Mountains, Lake & Campfire — Big Bear Walk-Up Plan

The coast was booked solid, so we're going up. Kate & Molly · Thu Jul 30 – Sun Aug 2, 2026

Trip plan · May 2026

Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains

Photo: Adrián Cerón, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

The shape of it

  • Drive up Wednesday evening, sleep in a Big Bear motel.
  • Thursday morning: grab a first-come site (no reservations — this is the whole point).
  • Camp Thu / Fri / Sat.
  • Home Sunday by 1pm for Molly's radio show — Big Bear is only ~2h15 away, so a ~10am departure is relaxed.

The pick — Big Bear Lake, north shore (San Bernardino NF)

Big Bear Lake, north shore

Photo: Don Graham, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

The one combination that survives late-July fire season: a real alpine lake, a legal campfire, genuine walk-up sites, and an easy drive home.

  • ~2h15 / ~103 mi from LA. Mountains at ~7,000 ft.
  • Campfires allowed in the metal rings at developed campgrounds (SBNF fire order runs Jun–Nov 2026). Grab the free California Campfire Permit — 2 minutes online.
  • Cool: 80s days, 40s–50s nights — the opposite of the valley heat.
  • Big Bear Lake (swim, boat, marina) is a few miles south of the north-shore campgrounds.

Campfire at night

Photo: Marc Lautenbacher, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Thursday-morning walk-up loop

Three first-come campgrounds within ~15 minutes of each other — site-shop them in one morning loop, arrive mid-morning (not afternoon):

  1. Hanna Flat — biggest walk-up pool, has drinking water, ~7,100 ft. $33/night. First choice.
  2. Big Pine Flat — 100% first-come, most remote so most open. Bring water. $29.
  3. Holcomb Valley — 100% first-come, rustic dirt-road access thins the crowd. Bring water. $27.

(Serrano — the lakeside one with showers — is reservation-only; assume it's booked.)

Wednesday night

Sleep in Big Bear Lake village — drive up Wed evening (~2h15), any Boulevard motel (e.g. Robinhood Resort, Big Bear Lake Motel). Puts you ~15 min from all three campground gates.

If a waterfall is the must-have — the alternate

Cooper Canyon / Sturtevant Falls, San Gabriel Mountains

Photo: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Buckhorn (Angeles NF), ~1.5hr from LA — even closer and colder (6,800 ft), with Cooper Canyon Falls on-site (3.2mi round-trip) and legal campfires. The trade: no lake. So the real choice is lake-first (Big Bear) or waterfall-first (Buckhorn).

Ranked, in brief

  1. Big Bear north shore — lake + campfire + cool + best walk-up + easy return. The pick.
  2. Buckhorn (Angeles) — closest, coldest, on-site waterfall; no lake.
  3. Western Divide Hwy (Sequoia NF) — giant sequoias + campfire, but ~3.5–4hr (tight for Sunday).
  4. Idyllwild / San Jacinto — granite peaks + creeks; no lake.
  5. Manker Flat / Mt Baldy — closest waterfall (San Antonio Falls); water off.

Ruled out (so we don't second-guess)

  • Kern River corridor — no campfires below 5,000 ft right now, 100°F+, and Fri/Sat already sold out.
  • Lake Isabella — hottest & most exposed, Saturday booked.
  • Silverwood Lake — swimming closed (algal bloom).
  • Lake Piru / Hume Lake — reservation-only / beyond 4hr.

Before you go

  • Free CA Campfire Permit (2 min).
  • Call Big Bear Discovery Center, 909-382-2790 the week before — confirm Big Pine Flat's open + a current availability read.
  • Re-check the SBNF fire order the day before you leave — a heat wave can trigger a full flame ban on short notice.