From the category archives:

San Bernardino National Forest

Aspen Foliage Near Big Bear

October 19, 2009

Earlier, I wrote about California foliage in Mono County, but this week the L.A. Times blog had a story about some fall color that’s a bit closer to home – an aspen grove near Big Bear.
I first heard about this place from Kolby, who’s spent a lot of time in the San Bernardinos over the [...]

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Get Ready for a Busy Weekend

September 25, 2009

This Saturday is National Public Lands Day, an annual event dedicated to giving back to our public lands.
Since so many of our public lands seem to be under assault recently – whether it be from fires or shortminded politicians who STILL won’t release a list of parks they want to close – now’s a good [...]

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Hiking San Gorgonio Mountain via South Fork Trail

September 22, 2009

The fact that San Gorgonio Mountain is the tallest peak in Southern California (11,502 feet) is reason enough to hike it – the breathtaking 360 degree vistas and stunning alpine scenery along the way are icing on the cake. This trip follows the South Fork Trail, approaching the peak from the north. It [...]

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Baldy is Open for Business

May 5, 2009

Apparently, a lot of you hit up the Mount Baldy area this weekend, and were kind enough to report on the conditions for your fellow hikers.
Several people wrote in via email or Twitter to say the conditions on the Mount Baldy trails, as well as those on nearby Icehouse Canyon, were almost completely clear of [...]

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Hiking Bertha Peak

March 31, 2009

A just-under 8 mile hike from the Big Bear Discovery Center that really highlights everything you’ll want to experience on the north shore of Big Bear Lake — wide lake vistas, great cedars and pines, a meandering, rocky trail, and outstanding views from the top of Bertha Peak — even though it’s got some radio [...]

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Snowshoeing Pine Knot Trail

March 31, 2009

A 6+ mile partial loop on a mostly-gently graded trail just south of Big Bear Lake. This trail offers secluded woodlands and great views of the southern San Bernardinos. There is also a trail to the named peak “Grand View Point,” which is a great moderate day hike that will get you away [...]

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Reasons to Love Southern California

March 16, 2009

One weekend, you can be watching wildflowers bloom on the desert floor.

… and then a few weeks later, be snowshoeing at 8000ft.

I just got back from a weekend of snowshoeing and hiking up near Big Bear, and was genuinely struck by the diverse landscape we’re lucky enough to live in.
That’s all [...]

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San Bernardino Bound

March 10, 2009

I’m headed up to the San Bernardino Mountains this weekend, near Big Bear. I’m going with a group of skiing and snowboarding friends, but as I am what I like to call “Balance Challenged,” I wanted to do a bit of snowshoeing instead.
I’m not quite as familiar with that range as I am with [...]

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Idyllwild

January 26, 2009

I just got back from a partial weekend in Idyllwild, right next to Mount San Jacinto State Park.
I only spent a little over 24 hours there, and wasn’t able to do much hiking due to heavy cloud cover and icing, but man is that place beautiful!

I spoke to a few local hikers I met while [...]

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Hike for Free

September 26, 2008

Most of the time, people don’t associate hiking with an expensive outdoor activity … unless you start factoring in the latest ultralight gear and nutritional energy bars. But the National Forests in Southern California DO charge you a very small fee to park and use their land.
Except for this weekend…
On Saturday and Sunday, as [...]

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