How to Go Skiing in Bear Mountain, California

The city of Big Bear Lake and the adjacent Bear Mountain Resorts are popular destinations for Southern Californians who love winter sports. The resorts, including Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, boast the country's first and largest freestyle park, with plenty of jumps, jibs, half-pipes and wedges to keep skiers and snowboarders happy. Bear Mountain has more than 17 miles of traditional ski runs. Bear Mountain has a vertical drop of 1,665 feet. Its four peaks range from 8,000 to 8,805 feet.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer with Internet access

Book Your Lodging

1. Find and book accommodations by calling (800) 4-BIG-BEAR or by visiting the Big Bear Lake Web site (see Resources below). From the main page, simply click on the "Lodging" link.

2. Feel like you're at home when you rent a private cabin or vacation home in Big Bear. Many are located near the resort and provide amenities such as entertainment systems and gourmet kitchens.

3. Stay in a bed and breakfast in nearby Big Bear Lake for a romantic retreat. Most rooms range from moderately priced to expensive.

Arrange Transportation

4. Start your ski trip to Bear Mountain, California, by arranging transportation into San Bernardino County, California. The resort is located in the Big Bear Lake area of the San Bernardino Mountains.

5. Choose one of three different routes to get to Bear Mountain, California. Take highways 330/18 to reach the resort quickly, or travel along Highway 38 through the Redlands for a more scenic route. If you want to avoid mountain driving and encounter less snowfall during seasonal storms, take the route through Lucerne Valley on Highway 18.

6. Book your lift ticket or ski pass and use the shuttle service to travel between Bear Mountain and Snow Summit to make the most of your ski trip.

Plan Your Ski Trip to Bear Mountain

7. Find plenty of room to move on Bear Mountain. This resort occupies more than 700 acres, with nearly 200 acres developed and devoted to resort activities.

8. Ride to the top of the slopes on one of 12 lifts available at Bear Mountain. There are two high-speed quad chair lifts, as well as other quad, triple and double chair lifts and moving carpet surface lifts on this resort.

9. Bring your own equipment or rent it at the slopes from Bear Mountain's resort rental shops.

10. Ski with new snow everyday at Bear Mountain. The resort relies heavily on snow-making machines, which operate to cover 100 percent of the developed ski terrain on the park and slopes.

11. Book season passes or lift tickets online at Bear Mountain's Web site (see Resources below). Here you can purchase day and half-day lift tickets, as well as peak and off-peak season passes.

12. Find the current ski report listed under "Snow Report" on the Bear Mountain Web site.

Tips & Warnings

• Book online for easy access to your reservation information.