Bear Lake - 4 Things to Know Before Visiting

Bear Valley is a friendly and relaxing High Sierra escape located in the beautiful Central Sierra Mountains. The alpine ski area and a portion of the real estate in the village of Bear Valley was owned by an investment partnership led by a Canadian company. Winter activities include downhill and cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and backcountry adventures.

The Lake Alpine Sno-Park is located at the winter closure gate on Highway 4 in Alpine County, within the Stanislaus National Forest near Ebbetts Pass and the Bear Valley Mountain Ski Resort. It is a great place to go for family friendly snow play. Great for cross-country skiing, dog sledding, snow play, and snowmobiling.

Stanislaus National Forest is a U.S. National Forest which manages 898,099 acres of land in four counties in the Sierra Nevada in Northern California. Stanislaus National Forest contains 1,4303.3 square miles of land within the Sierra Nevada Range. Most of the forest is within Tuolumne County, though it extends into parts of Alpine, Calaveras, Mono, and Mariposa counties. Two ski resorts, Dodge Ridge and Bear Valley, operate here under a special use permit.

Lake Alpine is a popular recreation area along Highway 4 in the Stanislaus National Forest. With 180 surface acres of glistening mountain water, Lake Alpine attracts anglers and boaters, campers and hikers, swimmers and sight seers. At an elevation of 7,350 feet, summer temperatures are mild.

Utica reservoir is the sister to Union Reservoir, and is located just off Ebbetts Pass National Scenic Byway. Small and very picturesque, it has a rocky, wooded shoreline and many islands that are fun to paddle to and explore. Only non-motorized boating is allowed here. Being forest service land, camping is allowed almost any place that is not marked as no camping, including a few islands.

Duck Lake lies in a glacial cirque, surrounded on three sides by peaks with its outlet on the far side. As a result, camping around Duck Lake is limited. Reflections across the expanse of Duck Lake are mesmerizing when they happen. You can continue backpacking from here by heading towards Purple Lake and Lake Virginia, or you can day hike around the area or simply enjoy being lakeside in the wilderness for awhile.