Summertime Getaway to Big Bear Lake

A definite upside to visiting the mountain town of Big Bear is you don’t have to drive through Greater Los Angeles to get there from Santa Barbara. There’s a back way — it speeds eastbound through Ventura County and jogs over to the Pearblossom Highway, a mostly flat but sometimes rolling strip of superheated Mojave Desert asphalt that delivers you to a twisting climb from barren flats and Joshua trees to the granite peaks and pines of San Bernardino National Forest, home to Big Bear Lake. 

For a quick trip in late July, my family and I, including our two dogs, timed our getaway to steer clear of Big Bear’s summer weekend congestion, settling in midweek for easy outdoor exploration and a few nice sit-down meals.

STAY

After the 200-mile drive from Santa Barbara, we unpacked at Black Forest Lodge (blackforestlodge.com), which features standalone cabins and multiplex-style rooms scattered among the tall pines along the main boulevard through town. Our double-queen loft unit — just a few steps from the common swimming pool and hot tub — had been recently remodeled with a new bathroom, furniture and appliances, a roomy kitchen, dining area, hide-a-bed sectional, and wood-burning fireplace, plus a small balcony. Every morning, there’s free coffee, fruit, and breakfast carbs in the main lobby.

Dogs are welcome at Black Forest Lodge. In fact, the whole of Big Bear seems pretty much dog friendly, and its annual summer Puptopia Festival offers package deals on lodging and outings.  

EAT

On our first night in town, we grabbed a table at Stella Luna (stellalunarestaurant.com), located in the bustling village hub. All three of the restaurant’s big roll-up garage doors were open to the big patio, drawing patrons and their friendly dogs into an indoor-outdoor blend of full-bar regulars and hungry travelers. 

Our stromboli appetizer was perfectly toasted and arrived with a side of house-made marinara. The beef in my burger — topped with caramelized onions, smoked gouda, and bacon — came from grass-fed cows from a San Diego ranch. My daughter dug the crispy chicken-strip sandwich, sided with sweet potato fries and roasted squash. Stella Luna’s is a “scratch kitchen,” as they say, meaning most items are prepared in-house from fresh raw ingredients — we could tell.

We enjoyed another memorable meal at Captain’s Anchorage (captainsanchorage.com), a classic hardwood-and-brass dinner destination with requisite muted lighting and rough-hewn timber framing. If Captain’s could commit to 23andMe, it’d likely find a first cousin in Santa Barbara’s own Harry’s Plaza Café, with a DNA dash of Cold Spring Tavern. There’s also a quiet patio out back, with occasional live music.

Friendly waitstaff served up what you might expect — steak, chicken, and chops, along with an impressive seafood selection. We started with a steamed artichoke, moved on to soups and salads, main-coursed with sauteed chicken and a porterhouse chop, and tied off the night with a slice of deliciously fluffy cheesecake with strawberries and chocolate drizzle.   

DO 

One of the best ways to take in mountaintop views — without having to commit to a steep hike — is to ride the Sky Chair lift at Big Bear Mountain Resort, which summits at an elevation of 8,200 feet. From there, the panoramic sights are among the highest of the 2,650-square-mile Santa Ana River Watershed, which drains the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto mountains to the ocean at faraway Huntington Beach. 

Also at the top, a bar-and-grill walk-up sports a semi-full bar, burgers, chili dogs, and — better yet — jalapeño cheddar sausage dogs, any of which can be enjoyed on picnic tables or inside the connecting lodge. The chairlift ride is also open to hikers aiming for remote trail access and mountain bikers who bomb the snowless off-season slopes sculpted with berms, banks, and jumps.

Back in the car, we cruised the 17-mile lake loop through the village of Fawnskin and past wooded beaches popular with shore fishers and dotted with tent and trailer campsites. Big Bear’s north shore is much quieter, with shaded picnic spots, such as Juniper Point, and nearby trailheads, including Cougar Crest Trail and the easy, dog-friendly Woodland interpretive loop. 

As you might expect, there are plenty of kayak, paddleboard, and bike and e-bike rental companies scattered along the main drag. For a mellow paddle shoving off from Pine Knot Marina, my daughter and I climbed aboard a two-person kayak with Get Boards (getboards.com), which also rents out standup paddleboards and, come winter, snowboard, skis, and related gear. For e-bikes, we heard good things about Goldsmiths (goldsmithsports.com) but, coming from Santa Barbara, that popular battery-powered glide isn’t quite as tempting as it used to be, at least for us. Like Get Boards, Goldsmiths operates year-round, with gear rentals — including downhill mountain bikes for those high-speed thrill rides at Big Bear Mountain Resort.

Years ago, we visited Big Bear Alpine Zoo (bigbearzoo.org), when it seemed little more than a small, underfunded rehab headquarters for injured and orphaned wildlife. A lot has changed. These days, it’s newer, bigger, and better for its animals and visitors alike. There’s a few exotics — snow leopards, for example — but the facility’s real stars are its endemic species, large animals most Californians are familiar with but haven’t seen up close, including golden eagles, mule deer, coyote, mountain lions, a three-legged San Joaquin kit fox, loping gray wolves, a grizzly, and full-grown cinnamon black bear that was orphaned and rescued as a cub from a wildfire.

All in all, there’s no shortage of family-friendly recreational activities to be had in Big Bear. And if you’re looking for a classic reprieve from sweaty exertions in direct sunlight, there’s always the Bowling Barn (bowlingbarn.com), with 16 lanes, an arcade, and pool tables.   

After three days, we’d just scratched the surface. At the same time, we’d seen and done a lot. With that big blue lake in the rearview, we took the back way home. 

For more information, visit bigbear.com.