THE GETAWAY
BIG BEAR
CLOSE TO HOME, LIGHT YEARS AWAY
If you live in West Hollywood, Big Bear Lake is close to home, yet light years away. The two-and-a-half hour drive east from West Hollywood takes you deep into the San Bernardino National Forest to the shores of a snow-fed lake that is seven miles long. The grizzly bears that gave the lake its name are no longer there, but there is a lot more to discover. Big Bear is an outdoor playground that offers a variety of aquatic sports and more than 100 miles of trails in the San Bernardino Forest. As I drove east on Highway 330 with my girlfriend, Marti, I realized the route to Big Bear is an expedition in itself with enough curves and S-turns cut into the mountainside to keep any driver on his toes. When I reached the crest at 7,000 feet above sea level, I let out a sigh of relief, breathing in the pine-scented
air and scoping out the expansive lake that stretched beyond my sight. Big Bear is the place for mountain biking. I had researched top single-track trails in the area and planned to rent bikes for my girlfriend and I at Bear Valley Bikes. However, that plan changed when we stopped by Amangela’s Sandwich and Bagel House. Not only did we unearth an amazing find with Amangela’s homemade focaccia stacked five inches high with Boar’s Head meats and cheeses, but we also met a friendly local named Grayson who told us about a local ski and snowboard shop that now rents electric bikes in the summer. The bikes, he said, made it a cinch to climb to the top of a mountain. I figured this meant more opportunity for downhill descents. I was sold.
BY DANIEL P. MCKERNAN
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