Barton Flats Campground

Bikers can hit all the roads in this forest. We recommend the Arctic Canyon Overlook for the experienced cyclists looking for an exciting challenge, and the Pine Knot trail for a fun and easy 8 mile singletrack. Check out the list here.

When the weather just gets too hot, there’s no better place to take refuge than in the San Bernardino National Forest. There are several lakes, such as Lake Gregory, that offer boating opportunities. With a kayak launch, fishing equipment, and boating rentals ranging from paddle boards to sailboats, you can’t go wrong. Make sure to call the park for more information!

Looking to cast a line? You can, in several lakes and many of the streams! Big Bear Lake is famous for the annual May Trout Classic event. Deep Creek and Bear Creek are some of the best wild trout streams in SoCal. You can also find a wide variety of fish at Green Valley Lake, Lake Arrowhead, and Lake Gregory. You can find more details here. Make sure you have a CA fishing license, but if you don’t, you can come on Free Fishing Days to fish without a license!

With all of the high peaks and mountain ranges here, there are many moderate and difficult hikes in this forest. Hiking the San Gorgonio Mountains is especially popular because of the epic views. There are easy trails, too, like the Ernie Maxwell Scenic Trail and the Towne Trail, a 2 mile hike along the mountain base around Big Bear Lake. The trail we’d really recommend, though, is a short little jaunt to Heart Rock (it’s exactly what it sounds like, but ten times cooler with all of the small waterfalls).

Horseback riding is allowed on all National Forest trails-- that means you can venture through all of the wilderness areas, including the ones that lead into nearby Angeles National Forest. There are a handful of equestrian campgrounds where you can spend a night on your horseback journey. There is a list of horse trails here.

Get those wheels dirty and head on over to San Bernardino to get away from city traffic. Popular runs include John Bull, Holocomb Creek, and Deep Creek in the Big Bear region. There’s an incredibly long list right here. Make sure to pick up a map and take care out there, as many of these roads are shared!

The San Gorgonio Wilderness is the perfect place to go mountain climbing, which must be why it’s so popular! Jepson Peak offers some pretty rad snow climbs, if that’s your thing. There are plenty of classic climbs, like “One Armed Bandit,” “Golden Poodle,” “Coyotes in the Henhouse,” etc. that you can find on Mountain Project.

Your opportunities for national forest fun are endless in the winter. You can find skiing, snowboarding, sledding, tubing, snowmobiling, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing in this wintry paradise. There are four resorts nestled inside the forest: Snow Summit, The Park at Bear Mountain, Rim Nordic Ski Area, and Snow Valley Mountain Resort. There are also snow play areas like Snowdrift Winter Playground, 2 snowmobile routes, and 3 XC-skiing and snowshoeing areas.

Swimmers can jump right into Big Bear Lake and some of the Lake Arrowhead lakes, where you can spend the day in the water or doing anything else you please! There’s no shortage of things to do on these lakes-- kayaking, boating, you name it.

You can spot wildlife just about everywhere, with the usual raccoons and squirrels, woodland creatures left and right, along with the less common mountain lions and bears. If you’re lucky you’ll catch sight of one of the rare bighorn sheep living in the canyons! There are over 440 species, with more than 30 of them as endangered species. Birders can find bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, Stellar’s jays, and birds with crazy names like towhees, chickadees, and juncoes. You can find a small list of wildlife on Gorp.