If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to dig out your skis. We last spotted them hanging behind your tent and precariously close that old can of paint in the garage. This is the one time it’s truly fun to dig through the garage, because those slopes won’t ski themselves.
With the opening of ski season comes some of the best times in Big Bear. The holidays are magical in the forest, and there’s plenty of fun things to do off the slopes as well. Some of our properties have their own private sledding slopes where you can walk out back with the kids and start your snow adventures right away.
If you’d like to have a great time with the family snow tubing, Big Bear Snow Play is a great choice. They’re open daily from 10am to 4pm with night time glow tubing on weekends from 5pm to 9pm. We especially like Big Bear Snow Play because their “magic carpet” transports you back to the top of hill after your run to enjoy another wild ride down the hill. And the glow tubing after dark makes it even more fun.
A winter visit to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo can be another great excursion for the family. The animals often exhibit different behaviors during snowy times, and the keepers still schedule informative presentation in the amphitheater every day with one of the zoo’s animals. The zoo is a great opportunity to get up close with some of the wildlife that roams the forest and hill surrounding Big Bear. Visit their website for more info at this link.
Do you have fond memories of family bowling nights? We sure do, and it’s another great activity you can plan during your Big Bear stay. The Bowling Barn has 16 lanes with computerized scoring. There’s also an arcade for the kids and the Alley Oops Sports Bar with darts, pool tables, and HD tv’s to watch sporting events. And it’s all fun and games until somebody keeps throwing gutter balls. Check out their website at this link.
You can start your next getaway by viewing all of our Big Bear cabins and luxury estates at this link.  Or give us a call at 310-780-3411, and weâll help you choose a great property for your perfect holiday getaway.  And if youâd like to explore any of our other destinations, you can be assured that weâre committed to providing top quality cabins, estates, and condos for your next vacation getaway. We have offices in Newport Beach and Big Bear. Here are links to our properties in Nuevo Vallarta and La Quinta.
Many of us have fun memories of large family get togethers that ended up with aunts and uncles sleeping on sofas with living room furniture moved to make way for rollaways and inflatable beds. While the memories are often fond ones, the aches, pains, and lost sleep from the makeshift sleeping arrangements are not. It takes just one guest like our Uncle Harry sawing logs all night to make the next day a bit more bleary eyed for the rest of us.
Christmas in Big Bear is truly magical. We usually have a good amount of snow. And there are hillsides and fields all around the area ready for your family’s downhill slides, snowball fights, and building a youngster’s first snow man. The Village is a great destination for great shopping, meeting Santa, and enjoying a fine meal.
But the best part of the experience is the time you’ll enjoy with your friends and family. Choose a property with plenty of room for everyone, and the morning grumbling will change from lost sleep and a line for the bathroom to the bad jokes dad is telling and shooing the kids away from the presents. It’s a great difference and a Christmas you’ll all remember with smiles.
As we welcome the month of November, our thoughts necessarily turn to the holidays. We’ve been not so subtly reminded of their pending arrival as we go about our usual shopping with their yearly push of holiday merchandise. But now really is the best time to plan your holiday getaway.
Big Bear is our most popular destination, and Thanksgiving usually finds snow on the ground making the experience that much better. If you’ve never greeted a Thanksgiving or Christmas morning with a snow-covered view out your windows and a roaring fire in the fireplace, it is truly an experience you should put on your bucket list. With cups of steaming coffee and hot chocolate shared among your family and friends, it’s impossible to stop the great stories of shared childhood experiences, loving memories of those we miss, and excitement about what our shared futures hold. It’s just a better experience. As the season progresses our availability gets scarcer, so it’s wise to make your plans early.
All of our properties come with fully-equipped kitchens, so you can encourage the chefs in your group to dive in, and create a great Thanksgiving or Christmas morning buffet. After your meal, bundle up and go for a great walk through the pines as the kids tag along throwing the occasional snowball or pleading with you to build a snowman back at the cabin. It’s a holiday time everyone will fondly remember and want to repeat every year.
Oktoberfest
Celebrate Veteran’s Day on November 11th at 11am with The American Legion Riders. Everyone is invited to join in at Veterans Park with veterans and families of service personnel – past and present – to participate in a procession and ceremony. The American Legion Riders Chapter 584 and the City of Big Bear Lake will host this special program that honors our Veterans who have served and who are serving in the Armed Forces to protect our nation. For any additional information, please email alrchapter584@gmail.com
November 29 through December 1st enjoy the 35th Annual Big Bear Mountain Christmas Boutique at the Big Bear Convention Center. With over 50 arts and crafts vendors, the Mountain Christmas Boutique offers a variety of truly unique, handmade gift items and collectibles. And the kids will enjoy free visits with Santa and holiday arts and crafts.
The ski season officially opens this year on November 23rd. Early snow can push this forward, but late snow usually means the slopes will be machine groomed to start. Either way, our skiers will want to make sure they grab one of our great locations for the season. If you’ve ever skied Snow Summit or Bear Mountain, you’ve surely noticed there are cabins lining the slopes and a community of cabins within walking distance. As you can imagine, these are ideal for skiers, and here are a couple we rent:
A common feature of every hotel is the fact that you’re sharing the space with other people. And sometimes you’re sharing the space with a lot of other people. Even the finest hotels have common hallways, and if you’re unfortunate enough to get a room adjacent to the elevator or stairwell, you can count on a steady flow of traffic past your room at all hours. This is especially bad if you have the misfortune to choose your stay at the same time as a group like the Duluth Yodeler’s Association. They’re a fun group, but a bit less fun when they’re yodeling in the hallway outside your room at 3am.
Sometimes a hotel is the best choice if you’re staying in a downtown area, but with the right planning, you can often find a good vacation rental even in those locations. Mornings in most hotel rooms start with formulating a plan for breakfast that typically involves going to a local restaurant. And during busy times, it involves waiting for a table at that restaurant. With your vacation rental, you greet each morning with all the conveniences of home. A quick stop by the market on your way in, and you’ll have a full kitchen stocked with all you need to make your own breakfast. While you’re still in your pajamas, and without waiting for a table.
This is especially true when you plan a big family, work, or church event around your vacation rental. Finding rooms for a dozen people can be very expensive and involves lots of logistics to get everyone in the same place at the same time for meals, meetings, and activities. Many of our properties have room for a dozen guests or more, so even our most expensive properties suddenly become less expensive than a basic motel room when the cost is shared across a large group. And you’ll have the added benefit of spending more time together, which is probably the main reason you planned your event anyway, right?
It can be a real problem trying to put together the lodgings for a larger group, and many planners can face challenges keeping their group close together. Because we have a large presence in our markets, we have some great choices that alleviate this problem. With some advance planning, we can accommodate groups of more than 20 guests in side-by-side cabins in 
The advantages of choosing Five Star Vacation rentals extend beyond the convenience of the sleeping arrangements. It also helps foster a better group experience. Most of our properties have barbecues, and nearly all of our desert properties have private pools as well. Instead trying to find a meeting room or venue, many of our properties are well-equipped to host large dinners and meetings with your group. We’ve seen weddings, reunions, church retreats, and company gatherings hosted in our properties. While there’s room for a big group, there’s still the intimacy of a private home or estate to keep your group feeling pampered.
And that pampered feeling is something we’re convinced you’ll be unable to duplicate in any other type of lodging. Even the finest hotels can’t offer private pools, full chef’s kitchens, and an assortment of pool tables, foosball, fireplaces, and other amenities you can really only find in a luxury cabin or estate. Your group will be awed by the way our properties make them feel, and you’ll be praised for making such a great choice.
The Budenstrasse (Avenue of the Booths) is designed for the entire family with lots of special treats just for the kids. You’ll find arts, crafts, collectibles and trinkets for mom and dad. The kids will love the carnival games, taking a turn on Samson the Mechanical Bull, the bounce house, balloon artist, face painting and airbrushed tattoos.
If you’re planning to arrive on Friday for the long weekend, there’s plenty of great events to kick off your stay. Art on the Corner in the Heart of Big Bear Village on the corner of Village Drive and Pine Knot Avenue. Fine art and craftsmanship will be featured in a variety of mediums. Enjoy a glass of beer or wine, listen to the music and browse the wonderful artwork. Proceeds to benefit the Bear Valley Guild for the Arts and the Open Sky Music Foundation. No charge to wander.
On Saturday, August 31st, we recommend a visit the 10th Annual “Cool Run in the Mountains” Car Show at the Big Bear Convention Center. All cars are welcome to register and participate, and you can expect to see a wide variety of restored classics, customs, and oddities as well. This is always a huge hit, and many of the owners hang around to answer questions and explain their restorations.
The ads are unavoidable, and it’s unmistakable that the lazy, hazy days of summer are waning. Back to school season is upon us with all the flyers in the mail, the extra shopping trips, and the annual reworking of our schedules. But there’s still time to plan one last family getaway before the bell rings on that first day back to school. Put us on your back to school shopping list, and you can end the summer on a great note.
Golfers can also enjoy the 9 hole course at the base of Bear Mountain throughout the summer. This is a delightful course that offers some of the most amazing scenery you’ll find on any southland course. Have fun brushing up on your game with their 300 yard driving range and areas for chipping, putting, and bunker practice zones.