SoCalSights

By Astrid · 7 places

7 Mountain Escapes From the Basin

Pines, granite, and ten degrees of relief

An hour up Highway 18 and the basin haze is a memory. The San Bernardinos hold alpine lakes, old growth, and hot springs in a range most people only visit for snow. I go up in every season, and these are the stops I keep returning to.

  1. A fiery orange sunset lights up streaked clouds over Big Bear Lake, with the dark silhouette of the pine-covered ridge stretching across the horizon. Two people sit in a canoe on the calm water, their boat reflected in the glowing lake surface.
    1

    Big Bear Lake

    Big Bear Lake North Shore

    Before sunrise the lake goes mirror-flat and Snow Summit doubles itself in the water. The pullouts along North Shore Drive mean the tripod is out in under a minute.

  2. Granite boulders and a few tall pine trees rise from a small peninsula in the middle of calm Big Bear Lake, with crisp reflections shimmering in the blue water. A dock juts in from the right, and forested mountains fill the background under a clear sky.
    2

    Big Bear Lake

    Boulder Bay at Big Bear

    Granite boulders wade out into the lake and hand you a foreground for free. In winter they rim with ice, which is worth the cold fingers.

  3. Two black bears rest on a pale granite boulder in a snowy pine forest, with one bear curled in the foreground and the other sitting alert behind it. Tall trunks and scattered snow create a quiet alpine scene.
    3

    Big Bear Lake

    Castle Rock Trail

    A steep mile buys you the whole Big Bear Valley from the top of a granite formation. Wear real shoes for the loose gravel and stay for the long view.

  4. An A-frame stone cabin sits among tall pine and cedar trees, with a steep shingled roof, large triangular windows, and a screened porch catching soft daylight. Green undergrowth and a few patches of snow frame the rustic house in the wooded mountainside setting.
    4

    Lake Arrowhead

    Lake Arrowhead Village Waterfront

    The lake is private, but the village promenade gives you the wooden docks and the Arrowhead Queen paddlewheeler against 780 acres of water and cedar forest.

  5. Sunlit black oak leaves in shades of yellow and green fill the foreground, with their lobed edges sharply detailed against a softly blurred forest backdrop. The warm morning light highlights the autumn color and the thin dark branches crossing the frame.
    5

    Lake Arrowhead

    Heaps Peak Arboretum

    A short paved trail through Jeffrey pine and old growth, with black oaks that turn the understory gold in fall. It is the gentlest walk in these mountains and one of the best.

  6. A calm mountain lake at sunrise glows gold under a streaked sky, with dark pine-covered hills framing the water on both sides. A few birds glide above the reflective surface, which catches the warm orange light in the foreground.
    6

    Big Bear Lake

    Bluff Lake Reserve

    A shallow meadow lake at 7,500 feet that reflects the ponderosas back at themselves. Register ahead with the Wildlands Conservancy; the friction keeps it pristine.

  7. Rocky desert canyon walls frame a series of clear geothermal pools and a narrow trickle of water spilling between pale, weathered boulders. Bright morning light highlights the layered stone and the green tint of the calm pool in the foreground.
    7

    Lake Arrowhead

    Deep Creek Hot Springs

    Geothermal pools beside a cold creek at the end of a four-mile canyon trail. In cool weather the steam rises off the water and the whole scene turns primordial.

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