20 Attractions to Explore Near Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Mountain Resort offers the best skiing and snowboarding experiences in Southern California at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain. It is also an alpine oasis for outdoor adventurers near Los Angeles in the summer, featuring plenty of family-friendly options like mountain biking, hiking, and base area activities, with discounts available for kids and seniors.

Snow Summit is a ski resort that was established in 1952 in San Bernardino county. It is also one of the larger ski areas in Southern California and is considered to be one of the most popular skis and snowboard destinations for patrons from around the Los Angeles area.

The Big Bear Discovery Center is Located on the North shore with spectacular views of the Lake & local Ski Resorts. The center's goals are to help visitors enjoy and be more knowledgeable about the San Bernardino National Forest, including its recreational opportunities and natural history, and to teach visitors how to be stewards of the beauty and natural resources in the national forest and San Bernardino Mountains.

The San Bernardino Mountain ski resorts are northeast of Los Angeles and only a two hour drive from the beach. Bear Mountain is the most popular of the resorts for boarders while Snow Summit attracts more skiers. Since establishing the first freestyle park in the early 1990s, Bear Mountain has continued to be a leading innovator in freestyle ski and snowboarding, along with terrain park building.

Rim Nordic Ski Area is located in the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California. It offers Cross Country Skiing and Snow Shoeing, summer activities include Mountain Bike Racing. Features include 12 miles of groomed trails, Lots of off trail snow shoeing, Machine groomed, track set for classic and skating, Learn-to-ski beginner package, Telemark rentals and lessons, Snowshoe rentals, Demo and skating rentals available.

Snow Valley Mountain Resort is a ski resort located in Running Springs, California. It is the oldest continually operating ski resort in Southern California and is also one of four ski resorts in the San Bernardino National Forest. It has a total of 13 functioning lifts.

The San Gorgonio Wilderness is a unique sub-alpine landscape surrounded by desert to the east. The wilderness is part of the eastern slope of the San Bernardino Mountains, with topography rapidly changing from low, rolling foothills and canyons to steep, rugged mountains. Because of this elevation gradient, the wilderness reflects a transition between desert, coastal and mountain environments, including the different types of vegetation representative of each elevation.

Anderson Peak is a mountain on the Mount San Gorgonio crestline in Southern California's San Gorgonio Wilderness, which is part of the San Bernardino National Forest. It is 3.2 miles from Jepson Peak. Although not above the tree line, snow tends to cover the crest from the northern hemisphere early winter until late spring.

This is the highest peak in Southern California which was in the San Bernardino Mountains. It is one of the most topographically prominent peaks in the United States. The mountain has a pyramid shape, with a steep north face and a slightly shallower south face.

Oak Glen Preserve is one of 22 nature preserves owned and stewarded by The Wildlands Conservancy. The preserve is open to the public for passive recreation, including hiking, wildlife viewing, and picnicking.The garden contains a set of themed venues which are continually added. Within the 220 acres are oak woodlands, conifer forests, chaparral grasslands, redwood and sequoia trees, and two streams.

Los Rios Rancho is Southern California's largest Apple Farm in operation since 1906.It shares the property with the Oak Glen Preserve in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains. They specialize in historic entertainment and traditional farming using our agricultural heritage as a backdrop for our many public events and living history field trips.

Heaps Peak Arboretum has a diverse collection of mostly native trees, shrubs, wildflowers and other plants. It was Located on State Highway 18 west of the community of Skyforest. The star of the trail is a planted grove of sequoiadendron giganteum, or what us non-Latin speakers call giant sequoias. Sequoia Trail offers insights on other trees, like quaking aspen, incense cedar, dogwoods, firs, and several varieties of pine.

SkyPark at Santa's Village is an Outdoor Adventure Park with year-round mountain biking, hiking, fly fishing and open air activities in the Skyforest section of Lake Arrowhead, California. The Park resides on 230-acre of natural forest with meadowlands, ponds and an apple orchard. At the core of SkyPark is The Village, which includes historic log cabin restaurants and shops, seasonal entertainment, and open-air activities.

The 154,000-acre monument extends from Bureau of Land Management lands on the Sonoran desert floor up to over 10,000 feet in the San Gorgonio Wilderness on the San Bernardino National Forest.It protects diverse montane and desert habitats of the San Bernardino Mountains, southern Mojave Desert, and northwestern Colorado Desert.

Deep Creek Hot Springs are natural hot springs located in the northern Mojave Desert . They are in a large bouldered riparian zone, surrounded by a rich habitat ecotone of the xeric shrublands.

The Lincoln Memorial Shrine is a museum and research facility dedicated to Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. It focused on America’s 16th president and the war waged under his tenure to preserve our Union. The original building was a one-room octagon with a limestone exterior inscribed with quotes from Lincoln. It was gifted to the city in 1932 by Robert and Alma Watchorn, whose own story—and that of the shrine itself—is rather remarkable.

Kimberly Crest House & Gardens is a 6-¼ acre estate in Redlands, CA featuring a Victorian Chateau and Italian Renaissance styled gardens.The property is a registered California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.The three-story Victorian mansion was designed in the Châteauesque style by Oliver Perry Dennis and Lyman Farwell. The gardens that surround Kimberly Crest are exquisite examples of the Italian style.

Lake Gregory stands amid a cool cedar and pine forest in the San Bernardino Mountains. The lake and the surrounding area make up the Lake Gregory Regional Park adjacent to Crestline, California. Today, the Lake Gregory Recreational Park with swimming and water slides is at the west end of the lake and a walking trail encircles the lake. The south shore of the lake is a popular fishing destination. The regional park is the site of Crestline's Independence Day celebration.

The San Bernardino County Museum is a regional museum with exhibits and collections in cultural and natural history. The museum exhibits and collections draw from the rich cultural and natural history of San Bernardino County, the largest county in the United States. Permanent exhibits include biodiversity, minerals, history, and anthropology. Special exhibits include regional art, and stories related to Inland Southern California.

The McDonald's #1 Store Museum was housed in a replica of the former McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, opened by Ray Kroc in April 1955. Inside the museum is more than 80 years of artifacts. Everything ranging from the original BBQ-era to the current Happy Meal toy. Today, the original McDonalds location is still there, but now it's home to the Unofficial McDonald’s Museum. Emphasis on “Unofficial,” according to assistant curator Ezra Cabral.