Big Bear Adventure

There’s something for everyone at this exciting alpine retreat

Big Bear is a four-season resort destination that offers a wide range of activities year-round. You can choose to have a completely full schedule every day—or you can just relax and enjoy the view.

Although we’re experiencing a somewhat cooler summer than normal in southern California, my husband and I anticipated clean air and great weather in Big Bear in August. During our three-day stay, temperatures hovered around 78° without a cloud in the sky. And as for stargazing, the clear night sky afforded beautiful stellar sightings.

Take the Plunge
Family fun is the name of the game here, and Big Bear offers numerous water activities ranging from leisurely to adventurous. On any given summer day, you’ll find people jet-skiing, wakeboarding, kayaking, canoeing, or just taking in rays on one of several beaches around the lake. Narrated lake tours are offered aboard the Big Bear Queen, a southern-style paddlewheel boat, or even on a replica of an authentic Spanish galleon — a pirate ship that was featured in the 1980 production of Time Bandit.

We met with Alan Sharp, the owner of the Big Bear Marina. “This is a public marina on Big Bear Lake that offers 200 slips to boat owners,” he explained. The marina also offers a wide variety of boat rentals, and is home to the Big Bear Queen tour boat. Sharp told us that Big Bear Lake offers one of the best trout fisheries in southern California, and people can also fish for bass and catfish. “It’s only a couple of hours from Pasadena,” he pointed out. “We invite you to come up and have some fun.”

We took a 1½-hour tour on the Big Bear Queen, which gave us a unique perspective on the lake. Owner/Captain Chris Bellows has been conducting these tours for 22 years, and is virtually an encyclopedia of knowledge about Big Bear. We learned that at nearly 7,000 feet, this is the highest lake in southern California. It’s been in existence since 1884, when a dam was built so that the water could be an irrigation supply for Redlands. Bellows gave us a wealth of information about the lake’s history, recreation, and about the numerous buildings on the shores, some of which are celebrity homes. One big highlight of the trip was when Noel Blanc came outside his lakeshore home with a loudspeaker and gave us a rendition of “What’s up, doc?” and other Warner Bros. cartoon voices made famous by his father, the late Mel Blanc.

We also took a canoe tour that originated from the Big Bear Discovery Center, located on the north shore of the lake. Before we took to the water in our respective canoes, all of us got a lesson on rowing from our guide, Ingrid. As a group, we all paddled to several points of interest at coves and inlets along the north shore. “If you look up in that tree to the right,” she pointed out, “there’s a good sized bald eagle’s nest.” Ingrid also told us about the solar observatory on the north shore, which is one of only six in the world. “There’s over 300 clear, sunny days at Big Bear, like today,” she informed us.

Great Eats
As you might expect, there’s a great variety of restaurants in Big Bear. You can choose authentic Indian fare at the Himalayan Restaurant one evening, enjoy homemade potato chips at the beach at B’s Backyard Bar-B-Que the next afternoon, and sip margaritas at Hacienda Café that night. There’s also an upscale cooking and culinary-gadget shop in Big Bear Village, called Copper Q (named after Quinn, the owners’ young daughter). It has a demo kitchen, a hands-on cooking classroom, espresso bar, and many interesting culinary items for sale.

Proprietor Linda Ricchuiti discussed the various amenities that Copper Q has to offer, and said that the shop also offers a social aspect. “What we try to bring to the village in particular is a place for people to gather; to hang out,” she said, adding that their hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m, which gives people an opportunity to come at breakfast time, and even stop by in the evening for a cup of coffee before they close. We were on hand for a cooking demonstration from Copper Q’s chef, who taught a good-sized crowd how to make yummy blueberry muffins (we were fortunate enough to sample them afterward).

Up in the Air
During the summer months, the chair lift to Snow Summit ski resort operates as the Scenic Sky Chair, affording awe-inspiring views of the forest and Big Bear Lake below. We took this leisurely ride to the top of the mountain, about 1,300 feet up. Afterward, we ate lunch at the View Haus, which overlooked the surrounding forest and Mount San Gorgonio.

The following day, my husband, Dennis, took a zipline tour with Cedar Lake Camp Zip Lines. This thrilling experience began when the small group of participants were strapped into a harness, then were clipped to a cable before practicing a brief “cub” training run. And although ziplining may appear daunting at first, the guides are thoroughly trained in safety and calm many people’s fears this way. “Whatever you do, don’t unclip anything,” warned zipline guide Devon, “We’ll do all that.” Then, off they went — taking off from a wooden platform wrapped around a tree and flying through treetops and over canyons to a total of five stations. “It was fun,” Dennis said of the experience. “After the initial butterflies, I learned to trust the equipment and had a great time ‘flying’ over the treetops.”

Feeling Wild
The Moonridge Animal Park, Big Bear’s zoo, was the final stop of our Big Bear adventure. This wildlife animal sanctuary and rehabilitation center specializes in alpine wildlife and—since 1960—is home to about 160 orphaned or injured wildlife. It also provides a great educational opportunity for children. There’s a resident Grizzly bear family that was rescued by the Friends of the Moonridge Zoo. The park is also home to two young Mountain Lions (who were sleeping in a large “dogloo” while we were there). Also in residence is an endangered snow leopard on loan through the American Zoo Association Species Survival program. We saw wolves, black bears, bobcats, raccoons, bison, a red fox, a great horned owl and a bald eagle.

With so much to see and do at Big Bear, the changing of the seasons will bring a lot of new opportunities — and we hope to return soon to experience them!

For more information on Big Bear, visit the Big Bear Lake Resort Association at www.bigbear.com or call 1.800.4.BIG.BEAR.