Mountain resorts & communities
What actually sets Snow Summit, Bear Mountain and Snow Valley apart from each other, plus the twelve mountain communities that make up Big Bear Valley — from the lake-front Village to the quiet high-desert edge.
Snow Summit
Snow Summit sits on the lake's south shore, a short walk from the Village, with a base around 7,000 feet and a summit near 8,200 feet. Its south-facing slopes hold a broad spread of wide, consistently groomed intermediate cruisers alongside gentler beginner runs and a handful of steeper advanced pitches — this is the resort most families and cruising skiers gravitate to first. The season typically runs late November through early April, weather and snowmaking dependent. On-site amenities include a full-service day lodge, rental shop and ski/ride school, all a few minutes from Village dining and lodging. Reach it via SR-18 (Big Bear Boulevard) straight into the south-shore base area. Come summer, the same terrain becomes the Big Bear Bike Park — our live trail & bike-park status tracks its current lift-served hours.
Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain shares the south shore with Snow Summit but skews more advanced: it carries the valley's biggest vertical, with a summit close to 8,800 feet over a base near 7,100 feet, and is best known for one of Southern California's largest terrain-park programs — multiple progression zones running from beginner features up to expert big-air lines, alongside steeper natural pitches than its sister resort offers. Season timing mirrors Snow Summit's, typically late November into April. Its base area has its own day lodge, rentals and a ride school geared toward park and freestyle riders. Access is the same SR-18 corridor, continuing past Snow Summit's turnoff to Bear Mountain's own base parking.
Snow Valley
Snow Valley sits off SR-18 near Running Springs, roughly 20–25 minutes from the Big Bear Lake basin toward the Inland Empire side of the mountain — the closer option for a day trip from San Bernardino rather than an overnight stay in the Village. It's a smaller, family- and beginner-oriented resort with gentler overall grades, a lower base near 6,800 feet and summit near 7,800 feet, and it's long been known locally for dedicated tubing lanes run separately from its ski/ride terrain. Season length tracks the same weather-dependent late-fall-to-spring window as the lake-side resorts. On-site amenities include a day lodge and rental shop sized for first-timers and families rather than expert terrain seekers.
Mountain communities
Big Bear Lake
The valley's lake-front hub — home to the Village shopping and dining district and both lake-side ski resorts.
Big Bear City
The broader unincorporated valley east of the Village — mostly year-round residential, with the airport and county services.
Sugarloaf
A residential community on the valley's south-east edge below Sugarloaf Mountain, mostly quiet cabin streets.
Fawnskin
A small lakefront community on the north shore, known for a laid-back, less-commercial feel than the Village side.
Running Springs
A mountain community west along SR-18 near Snow Valley — the first stop coming up from the Inland Empire side.
Lake Arrowhead
A separate mountain-lake resort community west of Big Bear Valley proper, built around its own private lake and village.
Green Valley Lake
A small, quiet community tucked north of Running Springs, known for its namesake lake and low-key cabin character.
Seven Oaks
A remote community along the Santa Ana River drainage south of the main ridge, valued for its seclusion and river access.
Forest Falls
A community at the base of the San Bernardino Peak area, known for waterfall hikes and wilderness trailhead access.
Erwin Lake
A small residential lake community near Big Bear City, mostly private cabins ringing its namesake lake.
Crestline
A mountain community at the western end of the San Bernardino Mountains corridor, the first town most Inland Empire visitors reach coming up the grade.
Baldwin Lake
A high-desert-facing community on the valley's eastern edge near the dry lakebed of the same name, quieter than the lake-front side.
Browse the activities directory → for guided mountain-resort rentals, lift-ticket outfitters and other activity businesses in the valley.