Bear Mountain Ski Area Review

Depending on which run you go on I hope you'll like the adventure. Between the steep hills and jumps this is the one I recommend for a great ride, weather you snowboard or ski it's the best one here in southern California.

Great resort. Pretty good variety of terrain and solid snowmaking. Only complaints would be that some of the lifts are really slow and the park doesn't cater much to intermediate park skiers and riders. Advanced or beginner riders should have plenty of features to hit though.

Snow is always there, better the natural snow... Short drive from the coastal cities and you will be ready to hit the slopes

Snow summit is the best thing within two hours of LA, but they are interchangeable

This was the first place I ever went snowboarding at! Broke my tailbone, but the bloody Mary's and the cold weather killed the pain pretty quick. There's an awesome view at the top of the mountain

Cant wait to be back and will always be back every year

Great place to ski. Our ski instructors were fantastic!

Great place to skiing. Weather becomes very cold after 5.30

In my opinion, bear mountain is a better resort than snow summit in general. There were plenty of features that anyone from a beginner, to pro could take on and they were always kept nicely groomed. The only thing I dislike which comes with every resort is the overpriced food.

I didn't know this place and I loved it. Wooden cabins between the forest and a beautiful lake. In winter from November to February its snowy surroundings and the bigbear mountain to ski with a ski center and everything to rent

Great place to snowboard! Diamond & blue trail are well groomed.

Too crowded. Rude parking guys. Snow is rarely decent. .. save your money and go to Tahoe.

Took my daughter and friends up to Big Bear for the 1st time this last weekend. Needless to say it waa absolutely EPIC! I've been skiing and boarding my entire life and I can count on one hand the times I got conditions like this.
There was ZERO wind and Friday EVERY street, patio deck, driveway, steps and railings were bone dry. By Saturday morning there was almost 2ft of fresh powder and NO WIND! The snow falling was absolutely amazing! You could stand there and catch perfect snow flakes. By Sunday morning every road, driveway, deck, steps, railings and roads were covered with fresh snow. 2 to 3 ft of fresh powder and EVERYONE who had ANY AMOUNT OF COMMON SENSE HAD CHAINS OR CABLES ON! Now that's not saying everyone did which was maddening to witness. I saw brand new cars in ditches and cars pulling into the lot and just sliding directly into parked, unoccupied cars. Some were even cars with Oregon plates and STILL people from the snow, came unprepared and put themselves and everyone else at risk. Big Bear gets 5 stars at how they were operating under Governor Newsoms Draconian, non-science based fake laws. They were extremely organized once inside the resort. But the surrounding areas, parking lots and over all idiotic personnel or lack of was ridiculous. Even with severe limits on the mountain it was so crowded and typical for that place, was filled with Unruly people of all ages, flying down the mountain, out of control and putting people's lives in serious danger.
Thank you to my kids instructor who was amazing and honestly just one of the great ones. Byron's ability to take our kids on one of the most epic and exciting days of thier lives, while all the while keeping them safe and having a great time. I cannot say enough about the man, he is truly one of the greats.

Thank You Byron and all Bear Mountain employees, you guys made our weekend so special !

Respectfully,

Gabe Jensen

I really do love this place, having grown up in San Diego. Not the biggest mountain and the snow usually isnt great, and yet its such a fun place to go. The park is always great and the groomers are groomers, ya know?

This is a convenient location for snow boarding and skiing if you live in southern California. Parking is free but crowded on the weekend and Holliday's. Lift tickets were expensive for the limited runs. There is some snow but most of it is man made. Food can be pricey but there is also a wide range of beverages to enjoy. All and all a good experience.

It was OK on a Friday, but then Saturday was a nightmare. Way too crowded, not enough infrastructure. Parking, ticket lines, lifts, all overloaded.

Big Bear Is A Nice Little Find; But I'm Sure It'd Be Better If Ever They Can Open Up More Lifts And Runs...

Closes early, if you want a good deal, you are a gov employee or military member/veteran go to snow valley for 50% off

Love to ski and this place has nice tracks! In my opinion it's a bit expensive. Be careful if you don't have a season pass book in advance or you will not be able to buy tickets bc of corona restrictions!

A little busy, but because there was an event on Saturday. Sunday came around and the mountain was empty we love it!

Great place with amazing staff. The lifts are safe and extremely well maintained. The staff always greats one with unreal customer service. I will always use bear as my Southern California snow go to.

This was my first time skiing so we signed up for the classes. We got lucky and no one else signed up so it was like having a private lesson! I started off barely able to stand up but after the 2 hours session I was comfortable enough to go down the slopes without crashing! That's a success in my book! Our instructor was very nice and patient and made sure we had a firm understanding of the basics. The rest of the staff was nice and helpful.

Bear Mountain Resort, located in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, is a snowboarders dream! The Bear Mountain employes work hard to make sure your vacation is the best time ever! Oh and the food is great!

If you ain't been to bear, do you even Los Angeles?

I already spent two amazing weekends here with my friends. This is really a beautiful places to ski or just wander in woods and enjoy landscapes.

Great place for a weekend getaway or few day vacation. Kids friendly and we enjoy every stay every time!

3 days on the slopes at Bear. Snow was perfect, lift lines were minimal as were the food lines. An excellent weekend.

Went snowboarding in super bowl weekend. Wasn't too crowded and they had made fresh snow the night before so the ride was good.

Got into the lot before most of the employees! Still had to pay for parking once they showed up :( . Always a good time. Tried to leave an hour before the night sessions but still got caught in a mess of traffic going back down the hill.

Great place to ski but the lift tickets are extremely expensive.
better get him to Costco in a four pack $250

A lot things have changed since the new owners came in. Such as new smoking rules, but still a great mountain experience. Better patio .

Mountain perfect for all levels of snow boarders and skiers

Bear mountain is the spot to be for socal snowboarding or skiing. Epic park

Fun!!!
If you don't want all the Freestyle Obstacles in your way... Take lift 2 to 4 and stay to the right all the way down... Powder with no jumps or human obstacles that FAIL on the jumps... Lol

Looks beautiful! May I ask what months does it snow there ?

We went there on 22 Nov 2019 unfortunately the pits weren t open. However it was nice to walk around and go for a hike. Beautiful place to ski

Went mlk weekend. It was crowded of course, weather wasn't the either but my good it's been so long since decent snow came. Come after a big snow dump. That will be the best time. Mid week of possible

Especially nice place to enjoy with friends and family. .. with parking option. ..puedes to sky or just know or eat something

Its a nice mountain to come down on. Many paths from the top to the bottom. This mountain is better to just chill and relax. You have some good views of the lake also.

Better than snow summit, the slopes have many more routes and options.

Love bear in the winter and summer! Something for everyone.

1 * only because the Lyft tickets are way too expensive other than that I love it

If your about the party scene, it's the spot. Most def.

Good little place for my first ever skiing experience

Always busy on the weekends during peak season, so get here early and be patient. Friendly people, close to OC & L.A. We had a great time, as always. So much to do and see in town, too.

For Southern California, Big Bear is as good as it gets! Great runs w/ plenty of park features. This past year is probably the best conditions I've ever boarded up here. The lines weren't long at all so we got plenty of runs in. The staff weren't being pricks as usual either.

The lodge offers a great place to relax and get your drink on as well. The fact that you can use your ticket at Bear or Summit is a definite plus! Definitely recommend getting chains and keeping them in the truck though, as the roads are pretty crazy this time of year.

I usually rent my gear here vs. going to one of the surrounding shops because they usually have a great board and sometimes they have some nice demos as well.

The terrain features leave the moderate skill upper mountain runs dominated by snowboarders, which is cool enough. But if you're an intermediate skill skier looking to go up-mountain and challenge yourself a little without hitting black diamonds, it can be a little frustrating. Overall, for warm Spring skiing, they groomed well and on our first day out, a generous parking attendant supervisor named Mike (?) allowed me and my two friends to use the last three friends and family passes he had as an employee. How great is that! Thanks, Mike!

This place is where freestyle snowboarding truly started- ive lived all over- bear mtn is like Disneyland... Jumps- Rails- so fun. Ive been riding there since it was called Goldmine lmao- taught me everything. 20 National Titles later- 20 years of travel- fun visiting bear mtn.

Some of the operators and staff can be blunt and very forward. But one you pass through thier behavior it's nothing but Ok snow . Gets hard after 2 pm for a $99 lift ticket

Let me just start by saying that I don't ever write reviews.. But I had to. I came here with my 4 year old daughter and my dad for the day. My dad went skiing while my daughter and I hung out and enjoyed the snow and also the resort and its amenities.. KRYASTALL THE CASHIER MADE OUR DAY VISIT SO AMAZING. Her customer service was out of this world. She was super super nice. She made my daughter laugh and literally made us feel so happy to be at the resort. 5 stars. :)

So much fun, but man it just gets more and more expensive while not getting any less crowded. At the very least they could knock down the beer prices a little to keep everyone happy

fun little mountain, lot's of snowboarders though, i hardly saw other skiiers

Its a nice place and great for other things but its packed some times but overall it's great for learning and having fum

What can I say. Skiing is limited but there are some fun if unchallenging runs. Great for freestyling if that's your bag. Awful, awful food. There's one outlet that just sells greasy, salty burgers and pizza.

I had a great time at the ski resort. really enjoyed the bar and music. the day I went there was a freestyle event it was a joy to spectate the event.

Loved the mountain. A lot bigger then mountain high and has more park features. Only downside is I wish they had more snow.