Bear Mountain Ski Resort

Great place that is family friendly. All if the staff is super helpful. No matter whom I stopped to ask a question they went out of their way to answer and get me going into the right area.
Rental shop was great, big hint is to rent online so you do not have to fill out the paperwork. This allows you to move to the front of the line while others are doing the paper work.
Instructors personal styles are hit or miss but that is true no matter where you go. In general very good.
Only thing that could be better is more accessible bathrooms, plan ahead.

If you’re looking for open runs and trying to decide between Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, choose Snow Summit. Bear is really good for park, jumps, and half pipe. Bear is a lot more crowded too. Good thing is you can use your lift tickets at both parks.

Went here for the first time on my birthday Jan 30−31^st. FREE LIFT TICKET ON YOUR BIRTHDAY! I took lessons my first day, it was around 100 $. I thought it was worth the money, because our teacher was awesome & I actually learned a lot & am not falling on my butt anymore. really good investment. Went the second day & it was SNOWING, so it was so slippery riding out & it felt like hail was hitting our faces the whole time. DONT COME WHEN ITS SNOWING! IT WAS SUCH A SCARY EXPERIENCE. good thing my boyfriend had a 4wd, but everyone else’s chains/​cables broke, brakes broken, fell in a ditch, back into a tree, stuck in mud etc… you wouldn’t believe how many people we had to rescue. and driving in the snow was the slowest & toughest drive. went 5−10mph everywhere we went. We were suppose to leave at 2pm but ended up leaving at 11pm from all the delays.
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went again & usually the workers are all pretty cool. except this old guy checking our lift tickets, he was such a douche! someone ask him for help with their bindings & he just said «no that’s not my job» –_​_​_​– nothing I hate more than rude people.

The slopes were so nice! Perfect weather.
Only reason I give a three star is because two people working the board/​boot section for boarders on a Saturday??? You need at least two more employees as I waited in line for an hour to get my boots. I waisted ¼ of the time in line when I could’ve been boarding

I went this past weekend and here are the break downs:
–Extremely busy, especially on weekends so expect a large crowd
–Snow starts to get slushy and icy around the early afternoon so come early
–Less of a powder experience, if you’re from a snowy state, you know what I mean
–Rentals are straight forward but bring your own, they’re not great
–Day pass can get pricey if you’re with a large group
–It closes pretty early since it gets dark earlier

Marci at guest services gets five stars from our family! She was friendly and very helpful when we came to her with a problem with our online reservations.
Quality customer service made our entire experience a great one! Thanks Marci!

There were 7 of us; 4 adults & 3 children (ages 3 – 7) that spent a 3-​day weekend in Big Bear. We rented a condo near Bear Mountain and purchased lift tickets & lesson packages online prior to our arrival.
The weather couldn’t have been better and the snow was the best we’ve seen in years!
The adults enjoyed taking snowboarding lessons and the kids loved their skiing lessons as well! It’s amazing how fast they pick it up!!!
What stands out to me about this place is the staff. EVERYONE from the ladies who process you for ski school, to the guys who measure you for equipment rentals to the ski/​snowboard instructors are SINCERELY FRIENDLY & HELPFUL :)
Recommendation: if you are planning to take skiing/​snowboarding lessons on the weekend… ONLY DO PRIVATE!!! I cannot stress this enough because it’s soooooo busy that the classes are very full & you don’t get as much attention as you would during the week or in a private lesson.

Once upon a time there was no such thing as snowboarding. Then Roger Moore broke off a chunk of ice and slalomed down an iceberg to his waiting submarine in A VIEW TO A KILL. Suddenly the whole world needed to snowboard, and by the 1990s Southern Californians quickly ditched their skis for the thrill of flying down the hill with their feet precariously strapped to a board. Today, it seems that boarders outnumber skiers at nearly every California ski resort. However, nowhere is that illusion more real than here — the All Mountain Freestyle Park of Bear Mountain. Bear lives and dies by the board, as does its rating.
Though a mere mile separates Bear from its sister resort at Snow Summit, the vibe couldn’t be more different. This is college land — and the skier will often feel like a geriatric opera goer at a rave as boarders of varying skill but universal audacity drop and roll past you in time to the heavy bass electric lines of music at «The Scene.» Truly, skiers are outnumbered by boarders at a rate of 10 to 1, and all but five runs have some sort of terrain feature resting somewhere. I wiped out several times after hitting rolls and features I did not expect to pop up on the average intermediate runs — a little embarrassing but the features aren’t flagged well. But this is the «All Mountain Freestyle Park,» so I had to expect that… That aside, there are an impressive array of features. If I was a boarder with any freestyle skill, this place would be awesome. Think South Park at Mammoth — that’s the average size of a feature.
Terrain parks aside, Bear is a rather uniform mountain: if the runs aren’t one of several indistinguishable winding, gladed runs through the massive terrain parks served by Chair 9, they are alpine steeps of impressive length. Indeed, these steeps alone are a reason for a skier to visit — the runs are the longest in Southern California outside of Mt. Baldy (which is so rarely passable that it barely deserves mention), averaging 1 mile in length from top to bottom. The ‘expert’ runs of Geronimo off Bear Peak (fun fact: Bear Peak is actually called «Sugarlump» on the USGS map… I guess that name wasn’t awesome enough to market the tallest lift served peak in Socal) drop 1.5 miles and 1650 feet in elevation — a length long enough to provide a five minute descent… unexpected after the super short runs at Summit. Similarly, the Exhibition and Ripcord runs off Silver Mountain provide additional alpine steeps. Experts take note — «expert» here means moguls; the pitch of the run is more of an easy black. On days where natural snow is plentiful, the canyons separating the trio of «peaks» provide true, gladed tree skiing. The signs may sound ominous with their «this is your final warning» but it’s the closest you’ll come to lift-​served backcountry in Socal. And it’s a blast. The steeps and canyons alone earn Bear it’s 3 stars.
The lift system is redundant and rather slow. Chair 9 and 6 provide express access, but the remainder of the mountain are slow, two person deals. You will spend a lot of time resting. The views of Big Bear Lake are not as unencumbered as at Summit, but the views of San Gorgonio to the South are spectacular.
The base area is another «village» like at Summit, but is quite grungy in comparison. The cafeteria, with its beige plaster and dark posts feels rather dungeon-​like and lacks any aesthetic value. The bar upstairs is markedly better, but rowdy in the college vein. Tickets and rentals are all available for one stop shopping, which is a pleasant arrangement. And parking is far better here than at Summit. However, it all feels like the 1970s structure it undoubtedly is. Desperately needs a refurb.
From a service perspective, Bear is less gracious than even Snow Summit. Only one lift operator and a couple snow patrolers seemed to enjoy their job. Everyone else seemed to be content with going through the motions and ignoring guests, coming across as being incapable of providing a level of service even commensurate with that of a Downtown LA parking attendant.
Of the four Mammoth Resorts, Bear is perhaps the redheaded stepchild — it is geared to the young college set, and therefore it seems like they know they don’t have to try as hard. But that is a shame — its steeps alone render it more fun than Summit, and there is so much potential here… even if I am doomed to be run over by snowboarders and die a quick death by flying off an unseen roller. Socal resorts don’t have to do much to win over an audience — the fact they exist at all is enough. And this resort has the best terrain of the resorts that can be dependended upon to be open on a regular basis. But until service and facilities improve, this is a resort that is merely resting on its laurels. It is fun and worthwhile as a day trip (especially if you have the Mammoth annual pass) for Geronimo alone, but I wouldn’t pay extra for it until certain things improve.

I came yesterday and I LOVED IT!
I went to Snow Summit beginning of the month and comparing the 2 I would come to Bear Mountain 100% over Snow Summit.
#1 thing is that the bathrooms are larger and cleaner.
Slopes actually have some distance to the bottom as I tried bunny, intermediate express, and expert.
I am in no way any good at snowboarding but this resort helped me get the basics down!
I will definitely be back here.

I love Big Bear.
Sure it’s not as great as other resorts, but if you live in Socal and aren’t planning on making a 6+ hour long adventure up North, then this is your best bet!
I’m not the best at boarding. Just got the hang of carving, and can go a good speed as long as the mountain isn’t too steep. Bear has the difficulty level that suits me.
Get there early to grab parking! Or else you’ll have to park at the bottom lot and get shuttled up. Or worse yet, park on the street on those super busy days.
Tip: Grab a 4 pack of tickets from Costco to save you a bit of money!

This is the best place to go if you LOVE traffic, arrogant drivers, no parking, and people with no common sense granted you come right after it freshly snows. You’ll see people without chains trying to make it up without checking conditions first thus slowing everyone down.
You’ll have to be stuck in traffic for at least 2 – 3 hours. The other thing is the snow gets packed down so it lasts longer and doesn’t make such a difference to where people would really notice.
Aside from that the mountain is great. Good runs if and when you can make it past the swarms of people.
Suggestion:
Build a parking structure to accommodate all the cars coming up and for people without chains to get chains. Stop cutting people off too, if there’s one line going up, you’re wait time statistically is going to be the same as if you didn’t cut someone off.

I only come occasionally here but every time I do, it’s always packed! Lifts are sometimes a 15−20min wait and the slopes are over saturated with people.
Beware coming here after snowstorms or busy weekends because everyone will come up! I tried taking new boarders down before and it’s extremely hard when you have so many people sitting down on the slopes and block part of the slope way.
The people are are extremely cordial though! Very nice and are always glad to help. I wish that they would do something about board safety though. I’ve had friends have their board taken when they go inside to eat or use the bathroom and have to hunt it down because someone «accidentally» took the wrong board. I know there’s designated areas to leave the boards but there really needs to be another system to do this!

After a few seasons of poor conditions the mountains finally got blasted with some snow this last week. Unfortunately this meant that all snow enthusiasts across socal and beyond would flock to the mountain resorts and catch some sessions before the good stuff melts.
This was my first time at Bear and I don’t think I would ever consider returning during weekends/​peak days. The conditions were pretty good, but the crowds and parking access really blow.
The closest parking is over a half a mile away and you have to fight for a parking space, and hope the lot doesn’t get full. You will also wait a while for the tram (which is just a flat bed truck with rails) where you will be rounded up and herded together like cattle.
I would have rated better but the crowding and parking situation really need improvement.
The resort is quite aways from the main road, and I didn’t get very good cell coverage I have AT&T, my buddy has Verizon and had full strength.
They have a few express lifts, the more difficult/​advanced runs are located on the right side of the mountain and the easier beginner runs on the left side.
Overall it was a fun time, I got the ticket deal through Costco, but don’t think I would consider paying the full price.
They also have a shuttle which runs from Bear to Snow Summit but it seldomly runs and takes a while to get between resorts especially on a weekend after/​during a storm
I would return but definitely during the week or possibly for a night run.

1^st Timer! (been awhile since i’ve hit the slopes)
Such a close drive from San Diego only took 2 hours to get here to play in the snow and get some shreds in for snowboarding. We left at 530am to get to Bear around 730am. This place doesn’t open till 9am so we had time to get situated and put on our gear.
Lift tickets are quite expensive however, luckily military discount is honored during the holiday New Years Weekend.
Came here after New Years Day 2016 and was it packed. Plenty of lifts but most popular ones took about 10−15mins to get on. But surely time passed by and it wasn’t a big deal to stand in line especially trying to catch your breath.
Chairs 2 and 5 were my favorite. Kinda steep but i prefer more hills than flat surface.
They had a DJ bumpin’ music around. Nice lounge and outdoor bars. Inside had a cafeteria, with a coffee shop, and other goodies to try to carb up for your next run.
Hopefully get to come back in the near future.

I’ve always loved Bear Mountain. However, ever since Mammoth bought them out rules and regulations have changed. Conditions on the mountain were icy on Christmas Eve. Typically, if conditions are undesirable or unsafe, the customer gets a refund if they’ve skiied within the 90 minute time limit. However, looks like they’ve changed their refund policy for the past two years. Conditions were dangerous and we were stuck with skiing in these circumstances. D:
No hour-​limit if conditions are bad, and no vouchers for an alternate day pass. Great.
In addition, the shuttle between Bear and Summit is every 45 minutes now instead of every 15… looks like we’ll be waiting a while.

My boi wanted to go snowboarding just before his vacation was over. Good thing about it was that we went when it was his BIRTHDAY! You know what that means right? FREE LIFT TICKET YOUR BDAY!
I actually like this better than summit. There were a lot of slopes to go on and they were pretty forgiving when you fall. Also, people who are advanced can do tricks on ramps and such. We are definitely coming back this weekend on the 9^th since they’re getting a lot of snow this week.

Great place to go if you can get deals on ski lift tickets and rentals, but otherwise I think it’s a huge ripoff LOL $ 80 for an adult ski lift ticket??? Seriously???
I had a group of 21 people snowboarding and we submitted all of our paperwork three days before we went up to the mountain (minimum of 72 hours for reserving ski lift tickets!). Our total for ski lift tickets came out to be $ 34/​person for half day and rental package with boots and snowboard was an additional $ 20. This deal applies to any group larger than 15 people but they still encourage you to call in and ask for a price quote if your group is smaller than 15. (Costco also has a ski lift package for four people, $ 189.99 total!).
Going up to the mountain you’ll see three huge surface lifts accompanying the three different levels of slopes. The advanced slope contains jumps, rails, and boxes for any freestyle rider. Bunny and intermediate slopes were basically wide terrains for a straight run. Almost no wait for lifts and there’s a huge bar serving drinks.
Overall, I don’t have anything to complain about outside of my aching body but that’s my fault for just sucking at life and at snowboarding. If you’re interested in night boarding, you should check out Snow Summit! According to my friends, «that’s where the big boys go» lol.

Home away from home.
Went to opening day on Friday the 13^th! Two runs open. And the snow was more than decent for being opening day and it being mid November!
Had a great time! Picked up my season pass. Which took 45 mins because the computers were being slow, but hey… Besides that I can’t complain. Been coming here for 12 years now. Love boarding, love the atmosphere! Their bloody Mary’s are bomb!
Bear over Summit

It was my first time snowboarding ever a couple weeks ago, so my boyfriend and I decided to head to Bear Mountain. It was a peak weekend, so the place was packed. We were there from around 1 PM — 4:30 PM, so we got the half day pass, which definitely saved us some money. Since we’re not avid snowboarders, we also had to rent gear, which also cost us $ 35 each.
Bear Mountain is great for beginners, as there are a bunch of classes you can take for skiing or snowboarding. I didn’t sign up for any classes, and just had my boyfriend teach me. I have to say though, snowboarding is more difficult that it looks. I walked in, thinking it was a piece of cake since I sort of already know how to skateboard. But once you get the hang of it, it’s a piece of cake. I left at the end of the day with bruised knees, sore arms, and a sore butt. :O
Since the weather in SoCal is hot year round, there was man made snow. It was a bit slushy at some parts, but overall, it wasn’t bad at all. What bummed me out was that it started snowing the day I was leaving Big Bear. Oh well, next year!
There’s food here, for if you’re hungry and want to grab a bite. I didn’t get anything, but from what I smelled and saw, there were burgers and hot dogs. And if you’re over 21, there’s also alcohol. I guess riding down the slopes a bit tipsy would be sort of fun?
Parking here can get a bit difficult. If you want to park up close near the entrance, then you need to get here early. Since my boyfriend and I came here at around 1 PM, we drove around for a while to find a spot. There is also a parking lot about 5 – 10 minutes away. If you park there, there are shuttles that will take you to Bear Mountain!

The Bear went over the mountain to see what he could see the other side of the mountain was all that he could see so he went back over the mountain to see what he could see!
Bear mountain is an awesome place for those who are wanting to learn how to ski or snowboard as it’s packed full of beginner runs that aren’t steep but more so kinda flat on one side of the mountian.
The side that has the beginner slopes is also the way to get up to the black diamond runs like Geronimo which in my opinion has to be the best run on the mountain! We skied down Geronimo quite a few times as it’s gotta be their most challenging run and it’s not even that challenging for anyone who’s medium to advanced. Overall it’s a great run and pretty much where we spent most of the day.
The other side of the mountain is more or less the park that’s full of half pipes, boxes, rails, and a few random old cars for you to get your grind on!
The majority of the lifts are high speed quads that definitely help the lines move quickly and get you up on the slopes.
Over the years I’ve been to Bear quite a few times and it’s always been quite fun, but this previous visit was just radical it was definitely one of the warmest days I’ve skied in a long time so warm that I was in a t shirt! If the awesome weather wasn’t enough it was KROQ Storms Bear mountain day and they brought out The Offspring and a few other bands to play for the masses! Offspring was awesome as always and sounded quite good on the deck!
Bear is pretty spectacular for a few reasons as this mountain has runs for every level of skier or boarder as well as they do an awesome job making snow to keep the runs covered even in this warm Cali drought! Mad props for that because I’m sure it’s not easy to keep the snow cool!
Who knows when I will be back at Bear but you can definitely count on me coming back to shred up some runs with friends as its always a good time on the mountain and the lifts!