Things To Do In Big Bear Lake; Summer Edition

Big Bear Lake California has been on my bucket list for quite some time now. After spending so much time at home in the city (LA) it was past due time for a nature cleanse. Big Bear is a place that is gorgeous all year round. They have a beautiful snow fall season and their summers have perfect weather. Here are some of the activities I got to experience on my summer trip to Big Bear.

HIKING TRAILS

The main thing I wanted to do while exploring was the hiking trails and I got to try a few great ones, this really was the best way to connect with Big Bear’s nature first hand.

Sugarlump was the first trail I hiked since it was just down the street next to my Air Bnb home. It’s a steep dirt trail with plenty of room for bikers and hikers as well as cars if you wanted to drive up. The green forest is surrounding you the whole time up and its about 6 miles round trip. Being the unprofessional that I am, this hike was nice and challenging for me, but not impossible at all.

Snow Summit Trail is a short 3 mile trail out and back located at the Summit Bike Park. I enjoyed this trail in particular because it was a straight shot uphill with a beautiful outlook. You definitely use every muscle in your leg to make it up this one!

The third trail I took was Holcomb Creek which was an off-road Jeep experience where you can rent a Jeep (or take your 4×4 )and drive up the rocky mountain. I finally got the chance to break my new Jeep in! This road was bumpy and had lots of dirt flying everywhere. Along this trail I saw boulders scattered all around and pine cones the size of my dog fallen to the ground under all the trees.

 Places To Eat

Black Diamond Tavern is a delicious lunch/dinner restaurant with a homey feel inside. They have a large drink menu and make their own sauces for each dish. This meal really matched the city vibe!

Peppercorn Grille was a great dinner spot. They had a huge menu that was also vegetarian friendly. I was blown away by their pomegranate margarita.

In-between different hiking trails I was looking for something on the healthy side to recharge my body. I found  Juice Factory, a local juice bar with every juice you could imagine plus acai bowls. Perfect for knocking any hunger out that you might have picked up with the steep mountain trails.

Other Things To Do 

So even though we didn’t participate in any water activities this time, that doesn’t mean Big Bear doesn’t offer them. They have a small water park, tubing, jet skis etc.

Alpine Zoo was a short walk from my Air Bnb. Upon arriving my first thought was that the zoo was tiny but once you get inside it’s quite spacious for a smaller zoo. With it being a weekend the zoo didn’t seem to be crowded at all! (Which I loved). They have so many interesting animals! Wolves, bears, snow leopards and the list goes on.

On the left is one of their cute fox and to the right is poor Huckle Berry, if you look closely you’ll notice he only has three legs! He’s missing the front right limb.

Big bear lake is undoubtedly scenic. I really wanted to sit and admire the immense mountains by the water. I gathered up some finger foods from Vons grocery store and added them to my picnic basket. The hardest part about choosing the perfect picnic location was that there were so many nice parks to choose from (it’s a good problem right?) I came across Veteran’s Park and decided to set up lunch here. Empty park full of the brightest green grass with a clear scenic view. YES!

Big Bear Lake was such a great get away for me. The nature really brought me back to life. I encourage everyone to go out and visit if they are in the area. Even though this trip was only three days I’m SO excited to go back during winter and see the snow fall. I know it will be a completely different experience.

xo,

Carmen