san bernardino national forest

Drove through the forest. Has excellent views. But could not find a visitor center or the information I was looking for. Many trails are there and most of them need a permit which is free.

This is a beautiful park, although California's lengthy drought has taken its toll, as there's a noticeable number of dead or dying trees. Wonderful clean air!

You will never be at a loss for a breath-taking view in this forest. This is nirvana for nature lovers. Lots of trails, wildlife (make sure you always have a camera ready).

Great view and so beautiful. Lots of twist and turns. It is very much worth the drive. We had a beautiful day.

We visited Serrano mid week in early September after kids were back in school. Listed as a Heavy Use campground, we made reservations in advance for the full hookup Snowberry Loop. As it turned out, there were plenty of sites open in all the loops, however, when we left on Friday the Strawberry Loop was filling up. A very nice, clean, and well maintained campground with plenty of pine trees and fair separation between sites. In fact site 57 in the Snowberry loop is one of the nicest sites (privacy) we've seen in any campground. Sites 48 and 43 in the same loop are also good. Because of the full hookups, there are no restrooms in that loop, but the walk to another loop is not terrible, especially given the shortcut trails that have developed. The campground is within walking distance of the lake and there is a small general store (limited supplies) just across the road. A major road passes by the upper side of the campground that can create some annoying noise (especially motorcycles), but over the 4 days we were there it was minimal. The Alpine Pedal Path (paved) runs between the campground and the lake and makes a nice place to stroll or bike with several lake access points. Take it to the Discovery Center (closed Tuesday/Wednesday) a pleasant informative experience and they're dog friendly! In fact Big Bear Lake is very dog friendly; beaches, restaurants, attractions--even canoe and kayak rentals. Be aware that the only designated swimming area is in the city park. I didn't want to take a dip anywhere we went along the shore. The lake is currently low, given the drought conditions. Overall a surprisingly pleasant and peaceful location close to major metropolitan areas. Remember the designation of "Heavy Use" during the regular season.

We were in this campground after reading many good recommendation, and it was a real great experience! The sites are HUGE , lots of privacy, clean toilets, the ranger is very nice and offering many trails in the area. The sites are clean and most of them pretty shady.You drive from Redlands through Lugonia Ave. then on the 38 , about 40 minutes drive and beautiful scenery.This is one of the best campground we have visited for tents and RV. Near the Forest Falls trail, with its great waterfalls and pools.

This forest offers hikes for persons at all athletic levels. There are lots of beautiful trees and rocks to see. I highly recommend bringing a picnic lunch, finding a nice quiet place to stop and then just listening. The sounds of the wind in the trees, the lizards skittering, and birds calling is amazing.

We saw Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead. We loved the scenic drive, it was fresh and cool. Lake Arrowhead had several shops and restaurants. There were plenty of stopping places on the drive too.

My wife and I spent a day in the San Bernardino National Forest - specifically, in the mountains along Routes 38 and 18, from well east of Big Bear City to about Crestline, where we descended back down to the valley.Yep, it's beautiful. But we found the management by the forest service to be poor and capricious. First, the signage is uniformly poor everywhere. Major picnic and recreation areas might or might not be acceptably marked, but other than that, forget it. For example, major scenic turnouts that are even labeled on maps have no signage associated with them - you just come upon them (bang!) along the road and have to make an instantaneous guess about whether this is "it" or not.An issue more specific to us, but still telling of management attitude: We were up there early in the season - April 8. We came from near Chicago, so we checked this out well ahead of time. We read on their website, as well as being told, that the areas we would be visiting would be opening on April 7, weather permitting. Both April 7 and 8 were beautiful days up there - sunny, high 66 on the 7th, 68 on the 8th. Although there was some snow left on steep shady areas of the mountains, we encountered NO snow on any roads or in any of the natural areas we stopped in. In short, the weather DID permit - yet we found ONLY ONE of the national forest areas we stopped at to be open. The rest we tried to visit were closed and locked up tight - not only no explanations, but nobody to ask.There is really no excuse for these problems. People need signs, and need to make plans. Our trip was hobbled by poor signage and our plans were semi-trashed by the capricious management decisions, or bad information, or both, of the forest service. How can they get away with this? Easy - they are a beautiful mountain area adjacent to the most populated cities in the country, which is cool in the summer while the cities cook. People will come up there no matter how poorly it is managed - the forest service doesn't have to care. I can't imagine what this place must be like in mid-summer when crawling with people. The natural beauty will be there, but otherwise, lower your expectations of the management of the area, or you will be very disappointed.

san bernardino is the largest county in the country! there is a lot of diversity in there! this is a great place to get away with the family and get back to nature! there is a great variety of trails, awesome rock climbing, and of course beautiful scenery!

Went up end of October of this year: beautiful fall leaves & crisp weather. Ate at the Belgium Waffle which was wonderful. Fed ducks & squirrels and then shopping at Bass & Van Huesen Outlets. Then ate a chocolate covered apple, rolled in roasted nuts at the Rocky Mtn Chocolate factory. Ran through the Christmas store next to the Pentelon Outlet. The drive home was very pretty.gyhhhyyb

Awesome place to drive through and site see. I stayed in the town of Crestline California and would definitely recommend it in the summer months!!!

The Beauty of the many small towns in the Mountainsin the San Bernardino Mountains is so Magical.Filled with lakes and fishing, water sports, and just the purebeauty of the Mountains here.The Huge Factor, is the people here, this is one of thenicest communities anywhere !!The eating and Lodging fit any budget, from camp, tofancy Hotels, and bed and BK.These Mountains have it All,Ritchie H.

Look up this easy hike. It was a nice hike, even for small kids (6+ years). They will enjoy jumping over downed trees and rocks. Look for the blue hearts on the trail that direct you to the end of the trail where you'll see Heart Rock. The last blue heart is found on a tree and it points to the right. Be careful because there are some steep parts that you'll have to keep the kids close to you especially at the end to overlook in to Heart Rock.

Over the years I've stayed at the Saddleback Inn at Lake Arrowhead, the Rose Garden Cabins in Twin Peaks, The Lodge in Lake Arrowhead, Best Western's Chalet in Big Bear, Cool Cabins in Big Bear (twice), North Shore in at Lake Gregory, and my brother's cabin in Lake Gregory and each time has been a relaxing and beautiful experience. Lake Arrowhead has amazing views of the lake any time of the year and outlet shops like Van Husen, Bass, IZOD, Coach to name a few, along with the best Thai food with a wonderful view & fireplace. If you enjoy just staying inside you're cabin, this is a beautiful place to stay. My husband & I have recently enjoyed Lake Gregory as a friendly & quiet town.