California, Usa · Ikon
Big Bear
Ski Southern California's highest lift-served peak at 8,805ft. Three mountains — Bear Mountain, Snow Summit and Snow Valley — just 2 hours from LA.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
22 Nov 2025
Closes
26 Mar 2026
Days open
124
Annual snow
11ft
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Bear Mountain sits at the eastern end of Big Bear Valley in the San Bernardino National Forest, reaching a summit of 8,805 feet at Geronimo Peak — the highest lift-served point in Southern California — with a base at 7,140 feet and a vertical drop of 1,665 feet. The 198 acres of skiable terrain across three peaks — Bear Peak, Silver Mountain and Goldmine Mountain — break down as 20% beginner, 33% intermediate, 33% advanced and 14% expert, making Bear Mountain the most technically demanding of the three mountains that make up Big Bear Mountain Resort.
Snow Summit and Snow Valley, both within 15 miles, complete the resort group under Alterra Mountain Company ownership, and a single Ikon Pass or daily lift ticket provides access across all three mountains on the same day. Snow Summit (peak 8,200 feet, 240 acres) focuses on intermediate and family terrain with direct views of Big Bear Lake, while Snow Valley (peak 7,841 feet) serves as the primary beginner and family mountain to the west.
Bear Mountain's most significant historical distinction is in freestyle: the Outlaw terrain park, built in 1992, was the first freestyle terrain park in North America, establishing a legacy that the mountain has built on ever since. Bear Mountain still operates the only halfpipes in Southern California and hosts the Hot Dawgz and Hand Rails freestyle competition, running since 2003 as one of the longest-running freestyle events in the US.
The broader resort's snowmaking infrastructure — more than 560 hydrants, 330 snow guns and 40 fans capable of converting 6,000 gallons of water to snow per minute — underpins reliable conditions across all three mountains from opening day, and Snow Summit was selected to host the inaugural Winter X Games in 1997, cementing the Big Bear area's standing in competitive winter sports history.
1,667ft
Vertical
29
Runs
198 acres
Skiable
11ft
Annual snow
Ikon
Pass
The Terrain
29 runs across 198 acres skiable
Big Bear spreads 29 runs across 198 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 33%, with 6 beginner runs to find your feet and 14 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
29
runs
29 runs across 4 grades
Beginner6 runs · 20%
Intermediate10 runs · 33%
Advanced10 runs · 33%
Expert4 runs · 14%
Time it right
When to visit Big Bear
Big Bear Mountain Resort operates from late November through to mid-April, with the 2025/26 season running 22 November to 12 April across the three mountains. The San Bernardino Mountains' position above the Los Angeles basin creates a distinct seasonal pattern: cold air pooling at elevation through winter combined with snowmaking water drawn from Big Bear Lake sustains the season across all three mountains regardless of natural accumulation patterns, which vary considerably year to year at this latitude.
The current 2025/26 season has recorded a base of around 36 inches as of early March with a season total of approximately 16 inches of natural snowfall, reflecting the supplementary snowmaking load the system regularly carries in lower-precipitation years. In strong snow years, the Big Bear mountains deliver considerably more natural cover, and the combination of elevation, aspect and snowmaking gives the resort the most operating days per season of any Southern California ski area.
The proximity to the Los Angeles metropolitan area shapes the seasonal rhythm more than at any comparable US ski resort: with 15 million people within a two-hour drive, Big Bear weekends during January and February fill quickly, and the resort's management of lift capacity, parking and snowmaking is oriented substantially around the Southern California day-trip market.
Midweek conditions are consistently less crowded, and the midweek season pass option reflects how significant that segment is to the resort's visitor profile. Night sessions at Snow Summit on select dates extend the usefulness of the trip for those arriving late from the city, and the combination of Snow Valley, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain across a single ski day gives visitors more terrain variety than any other Southern California destination.
Season 2025 - 2026
22 Nov 2025
Opens
26 Mar 2026
Closes
124
Days open
11 ft
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Big Bear, and where to stay
Bear Mountain sits in the San Bernardino National Forest in the Big Bear Valley, approximately 100 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and 25 miles northeast of San Bernardino. The primary access routes are California State Route 18 via Highway 330 from Redlands off Interstate 10, or the more scenic State Route 38 along the Big Bear Scenic Byway — both climbs of around 5,000 feet from the valley floor to the resort.
The drive from central Los Angeles takes approximately two hours under normal freeway conditions, making Big Bear the closest major ski destination to one of the world's largest urban populations and explaining why Snow Summit, Bear Mountain and Snow Valley collectively represent one of the highest-visitor-volume ski operations in the US by sheer throughput. Chain controls are enforced regularly on the access roads during winter storm conditions, and the resort recommends checking Caltrans chain control status before departure.
Big Bear Lake township at 6,752 feet sits immediately adjacent to the ski area and provides the full range of accommodation, dining and après-ski options within a few minutes of all three mountains. The lake itself — around nine miles long and the largest freshwater lake in Southern California — is the source of the resort's snowmaking water supply and gives the valley its distinctive high-desert alpine character, surrounded by Jeffrey pine and white fir forest on the upper slopes.
San Bernardino International Airport is the closest commercial gateway, approximately 40 miles west via Highway 330, with Ontario International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport offering broader connections for visitors flying in. The Big Bear Valley's position in the San Bernardino Mountains above the Mojave Desert and Coachella Valley creates weather patterns where clear, cold nights and sunny daytime conditions dominate much of the ski season, with the snowmaking system bridging the gaps when Pacific storm systems track north of the region.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Big Bear, powered by Stay22.
Good to know
Frequently asked
When is Big Bear's ski season?
Big Bear's season typically runs from November 22 to March 26, roughly 124 days, weather and conditions permitting.
How much skiable terrain does Big Bear have?
Big Bear has about 198 acres skiable across 29 runs.
How many lifts does Big Bear have?
Big Bear operates 11 lifts in total.
How much snow does Big Bear get?
Big Bear averages around 130 inches (10.8 feet) of snowfall per season.
Where can I buy Big Bear lift tickets?
Lift tickets for Big Bear can be purchased directly from the resort online, or in person at the ticket office. See the full pricing breakdown on the lift tickets page.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.
22 July 2026
South Tyrol Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.
22 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Hoshino Tomamu - Corporate Japan's Mountain Playground Revisited
Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.
21 July 2026
La Thuile's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.
21 July 2026
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
21 July 2026
Ski Portillo Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.
21 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.
19 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Banff Sunshine Village - Nine Metres of Snow and a Season That Runs Until May
Banff Sunshine Village sits at 1,660m base and receives 9.27m of snow annually. Inside Banff National Park, it offers a six-month season and terrain split that skews heavily advanced - though the crowds and lift infrastructure tell their own story.
18 July 2026