Big Bear is a cute town on the outskirts of Los Angeles. Its outdoors-focused vibe makes it a good weekend destination any time of year.

How long to stay?

We’ve been to Big Bear many times (including as children ourselves). Typically, we like to think of Big Bear as a good weekend getaway. That puts the optimal stay at around 2-3 days. Much of it depends on what you want to do in the city and on the lake.

Obviously, the activities vary significantly if you’re here in the winter vs. in the summer. The length of time to stay here also will vary accordingly. This isn’t as quite as good a ski destination as some other spots we’ve been to, but it’s certainly not bad.

What we did in Big Bear

Pine Knot Avenue

Pine Knot Avenue seems to be the happening place to go in Big Bear. There are plenty of restaurants and cute shops to go check out. Walking down the street ended up being a nightly routine for us, even just to people-watch. If you can secure a hotel within walking distance of this street, consider yourself pretty much set.

The one thing it’s missing is a grocery store that would easily help with stocking up your supplies for your stay. If you have a car, that’s thankfully not too far away, but you wouldn’t want to walk there.

Big Bear Lake

At the end of Pine Knot Ave is a short walking path to Big Bear Lake. On our most recent trip here, there were higher algae levels and we couldn’t go near the water. You’re not going to find a true beach, but the calm water makes for some nice photos if you can’t go in. If the water is calling for you, there are some water activities available, including fishing (one of Alex’s favorite to-dos).

There is a small playground nearby before you reach the pathway to the water, which the kids loved.

Fireworks over the lake

If your stay happens to coincide with a major US holiday, you might be in for a special treat. The city hosts fireworks over Big Bear Lake in the evening. In our case, we got a beautiful of the fireworks for Labor Day.

While you could go closer to the water to see the fireworks, they could be seen from pretty much anywhere in the small city. Our hotel room had an outdoor patio that faced the direction of the lake, allowing us to watch the magic from the comfort of our room. Being able to watch fireworks from our room is always an awesome experience.

Big Bear Alpine Zoo

The Big Bear Alpine Zoo is a cute, compact zoo open daily between 10AM and 4PM. At $16/adult and $11/child, it’s cheaper than your average zoo. Is it worth it? Yes and no. It’s good if you have interest in seeing bears. All the animals here are rescue animals, so it’s not like they took the animals out of captivity purely to put them on display.

Of course, sometimes you’ll also find animals that make you wonder “huh, I’ve never seen that at a zoo before”. Where else will you find a crow on display at a zoo? At least they didn’t paint the crows to try to pass them off as a different animal?

Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain

The one thing we didn’t get a chance to do that we will absolutely do the next time we’re in town is check out the Alpine Slide. If you’re driving into Big Bear via the southern end of the lake (the most common way when arriving from Los Angeles), you’re sure to pass by this. During winter months, you’ll find a snow activity center. Outside of snow season, you’ll find fun slides, go-karting, and mini golf.

Where we ate in Big Bear

Tropicali

A decent place to get poke bowls. I don’t think their website is all that helpful when it comes to trying to figure out their menu. Would it kill them to show pictures of the food and what’s inside the dishes rather than generic photos of stereotypes? The unfortunate thing is if you’re looking for fish (you’re at a poke place after all), all you’ll find is tuna. But you will find quite a few non-fish bowls such as beef and chicken.

They also place way too much weight on their accolades (proclaimed #1 poke restaurant in the USA and #1 restaurant in CA). It’s good, but not quite as good as claimed. We prefer the poke at your average supermarket in Hawaii for both variety of fish and taste.

If you can get past all that, you should be satisfied with your visit. We visited them at their prior location (Village Drive) and haven’t had a chance to see their new location (Big Bear Blvd).

Saucy Mama’s Pizzeria

A pizza restaurant on Pine Knot Avenue with a fun atmosphere. We ordered pizzas to take out from here (to eat back in our room). It’s a pizza-and-bar kind of place, with good pizzas mixed in with some pints of beer. (No, we didn’t take the pints back with us.)

In terms of flavor, it’s better than the usual stuff you get from chains. We tend to like more of your hole-in-the-wall types of pizza places that offer better flavor and dough. This one doesn’t disappoint and we would be open to returning.

Where we stayed in Big Bear

Bluegreen Vacations Big Bear Village (Choice Hotel)

You might immediately want to dismiss the hotel given its affiliation with Choice, which is best known for its collection of lower quality stays. If so, you’ll be surprised to know this is actually a pretty excellent property. It’s best suited for those bringing both friends and family as the rooms can get quite enormous. Looking for a multi-bedroom complex? Yeah, they have those at the same base price as a smaller room.

The hotel itself is in easy walking distance to Pine Knot Avenue, making your trip to Big Bear quite simple. We’ve stayed at this hotel a couple of times, making it our unofficial home away from home. It’s arguably the best place to spend your Choice points for those in the Los Angeles area.

For more information on the Bluegreen Vacations Big Bear Village, check out our post on the hotel.

What do you like to do in Big Bear?

Suggested reading:

• Other destinations we’ve visited
• Case in Point: The Way I Value Choice Privileges Points