20231120_111239Views from the Cougar Crest trail (November 2023)

On our second day, my family and I woke up around 8h00 to grab breakfast at the hotel and head over to start our day with a nice, long hike. As we aren’t huge winter sports people (let alone the weather wasn’t cold enough for such sports when we visited in November), we decided to do a hike through some of Big Bear Lake’s nature trails. We’d done a short, but steep one to Castle Rock the day before, and this time, it’d be longer and steeper!

We first drove over to the Visitor Center, where we purchased an Adventure pass ($5 USD), which would allow us to park right at the Cougar Crest trailhead for the full day– while you could choose to park right at the Visitor Center for free, it would be an extra 0.6 kilometers (1 kilometer) one-way just to get to the trailhead. As the hike itself would already be 7.0 miles (11.2 kilometers), we decided just to pay and park at the trailhead for a peace of mind.

My family and I opted to do the Cougar Crest trail to Bertha Peak, at 8201 feet (2500 meters) high. It would require going through several rocky switchbacks. We started our hike at 9h30 and it took about three hours to complete. It was a sunny morning, but a bit chilly in the high 50s to low 60s °F (15-16°C)– the weather was cool enough to make the hike bearable, even pleasant, to get through.

20231120_093753Starting the hike

The first 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) were okay, but it wasn’t until the last 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) that it got super intense– seriously, it was steep after steep incline until we made it to the top of Bertha Peak, designated by a radio tower. From there, we got views of Big Bear Lake, although they were a bit obstructed by the trees in the foreground. However, we could still see its gleaming, blue waters, and we could also see Mt. Baldy and the rest of the San Bernardino Mountains from the other side of the peak. We took it all in, snapped a few photos, and soon descended the trail back to civilization.

20231120_104744Steep!!


20231120_111534Radio tower at the summit of Bertha Peak


20231120_111239Views of Big Bear Lake

At 12h30, we drove into the Village to get lunch. This time, we settled on a German deli that served legitimate bratwurst: we opted for a Reuben sandwich and sausage platter, and both were solid. I haven’t been back to Germany for years, so it was nice to have German food again (and exceptionally well-made)!

20231120_132653Sausage platter with pretzel bun, potato salad, and sauerkraut

We spent the afternoon strolling the Village, which is only three blocks long, popping into a few souvenir shops to buy a few postcards and magnets as mementos. Tired from the hike that morning, we returned to our hotel to rest for the remainder of the afternoon before we headed out again in the evening for dinner at a Mexican-Bolivian restaurant. Service was warm and welcoming, and even though it took a while to get our food, we found the food to be generous in portions and delicious. The carnitas tacos, Bolivian hot chocolate, and tres leches cake were all lovely, and we left very full and satisfied. It was also absolutely freezing outside when we left, with temperatures dipping to 37°F/ 2.8°C!

20231120_183939Carnitas tacos with rice and beans


20231120_190539Tres leches cake

The next morning was our last day in Big Bear Lake. After checking out from our hotel, we grabbed some coffee (sadly, mediocre) from a café and hit the road to make the return trip to Los Angeles. We left by 10h00– traffic was fairly light, as we made it back two-and-a-half hours later, where we grabbed a late lunch in town and returned home by mid-afternoon. All in all, it was a quick, two-night jaunt to Big Bear Lake with the family, and it turned out to be a fun time filled with decent food, a few solid hikes, and gorgeous nature all around. I hadn’t been back in years, and it was nice to be able to get a piece of nature not too far from the city life.

Thanks for reading, folks. Until the next adventure! 🙂

— Rebecca

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Published by Rebecca

Blogger, world traveler, poet, foodie, part-time penguin. Welcome!

46 thoughts on “Destination: Big Bear Lake, California (PART 2)”

  6. It looks like the trail to Bertha Peak hike boasts scenic views of Big Bear Lake and old-growth forests, but it does look like a leg burner due to the steep incline in places. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

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  7. Big Bear Lake looks so beautiful from that viewpoint! It helps that the weather was nice during your excursion. Lunch always tastes better after a hike. I guess it’s our body’s way of thanking us for nourishing it. 😀

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  15. That hike sounded like a proper challenge Rebecca, but the views look decent enough to me and a reward for your efforts. And an even better reward is the German food that hit the mark! Mexican-Bolivian is something I haven’t tried before, it looks great, as does that beast of a dessert.

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  19. Beautiful views from the top of the hike, and that food all looks delicious as well. I’m glad you had a great time on your trip, and thanks for sharing the beauty of Big Bear Lake with us!

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  22. I agree with that the others say. Big Bear Lake sounded like it was a short getaway for the weekend if you are not too far away. The views at the top and also along the hike is fantastic, and great weather too. It did look steep but seemed like it was the right kind of challenge and didn’t take too long. I guess that’s what you want on an adventurous, outdoor hiking trip – something that is a bit of a challenge but also not that difficult so you can enjoy it 😊 The sausage platter looks fantastic and so did the Tres leches cake. I actually am not too familiar with this kind of cake. I looked it up (looks like its mainly an American or South American kind of cake?), and interesting to see it is made up of different milks including condensed milk, like a very decadent cake!

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    1. Big Bear was a lot of fun! Filled with hikes and good food, that’s for sure. It’s a popular nature getaway for city-goers like myself, and not too far away for a weekend. Tres leches cake is a popular dessert in Mexico: it literally means “three milks,” as it’s made from evaporated, condensed, and whole milk. Absolutely rich and decadent! Thanks for reading, Mabel 🙂

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