Or close to it at this altitude.
Air so clear the mountains seem to vibrate, the early morning summer sun gradually warming the surface of the lake, water softly undulating, long arcing ripples gently lapping the shore, tree covered mountains hug the twelve mile long valley and log chalets cozy up to tall fragrant pines. This may be a fitting description for many engaging high sierra communities, but it also describes south California’s own Big Bear Lake.
In the mid 1800s cattle ranged the high mountain meadows in spring and summer. Jeffrey pine was milled to be hauled down the mountain to the ever expanding towns of Redlands and San Bernardino and prospectors mined the creeks and hill in the feverish search for gold. Pioneers Holcomb, Knight, Talmadge and Metcalf are commemorated in valleys, streets, tracts of land and bays; Starvation Flats and Coon Creek Jump-off suggest a less than idyllic existence. Nearby Holcomb Valley was once considered for the county seat and yes, there are still bears to be seen, although the Grizzlies are long gone.
Long a popular weekend retreat, in the 30s and 40s it was a rustic, adventurous getaway for the stars (rumor has it that Clark Gable and Carole Lombard honeymooned in a log cabin on the north shore). Many movies, including Paint Your Wagon, The Parent Trap and episodes of Bonanza were shot in the valley and the picturesque old mill at Cedar Lake, where Elvis filmed Kissing Cousins, still stands. The quirky character actor, Andy Devine, built the Sportsman’s Tavern (now known as the Captain’s Anchorage), and according to bartenders, the eerie sound of footsteps can be heard in the upstairs dining room, late at night. Perhaps it’s Andy, come back?
The demands of the twenty first century have changed Big Bear not a little; the main road has been widened, a new road if being built over the dam, there are now three major-chain drugstores (perhaps an indication of the demographics to come), and wild donkeys no longer roam the neighborhoods.
Still, there are touches of Mayberry; people stop their vehicles to chat – in the middle of the road, a local tragedy causes hearts to weep and pocket books to open, fundraisers are legion.
Mornings are always fresh in Big Bear, even in summer, when the stillness of the air forecasts the day’s heat to come. Slowly the boardwalk around Stanfield Marsh, and the Alpine Pedal Path fill with joggers and cyclists, young and old, athletic and not, wheelchairs, dogs, babies in strollers. Boats languish at their moorings, fishing lines are cast after those elusive bass, a jet ski hums in the distance and pontoon boats rock serenely in quiet bays.
What to Do:
Calling itself an educational and informational portal to the San Bernardino National Forest, the Big Bear Discovery Center www.bigbeardiscoverycenter.com is a one stop happening. The forest rangers offer guided nature walks, canoe and kayak tours, and the forest amphitheater presents “Music in the Mountains”, a series of evening concerts under the stars.
Among the stars of the Moonridge Animal Park are the only Grizzly bear family in captivity (a mother and her two cubs – rescued from North Fork, Wyoming), and an endangered snow leopard – originally part of the Species Survival Plan.
The lake is seven miles long and 2.5 miles at its widest. All types of water craft are available for rent at the many marinas that dot the shore, along with parasailing and lake tours. Hiking and biking are big; maps to the many trails can be picked up at the Discovery Center. The sky chair at Snow Summit Resort will take you and your bike to the top of the mountain for unparalleled hiking and riding, and the View Haus on top serves up a tasty burger along with panoramas of the lake and Mt. San Gorgonio – the highest peak in southern California. Up for more challenging pursuits? Get a group of family and friends together for the high ropes and zip-line at Pine Summit Conference Grounds. www.pinesummit.com.
Most of the original buildings in the village, some dating back to the beginning of the 20 th century, have been carefully refurbished, and the brick lined sidewalks are a colorful riot of seasonal plantings. It’s almost become a weekend ritual to browse the specialty shops and galleries on Pine Knot Blvd., lined with random benches that encourage quiet contemplation and people watching.
For Kids:
Kid friendly Big Bear creates an opportunity to share thrills and build memories of our natural world. Kayak in the early morning when Grout Bay is as smooth as glass, ride a favorite horse at Baldwin Lake Stables, bike the Alpine Pedal Path by the lake, check out the white pelicans and waterfowl at Stanfield Marsh. There’s mini golf, you can pan for gold at the museum or tell tall tales and roast marshmallows around the campfire at night.
Where to Eat:
Two restaurants that typify the unique and rapidly disappearing down home diner are the Teddy Bear Restaurant and the Grizzly Manor Café. A fixture in Big Bear for over 60 years and in the same family for 30 years, Teddy Bears owner, Brent Schweitzer says, “I have customers that are third generation diners. Some come just for our signature chicken pot pie” adding that it’s not unusual in a pinch, to find regulars helping to clear tables. Brent will also fix a picnic in a back pack. You’re advised to come early for breakfast at the Grizzly Manor Café to avoid the lines waiting outside the door, and bring a hearty appetite to tackle the pancakes and mounds of biscuits and gravy. While you wait, amuse yourself reading the walls of memorabilia and bumper stickers
 Where to Stay:
Primitive or deluxe, there’s an RV park to suit everyone. Serrano Campground is a short walk to the lake or for true seclusion there is Big Pine Flat or Hannah Flat. www.fs.fed.us. For bed and breakfast inns, motels, hotels, or private cabin rentals if you plan to stay longer, go to www.bigbear.com.
Getting There:
Hwy.18, through the desert, has the shortest stretch of mountain driving. Hwy.330/18 from San Bernardino through Running Springs is the most traveled. Hwy.38 through Redlands is probably the easiest for RVs.
While no pretender to the majesty of the high sierras, Big Bear assuredly has its share of splendor – without the trek. Considered the southland’s premier four season resort, you’ll need many visits to appreciate all that this unique valley has to offer.
So come…discover the secrets of a laid back vacation spot, only a tank of gas away. You may never leave.
For More Information:
Big Bear Visitor Center: www.bigbearinfo.com
Off Road Adventures: www.offroadadventures.com
Moonridge Animal Park: www.bigbearzoo.com
Chains Required Bike Shop: 41869 Big Bear Blvd. (909) 878.3280
Restaurants:
Peppercorn Grille - 553 Pine Knot Ave. (909) 866.5405 $16-$36
Le Bistro-Chateau - 42200 Moonridge Rd. (909) 866.6666 $6-$29
Sweet Basil Bistro - 40629 Lakeview Dr. (909) 866.9212 $9-$26
Teddy Bear Restaurant – 583 Pine Knot Ave. (909) 866.5415 $4-$12
Grizzly Manor Café - 41268 Big Bear Blvd. (909) 866.6226 $5-$10
Ride the Mountain
This may be the catch phrase for “boarders” at “Bear” but we are about to make it our own.
On one of those transcendent spring days, a day that makes the long chill of winter almost worth it, warm and fragrant, we hooked our bikes (looking like sides of beef in the butchers freezer), to the back of the sky chair at Snow Summit for a ride to the top of the mountain.
Where normally I’d be gazing down at perfectly groomed ski runs, today I’m transfixed by a blanket of tender green grass underneath me; oak trees, their tender new leaves still furled, red around the edges and about to burst forth; and young Spruce saplings, sucking up the moisture from the many springs on the hillside. The views are spectacular and if I carefully maneuver my body around I can see a sparkling indigo lake, full to overflowing with the melt of the previous winters’ abundant snowfall.
 The View Haus at the top of the mountain looms ahead and the siren smell of barbeque demands a quick stop. As we munch our burgers on the back deck, the windswept grey spine of San Gorgonio Mountain, 10 miles distant, sports lingering patches of snow.
Armed with our trail map, we coast down a small service road behind the pond and compressor house (silent now that the snow guns have been put to bed), to forestry road 2N10. This road runs the length of the ridge, from Moonridge to the Village, with many small offshoots that snake through the mountains. It’s easy to get lost, so a good trail map is essential.
The road is challenging with many uphill grades and sand traps to unseat the careless. It’s challenging, but not impossibly so, with many uphill draws, and a cooling breeze gently rustles the ponderosa pines that throw thin shadows across the trail. We ride for an hour, relishing the cloudless sky and the views across to the San Gorgonio Wilderness, all the way down to Yucaipa and San Bernardino.
 At Grandview Point we hike about ½ mile through an ageless, twisted, wind blown landscape of Manzanita and Jeffrey pine, to a fortress of enormous granite boulders where an uneven palette of green spews its colors all the way down the Santa Ana River valley and along the serpentine of Clarkes Grade – the original road to Big Bear.
From here it’s all downhill; past secluded alpine meadows, spring fed and boggy, feeding mountain lilies and ferns; past the cloven tracks of elusive mule deer; through clear cut areas, cleared of dead pines pocked with the holes of opportunistic bark beetles that thrived during the recent drought.
We emerge from the forest to a trail so steep that I need both brakes. We pass cyclists – steadily pedaling – hot, sweaty and winded. Don’t they know there’s an easier way?
After one more stop to admire a scene out of “Views to Write Home About” (I’m sure there must be such a book); a vista of marinas, their pleasure boats neatly arranged as if in formation, across the lake to a white dot that marks the Solar Observatory on the north shore, we meet the Town Trail and ride the 15 minutes back to the base of Snow Summit.
What seems like an all day adventure has only taken three hours. Tired and exhilarated and infinitely proud of ourselves, we feel the mountain is ours, an old friend, comfortable and familiar.
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