San Bernardino National Forest
Managed by United States Forest Service
4,098 acres6.1 mi of trail
Scandia Court
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: BigBearCabins · CC BY-SA 4.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Lake has 6.4 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: San Bernardino National Forest (6.1 mi). 5% of Big Bear Lake’s land is conserved, about 218 acres. 41 acres are parks and preserves, 8.2 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns · #434 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
5%
218 acres · of 6.3 sq mi of land
Trails
6.4 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
41 ac
8.2 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
56%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.0 mi
2.7 mi lanes · 1.3 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Big Bear Lake?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Big Bear Lake have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Big Bear Lake is ahead of 61% of U.S. towns, #434 of 847 in California. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Big Bear Lake’s overall grade.
Conserved land5% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (6 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land8.2 acres of park per 1,000 residents (41 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home56% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 61%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 49%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is San Bernardino National Forest, with 6.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Meadow Park
Managed by County of San Bernardino
9 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Boulder Bay Park
Managed by City of Big Bear Lake
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Big Bear Senior Center
Managed by County of San Bernardino
3 acres
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 6 parks & preserves
San Bernardino National Forest4,098 acres · 6.1 mi of trail · United States Forest Service
DirectionsRotary Park1 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Big Bear Lake
DirectionsMeadow Park9 acres · County of San Bernardino
DirectionsBoulder Bay Park3 acres · City of Big Bear Lake
DirectionsBig Bear Senior Center3 acres · County of San Bernardino
DirectionsVeterans Park1 acres · City of Big Bear Lake
DirectionsWho protects it
218 conserved acres
5% of Big Bear Lake’s land. Who manages Big Bear Lake’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits245 ac
U.S. Forest Service58 ac
Town or city26 ac
Regional agency10 ac
Conservation Easement · 243 acNational Forest · 58 acLocal Park · 32 acLocal Recreation Area · 3 acPrivate Conservation · 2 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 123 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Bernardino National Forest National Forest | U.S. Forest Service | 58 | Open |
| Animal Park Local Park | Town or city | 17 | Open |
| Meadow Park/ Ski Beach Park Local Park | Regional agency | 10 | Open |
| Boulder Bay Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Happy Hills Trail Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 3 | Open |
| Bear Valley (Eagle Point) Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
| Big Bear Eagle Point Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 1 | Closed |
| Veteran's Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Rotary Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
8 places to go in Big Bear Lake
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Big Bear Lake
4 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Bark ParkIn Meadow Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Big Bear Lake
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 1.5 mi
Scandia Court0.1 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.7 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
17Tennis
3Basketball
2Soccer
2Volleyball
1Equestrian
1Baseball
1Football
1Beach volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in Big Bear Lake: May to August
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 48 | 48 | 52 | 58 | 66 | 75 | 80 | 79 | 74 | 64 | 55 | 47 |
| Rain (in) | 5.1 | 5.6 | 3.3 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 3.7 |
June is the driest month (0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 80 °F). 5.6 inches fall in February, the wettest month. The climate in Big Bear Lake →
Next door
Big Bear Lake and its neighbors
Big Bear Lake has the second most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Bear Lake | 5% | 1.0 | 8 | 56% | B |
| Big Bear City | 60% | 3.9 | 7 | 51% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Big Bear Lake
Where can I hike in Big Bear Lake?
The longest trail networks: San Bernardino National Forest, 6.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Big Bear Lake is conserved land?
5% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Big Bear Lake’s trails?
San Bernardino National Forest and Meadow Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Big Bear Lake?
4.0 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.7 of painted or protected lanes and 1.3 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Big Bear Lake?
161,749 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Big Bear Lake or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 102 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Big Bear Lake have?
Ahead of 61% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #434 of 847 in California. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Big Bear Lake neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →