A Few Facts
Big Bear Mountain is situated in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California and is an approximate two hours drive from Los Angeles.
Big Bear Mountain sits 8805 feet above sea level and averages 100 inches of snowfall per year.
It currently holds twelve mountain lifts:
2 ... Read review
The Bavarian Lodge Ski and Tennis Resort in Big Bear Lake, Calif., is located one half ... more
mile from the Village Mall and one mile from the Snow Summit Ski Resort. Several dining options are located in the surrounding area. This family friendly property hosts barbeque grills, two regulation size lighted tennis courts, areas for tetherball, basketball, volleyball and horseshoes, a heated pool and a year round heated spa tub. The 31 guestrooms feature blond wood furnishings, framed botanical prints, décor in sage green, taupe and cobalt blue and views of the surrounding forest. Each offers cable television, microwave ovens and complimentary local calls. Bathrooms include showers only.
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
The Bavarian Lodge Ski and Tennis Resort in Big Bear Lake, Calif., is located one half ... more
mile from the Village Mall and one mile from the Snow Summit Ski Resort. Several dining options are located in the surrounding area. This family friendly property hosts barbeque grills, two regulation size lighted tennis courts, areas for tetherball, basketball, volleyball and horseshoes, a heated pool and a year round heated spa tub. The 31 guestrooms feature blond wood furnishings, framed botanical prints, décor in sage green, taupe and cobalt blue and views of the surrounding forest. Each offers cable television, microwave ovens and complimentary local calls. Bathrooms include showers only.
Information: :Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
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Advantages: Good prices for renting equipment, friendly staff, not too busy Disadvantages: Snowboarders don't always take beginners into consideraton
A Few Facts
Big Bear Mountain is situated in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California and is an approximate two hours drive from Los Angeles.
Big Bear Mountain sits 8805 feet above sea level and averages 100 inches of snowfall per year.
Big Bear Mountain has a fairly large car park, but please note that during the heavy snowfall months, parking may be difficult.
Bear Mountain offer rentals for all your skiing/snowboarding needs, which can be brought as a complete package (ie, skis/board and boots for one price, adult and child prices available and the option of only paying for either a whole day or half a day). Or you can just purchase ... more
A Few Facts Big Bear Mountain is situated in the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California and is an approximate two hours drive from Los Angeles.
Big Bear Mountain sits 8805 feet above sea level and averages 100 inches of snowfall per year.
I visited Big Bear mountain on a school trip during February 2007. We stayed in a local hotel, The Northwoods Resort which was approximatley a ten minute drive from the mountain.
Big Bear Mountain has a fairly large car park, but please note that during the heavy snowfall months, parking may be difficult.
Bear Mountain offer rentals for all your skiing/snowboarding needs, which can be brought as a complete package (ie, skis/board and boots for one price, adult and child prices available and the option of only paying for either a whole day or half a day). Or you can just purchase items on their own, such as only the boots or the skis/board.
Prices are as follows: ADULT SKI OR SNOWBOARD RENTAL Complete Package: Day: $30 Half a day: $25 Skis/Board only: Day: $23 Half a day: $18 Boots only: Day: $15 Half a day: $10
CHILDRENS SKI OR SNOWBOARD RENTAL Complete Package: Day $20 Half a day: $15 Skis/Board only: Day $15 Half a day: $12 Boots only: Day: $12 Half a day: $9
To get the prices converted into GBP, if you half the American amount, it will give you a rough estimate or the prices in GBP. Overall, I personally think the the rate for renting out the equipment is very good value for money, as all their stock is the latest named brand.
To be able to use the ski lifts, you will need to buy a lift pass. The price does increase here but the lift pass can also be used on Big Bear's sister mountain, Snow Summit, so it is worth taking this into consideration. You are looking at $51 dollars for an adult 21+ for a full days skiing, but the price decreases the younger that you are. Children under 6 are free. Ski lift prices vary on Holidays and peak season weekends.
What is it like to ski there? I had never skiied before but I had an instructor, who was very patient and knew what she was doing. By the end of the week I had been right to the top of the mountain and had skiied all the way day, in less than 4 days! But, personally, I think what helped was the fact that the mountain wasn't too busy and you were able to ski freely without worrying about knocking into someone. Even though it was mid-season and all the runs were open, the mountain was bustling but not over-packed, it was a nice consistency. You do have to be careful of snowboarders though, as they do have the tendancy to come up behind you with some speed, which isn't good when you are a beginner, as it can knock your confidence!
While I was there, all runs were open and were all perfectly packed and groomed, perfect for skiing and snowboarding. Big Bear has one of the largest snowmaking installations in the country and has over 40 Wizzard Snowmaking fan guns. With a water supply from Big Bear Lake, Big Bear can cover 100% of their developed runs with a fresh blanket of man-made snow - from three to five feet on many runs. Snow making takes place from November through to March.
I always found that the ski lift queues moved very quickly and queing time was no longer than four minutes. The staff that operated the lifts always make sure that you are safe and help you on and off the lifts.
Jumps Big Bear currently features an in-ground superpipe which is 18 feet deep and 580 feet long. They also have an in-ground standard half-pipe which is 12 feet deep and 400 feet long. There are also many jumps for all abilities. These include, rails and boxes, quaterpipes and wall rides.
REFRESHMENTS AND FACILITIES At the bottom of the mountain there is a restaurant which serves snacks and meals and all prices are good value. Also, often during the mid-season, there is a barbeque run by staff during mid-afternoon which is availabe to everyone. I never ate from this so I cannot comment, but it certainly smelt delicious and was always very busy.
Big Bear has a terrace at the foot of the mountain with lots of picnic benches and is a real sun trap on a nice day. This can get very busy around lunch time. There are also tables and chairs inside, but it can get very cramped in there as there is not a lot of distance between the tables.
On site, there is toilet facilities, a telephone and a gift shop.
OTHER INFORMATION You can get a direct flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles and then on road transport would be needed to get to Big Bear.
Other info can be found on there website, which is very handy indeed. It includes all the price information and details on the weather. Booking forms can be downloaded here and also rental forms for booking in advance. They also have live cameras, where you can watch live streaming from the mountain.
Night skiing is available during selected months.
I must also comment on some of the views which can be seen. At the peak of the mountain, you have the desert on one side and a rain forest on the other, spectacular! Also towards the top of some runs, the view over Big Bear Lake looks amaxing, especially on a clear day! Definatley worth taking your camera up the mountain!
Overall, I throughly enjoyed skiing on Big Bear Mountain and would definatley go back there to ski again. All members of staff were very friendly and always available to help, especially the instructors. I liked the fact that the mountain wasn't very busy and the grooming was always nice to ski on, although in some places it can be icy but this cannot be helped. But just watch out for snowboarders, as they don't always look where they are going and can come up behind you with some speed.
Advantages: Small and friendly Disadvantages: Ski area not the biggest
First things first. Where is Big Bear ? It is situated in the San Bernandino Mountains around 3hrs east of Los Angeles. It is a small resort that caters well for snowboarders. From the UK fly into LAX and then drive to the resort, check weather conditions as chains are often required for the ascent. I have never seen this resort advertised by the main UK tour operators, we stayed at a snowboarder friends chalet that he ran for UK guests. Lift passes ... ...with 2 half pipes, a big funpark with giant kickers, smaller parks with rails and boxes etc and down a few other runs purpose built kickers are plentiful. Being an older boarder I tend to hurt myself when trying big jumps (just don't bounce like I used to) but the opportunity for off piste is great and fairly safe. In the middle of the pistes are numerous paths which carve there way through the trees and in most places only just wider than the snowboard. ...
SPGti 04.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Big Bear, Ski Resort
Advantages: Stunning Scenery Disadvantages: Not for people affraid of heights.
Big Bear is the most beautiful place I have ever visited. It is 8,000 feet above sea level, and the views are stunning. The sun is usually out all the time, as you are above the clouds. There are a lot of facilities available around the town of Big Bear Lake, and also Big Bear City.
For larger shopping malls, you need to go to places like San Bernadino, which is about half an hour away, by car.
Cabin accomodation is relatively cheap, and so are ...
Barningham2 09.08.2000
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Review of Big Bear, Ski Resort
