EISPIRATEN

My wife and I will be up in Big Bear for the weekend and want to do a few good hikes. Scenic, water, minor snow. We do Baldy, Ice house, Wilson and such on a regular basis, to give you an idea of our skill/ability level.

Any help would be appreciated. Directions to trail head, photo pages of hike, whatever.

Thanks.

cr2crf wrote: ↑My wife and I will be up in Big Bear for the weekend and want to do a few good hikes. Scenic, water, minor snow. We do Baldy, Ice house, Wilson and such on a regular basis, to give you an idea of our skill/ability level.

Any help would be appreciated. Directions to trail head, photo pages of hike, whatever.

Thanks.

On the north side of the lake is the visitors center, you can park there and walk up hill for 1.5 miles to the PCT and from there you can go in either direction. The views of the whole lake are outstanding from that side, you can also "Google" Holcum Valley http://www.bigbearcountry.com/holcomb.html and you can hike through some of the old gold country up there. The ranger station/visitors center has maps of all that area. Those are the only two I can think of right now.

Check out the Hundred Peaks Section of the Sierra Club website:

http://angeles.sierraclub.org/hps/hpslist.htm

The Sugarloaf is one of the classics in the area. Probably it's on the HPS site.

HJ

As mentinoed above, try the north side of the lake. The Vistors center (actually the Big Bear Discovery Center) is there, and you can get a map and tourist info. If you're in the vicinity of an AAA office (and are a member) get a copy of the San Bernadino Mtns Vistors Guide; it'll show you streets, AND the general location of hiking trails. You also need an Adventure PAss to park in any of the public access parking lots.

Cougar Crest Trail/Bertha Peak - PArking lot is just 1/2 mile west of the Vistors Center parking lot, and it fill up fast on weekends. Follow the Cougar Crest Trail up about 1.5 miles and you'll intersect the PCT. Go east on the PCT, then up the fire road, and you'll reach the summit of Bertha Peak. Walk around the radio complex on top for great views of the Big Bear Lake area, and Holcomb Valley to the north. 5 miles (?) RT.

Gray's Peak - farther west, near Grout Bay. A three mile trail leads from the parking lot to Grays Peak summit. Not much view due to all the trees, but it is shaded all the way. 6 miles RT.

Gold Mtn - Might be tough to find, but the least traveled trail. Drive to the east, north side of Baldwin Lake, and turn up the east end of Holcomb Valley road towards the Big Bear dump (yeah, the dump!). Drive up about 1 miles and look for a White Post on either side of the road wher the PCT crosses; if you get to the entrance to the dump you've gone about 200 yds too far. Park in the dirt off the road and hike up the trail on the WEST side of the road. It'll eventually come to a steep fire road, hike SOUTH up this until it flattens out, then hike xc to the EAST to Gold Mtns true summit. Great view of the Big bear Valley. About 6 miles RT.

Also, the 'gold route' drive through Holcomb Valley is an interesting lesson in local history. Pick up a driving guide at the Visitor's center, download a copy at the Big Bear Discovery Center website. A few hours long, take some water and a lunch. Accessable by passenger car. Watch out for MTBr's on the road - one of 'em might be me!

Pine knot to grand view point, is a really easy scenic hike with a pretty view at the end. I think it's like 6 miles r/t, on the south end of big bear lake.

atomicoyote wrote: ↑As mentinoed above, try the north side of the lake. The Vistors center (actually the Big Bear Discovery Center) is there, and you can get a map and tourist info. If you're in the vicinity of an AAA office (and are a member) get a copy of the San Bernadino Mtns Vistors Guide; it'll show you streets, AND the general location of hiking trails. You also need an Adventure PAss to park in any of the public access parking lots.

Cougar Crest Trail/Bertha Peak - PArking lot is just 1/2 mile west of the Vistors Center parking lot, and it fill up fast on weekends. Follow the Cougar Crest Trail up about 1.5 miles and you'll intersect the PCT. Go east on the PCT, then up the fire road, and you'll reach the summit of Bertha Peak. Walk around the radio complex on top for great views of the Big Bear Lake area, and Holcomb Valley to the north. 5 miles (?) RT.

Gray's Peak - farther west, near Grout Bay. A three mile trail leads from the parking lot to Grays Peak summit. Not much view due to all the trees, but it is shaded all the way. 6 miles RT.

Gold Mtn - Might be tough to find, but the least traveled trail. Drive to the east, north side of Baldwin Lake, and turn up the east end of Holcomb Valley road towards the Big Bear dump (yeah, the dump!). Drive up about 1 miles and look for a White Post on either side of the road wher the PCT crosses; if you get to the entrance to the dump you've gone about 200 yds too far. Park in the dirt off the road and hike up the trail on the WEST side of the road. It'll eventually come to a steep fire road, hike SOUTH up this until it flattens out, then hike xc to the EAST to Gold Mtns true summit. Great view of the Big bear Valley. About 6 miles RT.

Also, the 'gold route' drive through Holcomb Valley is an interesting lesson in local history. Pick up a driving guide at the Visitor's center, download a copy at the Big Bear Discovery Center website. A few hours long, take some water and a lunch. Accessable by passenger car. Watch out for MTBr's on the road - one of 'em might be me!

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. The weather looks great and we are ready to get out of town.

Every suggestion made thus far looks good.

My favorite in the Big Bear area is the Sugarloaf. It's well forested and more scenic than some of the other hikes in the area. It's not as popular as the more well known hikes in the nearby San Gorgonio Wilderness to the south, but the scenery is in many was reminiscent of the SGW. It is high, nearly 10,000' at the summit, so you will get into more high mountain type scenery than the hikes to the north of Big Bear. It's also considerably more well watered. The down side is that there will be more snow.

On the map link above, if the road is open, you can start at "D".

Otherwise, find a pull out on Hwy 38 near "A". There was a hole in the livestock fence last I was there, but the fence is a low one and can be climbed if need be. Head up toward the group camp "C" and continue up the drainage to the road.

Follow the old jeep trail, taking care NOT to turn off on the old mine road at "F". Did that once. It was miserable.

From the saddle at "I", head west along the ridge. From the ridge, there are fabulous views to the south of the SGW high country, the highest in Southern California.

Speaking of the SGW, some of the best hiking in all of Southern California is in the SGW. The trails of the SGW are only 30 minutes from Big Bear via Hwy 38. You do need permits to hike within the Wilderness, though.

HJ