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Bear Mountain, United States

Stay in Big Bear Lake: see the trip Its beds, the way there and every spot near it.

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About Bear Mountain

Village 2,178 m. Facts: verified.

A ski resort with its village at 2,178 m and its top at 2,680 m. It has 13 km of runs and 11 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 503 m, from 2,680 m to 2,177 m. For beginners and families: 73% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate). For experts: 4 km of advanced, expert and freeride runs. Within 5 km of the village: a sports or leisure centre, a ski school and childcare. It is usually in season from December to April. The town to stay in is Big Bear Lake.

Bear Mountain, formerly known as the Moonridge Ski Area (1943–1969), Goldmine Mountain (1970–1987), and Big Bear Mountain (1988–2001), is a ski area originally established in 1941 in the San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California, United States. It is located in the city of Big Bear Lake, approximately 2.4 miles east of Snow Summit and 14.8 miles east from Snow Valley. Together, the three ski areas are known as Big Bear Mountain Resort, which is part of Alterra Mountain Company.

From the Wikipedia article Bear Mountain (ski area), shortened. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

The ski area

Runs from 2,177 m to 2,680 m: 503 m of vertical. 13 km of runs and 11 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Bear Mountain.

Runs
Beginner0.4 km
Easy3.6 km
Intermediate5.8 km
Advanced1.8 km
Expert1.9 km
Lifts
Chairlifts7
Magic carpets4

Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area data © OpenSkiMap.org and OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

For families

73% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate).

Within 5 km of the village:

  • a sports or leisure centre: US Adaptive Recreation Center at Bear Mountain, 0.1 km
  • a ski school: Adventure Academy, 0.2 km
  • childcare: North Shore Christian Nursery, 4.5 km

The Family filter counts these. Places from the Overture Maps Foundation, from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and AllThePlaces. Foursquare data © 2024 Foursquare Labs, Inc., Apache 2.0. Check opening times before you go.

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Book the trip

From Chicago: about 7 h 30 door to door, one way. An estimate; the journey never changes the score.

  1. Fly. MDW to PSP, direct.

    See flights MDW → PSP · Skyscanner from about £210 returnAd

  2. Getting there. 1 h 35 from the airport to Bear Mountain.

    Car hire · Discover CarsAdTransfers · HoppaAd

  3. Accommodation.

    Stay in Big Bear LakeAd

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote.

    Room photos are examples, not these hotels (credits).

    See all places to stay on Booking.com →

    Closest towns to stay in

    Typical prices for a double room that month, not a quote. Drives are estimates.

  4. Hire, lessons and lift passes.

    Ski lessons in Big Bear Lake · GetYourGuideAdSki and board hire · SkisetAdLift passes · Resort website

Everything else for the trip

Where it is

Bear Mountain on Google Maps · Directions

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.

Forecast

The score, coloured as on the area pages:GoodFairPoor

DayScoreFresh72 hDepthtop, mid, baseColdestat topWindat top
Sun 18Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m5°C
Mon 19Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m5°C
Tue 20Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m5°C
Wed 21Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m3°C
Thu 22Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m2°C
Fri 23Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m1°C
Sat 24Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m3°C
Sun 25Oct00 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m4°C

Day scores here are the conditions out of 80; a trip's score on the results is the same conditions out of 100. The journey never scores. The forecast reaches about 10 days. Wind is in knots: 10 kn is about 19 km/h. The arrow points where the wind blows to.

Snow by month

MonthBase2,178 mMid2,429 mTop2,680 mColdestat the top
Decnonenonenone0°C
Jannonenonenone-1°C
Febnonenonenone-1°C
Marnonenonenone-2°C

Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.

Your trip, day by day

6 nights from Mon 19 Oct, leaving from Chicago. Change dates

  1. Mon 19 Oct
    Travel out

    Direct flight MDW to PSP, then 1h 35 by road. About 7h 30 door to door

  2. Tue 20 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  3. Wed 21 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  4. Thu 22 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  5. Fri 23 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  6. Sat 24 Oct
    Lifts closed

    Out of season.

  7. Sun 25 Oct
    Travel home

    Direct flight MDW to PSP, then 1h 35 by road. About 7h 30 door to door

Rough cost

About £1,955–£3,085 each for 6 nights, 2 people sharing a room. A guide from typical prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book.

WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn MDW to PSP, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag£210–£435
To the UK airportparking or the train, there and back£35–£65
Transfershared airport transfer, return£70–£120
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, shared£215–£360
Food7 days eating out£260–£480
Lift pass5 days£1,000–£1,350
Ski hire5 days, or about £85 to fly your own£165–£275
Total£1,955–£3,085

Prices from public sources, checked in 2026: where they come from. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra.

Book the trip

Getting thereAd

Flights · Skyscanner Car hire · Discover Cars

Airport to resortAd

Transfers · Hoppa

Where to stayAd

Places to stay · Booking.com Ski holidays · Crystal Ski

Lift passes

Lift passes · Resort website

On the snowAd

Ski lessons · GetYourGuide Ski and board hire · Skiset

KitAd

Ski kit · Ellis Brigham

Links marked Ad may pay us a small commission if you book. You pay the same price, and it never changes a score.