding Winters in Big Bear are highlighted by skiing and snowboarding. Both Snow Summit and Bear Mountain offer some of the best skiing and snowboarding terrain in Southern California. Even though Big Bear only averages 12 feet of snow annually, it has some of the best snow making conditions and capabilities in the world. Because of these capabilities, Big Bear usually has skiing and snowboarding well into April and as early as November. Check with our individual lodging members to see if they have midweek (non-holiday period) ski/snowboard packages that include lodging and lift. More info on skiing/snowboarding. Oktoberfest in Big Bear
The highlight of the fall is the Oktoberfest, which usually runs from mid September until the end of October. Whether doing the Chicken Dance or listening to an Oompa Band, all ages will have a wonderful time at Big Bear's Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest information. Horseback Riding Some activities can be enjoyed by visitors year round. Horseback riding is one of them. Magic Mountain Alpine Slide Another year round attraction that is popular among Big Bear visitors is the Magic Mountain Alpine Slide. In the winter, they have an inner tube slide. A "magic" carpet pulls you up to the top of the hill so you can slide down. Don't worry if Mother Nature has not been good to Big Bear, as they can make their own snow. The rest of the year the Alpine Slide has a water slide and a toboggan run. More details about the Alpine Slide. Moonridge Wild Animal Park More family fun is waiting for you at the Moonridge Wild Animal Park. Here you will see everything from bears and mountain lions to eagles and other animals indigenous to the mountains nearby. Don't forget, at 3:00 PM (most days), they offer a feeding tour. Don't worry, you won't be on the menu. More details on the Wild Animal Park. Old Miners Days Every July and August, the history of Big Bear and its pioneer days are revisited. The annual Old Miners Days offer everything from chili cook-offs to log sawing. The festival culminates with the annual parade through the town and village. More info on the Old Miners Days. Big Bear Performing Arts Center Big Bear Lake is home to one of the largest civic performing arts centers in the area. Throughout the year the Community Arts Theatre Society (CATS) performs many popular plays and musicals. Some of the actors and those behind the scenes have had careers in Hollywood. For more information or to see what is playing next, see the Big Bear Performing Arts Center. If you'd rather catch a flick, the Village Theatres offer two locations in the village. To check what is playing, go to Big Bear Village Theaters. Big Bear also hosts a film festival (September). More info on the Big Bear Film Festival. Big Bear's Solar Observatory Big Bear is proud to boast that it is home to one of a few solar observatories in the world. Why Big Bear? Well, with our 325 or more days of sunshine a year, Big Bear is a perfect place to look at the sun (because it is usually not cloudy). Big Bear's solar observatory is now run by the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Since it is an educational facility, tours are limited to Saturdays in July and August (when school is out). Solar observatory info. Lodestone Adventures Corporate Training Do you need some team confidence? Big Bear is home to a corporate training course program. Lodestone Adventures can assist with your team building confidence. For more details see Lodestone Adventures. See Big Bear and Big Bear Lake From The Air The best way to see Big Bear is by air. Aero Haven, located at the Big Bear City Airport, offers charter flights throughout the valley. They can even arrange to pick up groups from several southern California airports and bring them up to Big Bear. What a beautiful way to arrive in paradise. Info on the Bear City Airport. Horse Drawn Carriage Tours If you're more the grounded type, then Victoria Park Carriages is probably for you. They will take you in a horse drawn carriage (just like in Central Park in New York) throughout the town. What a terrific and romantic way to see the town. For your romatic carriage ride try Victoria Park Carriages. Big Bear Lake Weather and Road Conditions Before embarking
on your Big Bear getaway or vacation, you can check the latest weather
and road conditions. Get the latest weather,
or the latest road conditions.
Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority The Mountain Area
Regional Transit Authority (MARTA) provides local and off the mountain bus service to the Big Bear
Valley, Running Springs, Lake Arrowhead, Crestline and San Bernardino.
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You
don't have to have a mountain bike to take the scenic sky chair at Snow
Summit or navigate the trails. The sky chair is usually open on weekends
from May-November and midweek from June-September. More 
The
fall offers truly the most colorful landscape of the year for the Big
Bear Valley. Usually in mid October the foliage peaks and the colors are
radiant in yellows, browns, oranges, and reds.  |
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