Start from 36 curated places around Big Bear Lake, CA, then choose the recommendations that fit your guests.
Restaurants & cafés
Grizzly Manor Cafe
A tiny, sticker-plastered diner that is the default morning move in Big Bear, famous for pancakes the size of a pizza and portions built for a day on the slopes. Counter seats and a few booths only, so the line out front is part of the experience.
Café Crêpe
A small crêperie in the Village turning out both sweet and savory crepes to order, paired with espresso drinks that locals rate as the best in town. Seating is outdoor-only, so it is more of a grab-and-linger-on-the-patio spot than a sit-down breakfast.
Trails & outdoors
Bear Lake Woodland Trail
An easy, mostly flat loop on the north shore with numbered interpretive posts explaining the local trees and wildlife. It is the gentle introduction to the forest, short enough to do with kids or as a warm-up, and a good place to spot birds.
Alpine Pedal Path
A paved lakeside path along the north shore that is open to walkers, strollers, bikes, and wheelchairs, running from Stanfield Cutoff toward the Solar Observatory. Flat and scenic the whole way, it is the easiest way to get real lake views without any climbing.
Things to do
Snow Summit
The closer of the two big resorts above the Village, a full ski-and-snowboard mountain in winter that flips to a lift-served bike park and scenic chairlift in summer. The Scenic Sky Chair hauls you to 8,200 feet for ridgeline views and a summit taphouse, which makes it a year-round outing, not just a ski trip.
Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain
A year-round mountain playground just west of the Village built around a quarter-mile bobsled-style slide you ride down after a chairlift up. It stacks on a mountain coaster, go-karts, mini golf, and a summer water slide, with snow tubing in winter, so it absorbs a whole afternoon with kids.
Landmarks & sights
Big Bear Solar Observatory
A working solar research station built out on a causeway in the middle of the lake, with the white dome that shows up in every postcard of the north shore. You can walk or bike the Alpine Pedal Path right up to the gate for the view; the actual telescope tours run only a handful of dates a year and book out fast.
Big Bear Discovery Center
The Forest Service nature center on the quiet north shore, with hands-on exhibits about the local wildlife and a desk where you grab your Adventure Pass and trail beta. It is the logical first stop if you want a guided canoe outing, a junior-ranger activity for kids, or just a read on which trails are clear of snow.