Just 2 hours away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles and your in a quaint mountain village. Small but packs a punch in the little village. It's right in the heart of town near the slopes. The village itself isn't that big. Maybe a few blocks radius. It's all walking distance from beginning to end. Depending on which end you start. There's a good amount of parking with public lots scattered around. Also street parking but those tend to go really fast. It's a lot of mom and pops shops. Basically catering to all the tourists that visits year round. You have a good amount of restaurants from traditional all around food, to the the one and only Thai restaurants in the villages. There's Italian, pizza shop, ice cream, breakfast place, Mexican, noodle place and a good amount of bars. There's also wine and beer tasting as well as a brewery. A pretty good selection of places to eat. Plus a small movie theatre right in the middle of the village. You could walk straight to the marina as the road lead you straight to the waterfront. Weekend and holidays is very lively. During the week, it's pretty quiet. Heads up, a lot of places closes early so if you're wanting a meal. Come early as majority does close by 9pm. In the morning, even at 8am, there was no one on the street. Maybe one or two coffee shop was open as most businesses don't open till later on. It's still a cute quaint town. Not only during the ski season when it does get pretty busy. Summer is beautiful here as well. read more

Big Bear Lake Village presents an eclectic mix of ice cream and gift shops, restaurants, the top-rated Yelp restaurant in America, nearby access to Big Bear Lake and Big Bear Mountain Resort, and boutiques! Street parking is predominantly available and a handful of businesses also offer parking lots. Visit during winter and enjoy the holiday lights on trees and lining the street... or visit during the summer months and spend even more time exploring the outdoors! *****FIVE STARS***** read more

Charming downtown area. Parking was pleasantly simple. No problem finding a spot in one of the lots. Totally free. A wonderful respite from the stressful parking situation in LA. I posted an official map that shows all the parking options. We grabbed some coffee and then walked around and explored the area. There are quite a few shops to check out and possibly lose some cash. A lot of restaurants and bars. We ended up going to the Old German Deli for amazing German food. Highly recommended. Enjoy! read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Parking options. - Local Flavor Near Me

Came here on a Wednesday Before Labor day weekend of pandemic 2020 to avoid any crowds. It was pleasantly peaceful. Like many other places, a lot of businesses/restaurants are closed. I'm not sure if they were closed because of the slow week since many places have changed their operating hours, or if they've just had to close permanently because of today's difficult times. I have been at home since all this started because I'm high risk and have to be more cautious than most but I needed to get out in nature where I feel most comfortable. The few residents we saw that work here were nice, helpful and welcoming. There is not much to do here for socializing, unless there's an event, or many restaurants to dine at but we did not come here for that. This was a great break and our dogs really enjoyed it. read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Break from Home Quarantine - Local Flavor Near Me

Big Bear Lake Village is the downtown district area in Big Bear Lake. If you have never been, Big Bear Lake is a small city in Southern California that is located in the San Bernardino Mountains. The village area is very charming and is a shopping and dining destination. There are many choices to dine at or to grab a drink. Big Bear Lake Village has large trees all around that change colors with the seasons. When I came here after the holidays, they still had Christmas lights up. It is such a pretty area to walk around and explore. If you need to use the bathroom, there are a few public restrooms in the area that are pretty clean. read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Local Flavor Near Me

Perfect for a stroll, a snack, sit down with you ice cream or beer and enjoy the atmosphere. I think, other than falafel, almost every kitchen is represented. I am amazed. No matter the weather, you always see long lines at the two ice cream spots. It must be good... read more

See all

Love visiting, super cute and cozy! Would recommend taking your family all the businesses are mostly family owned and so cute!

The good: The Village is the "downtown" main street area of the city where you can find restaurants and shopping. It's family and pet friendly. There was plenty of parking when I came on a weekday in the spring. I like that there are lots of options for outdoor dining with firepits here. I also like the spring decor with flowers. They do have public restrooms that are clean for folks to use. The village is made up of a couple of streets so it's very walkable in a short period of time. The bad: I tried two restaurants here and thought the food was good/okay. I tried to stop by an ice cream shop but they were closed  mid-day. The interesting: They have gift shops that sell awesome souvenirs and Big Bear merchandise for reasonable prices. read more

Well most of the shops have opened up here but still for some reason some are closed or just out of business. There is so many fun shops to visit and lots of food choices up in Big Bear on Pine Knot street. Its a really fun place to spend the day shopping and grab some good food for dinner before heading back home. A must go! read more

See all

Cute little village with lots of choices to eat and drink. Not sure what there's not to like about it? I've been to mountain towns across California and Big Bear Lake Village is definitely on the nicer end of many out-of-the-way vacation spots. 4 stars. read more

In the winter, Big Bear is LA's winter wonderland, and in the summer, camping and lake activities. A nice getaway and only about 2+ hours drive. It's not first class, but it's a casual vibe and small town feel make it a nice town overall. On the outside of the main city is filled with country folk (aka near homeless) and retirees (special awareness for those types!). Things to do: 3/5 Safety: 4/5 Cleanliness: 3/5 SKIING -- Snow Summit/Bear Mountain is the best of the local resorts, tickets are about $100 and season passes are a bargain at $300-ish. For small children and beginners, there's a few areas outside of the area that have sleds. THE LAKE -- The water level has been ridiculously low (and lower) for the past several years, and I hope this tons of rain are finally helping it. On the west side, it's still great for boating, water skiing, and fishing. However, it's been nearly nothing at the Stanfield Cutoff bridge to the end of the lake, impossible to do anything sporty. DOWNTOWN -- cutesy wootsie, L-shaped, 3 blocks long and 3 blocks wide full of restaurants, boutique shops, movie theatre, bars, and a live music venue. RESTAURANTS -- this could be better, there's a lot of average or below average places. I've eaten at 20+ places, and the best so far: Saucy Mama's (pizza), Amangela's (bagels/sandwiches/salads), and Hacienda Grill (Mexican). read more

My family and I came here during Christmas time while having a staycation in Big Bear. This village was our destination for a walk around town and to have lunch. Since it was the month of December, they did have Christmas decorations throughout downtown, large pine trees with ornaments for photo ops. My favorite part of the experience here was the small shack near a street corner where you can take pictures with Mr. and Mrs. Santa Clause inside. Just make sure you put in a tip for their efforts especially, they don't charge a fee. Also, there were horse carriage rides all around down. Coming here during winter time it has a festive feel. There are restaurants, and shops down the blvd. I was surprised parking here was easy. Curb side can be a challenge but I was able to find smaller lots near businesses that have no restrictions. Big Bear Village may not be as big like Jackson Town Square in Wyoming. But it has charm during the holiday season. Outside of that you probably just spend a good solid hour touring and relaxing. I just wish there's a little bit more within the village. read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Big Bear Village during winter season. - Local Flavor Near Me

See all

Charming little village made up of couple streets with shops and restaurants. Very colorful and pleasant for a casual stroll. It seems couple new stores opened since our last visit a year ago. Overall very nice and friendly place for a quick getaway. read more

See all

Pretty much the center of town with all the shops and eateries your heart desires. All the store employees seemed nice and helpful no matter which store we stopped by. Such a great place to walk around in BB. read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Local Flavor Near Me

See all

Growing up a Southern California Girl, I have always enjoyed and taken advantage of living so close to our beautiful mountain communities. My family and I ust went up this weekend. The home we rented was perfect and the weather was beautiful! We got several inches of snow and were snowed in. It was the most beautiful, picturesque place to ge "stuck" in. To say I am not one to be overly sensitive is an understatement. My one and only interaction with a female, caucasian clerk at a local gas station/convince store, left me with a feeling I have only experienced one other time, in my 54 years of life. In the same trip into town, different business, 5 minute difference, my husband got the same look and attitude from another caucasian female liquor store clerk who gave me the same separately. My husband and I had no idea of one another's experience until our ride down the hill. I had wished to retire in the local mountain communities. I hope to feel welcomed by these communities once the hate propaganda has been stopped. Till then, I guess I would recommend spending your time and money elsewhere. This makes me so sad! read more

Such a Cool Small Village. Went walking around at night to see the shops and restaurants. There are a lot of small shops, food places and night life (Bars). The place is very welcoming and people are very friendly. Lots of free street parking. It's a perfect place to just walk around and enjoy the day or night. read more

See all

This is the little tourist trap of Big Bear. They have cute shops and restaurants to lure you in off of the cold streets. It's has a very quaint feel to it. The stores aren't really that great though. Most of them sell real junk and expensive junk at that. Some stores I wasn't even sure what they were selling...was it stuff for your house...stuff for your garden...stuff for your stuff...who knows! Last week when I came it was cold and windy and there was no one else in the whole Village except people that worked in the shops. I kept expecting to see tumble weeds come down the road and maybe some Wild West gun slingers...it was a real Ghost Town. Overall, it's a good way to kill a few hours and patron mom and pop kind of stores and restaurants. read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Local Flavor Near Me

See all

An inexpensive getaway for Memorial Day, driving up there is usually easy, 210 east, yonder and yonder. Going up right now there's a single road light during construction, about 20 min wait. But wow as we were driving up there, there were at least 10 miles of traffic going the opposite way to the point where I thought maybe there was a fire and people were leaving for safer ground. Nope, turns out it was mostly the entire population of Big Bear Residents leaving for the beaches. Taking a 1st left at the light for Fawnskin, I drive to the northmost area of the lake where there's a boat docking area but huge parking lot. Getting a 10 second thrill of 4x4'ing on my new Subaru to which the wife just shook her head we parked on the side and walked to a shaded area of the parking lot and set our chairs down to enjoy a great lunch courtesy of Jersey Mike's, drinks and watermelon for desert. Nice view of the lake and watching kids play ball, including one child that looked like Gru's adopted daughter ("It's so FLUFFY!"). Most of the people weren't wearing masks, but they did maintain their distance and it was better than the chaos of the beaches and Route 39 where EVERYONE there was 1 ft apart and not wearing masks. Oh I forgot, On the way to Big Bear there was a sign about masks and social distancing and right behind the sign there were about 50 people having a maskless orgy apparently. On the way back I went northward on 38 rather than back down past Fawnskin where assuredly there would be standstill traffic. A good drive home back to the awful almost 100 plus weather, wish we could have stayed longer, but a nice day overall. read more

I haven't been to Big Bear in over 20 years. I'm a local So Cal resident and wanted to go up for the day to take the family. I'm writing this review because the parking situation is horrendous there. You would figure that a town that financially depends on people coming up to visit the city would have more parking availability. Need less to say, I parked in what I would call an inside street not to far from the main strip of down town Big Bear and didn't realized the "no parking" sign, that's on me. However, $100 fee?! C'mon, how inviting is this to outsiders. I have 16 month old baby and yes, I was trying to limit our walking since we have the little guy with us. Maybe I'm ranting, but this left a very bad taste in my mouth about the city of Big Bear. read more

So glad with everything going on, the shops have stayed opened for our vacation stay. Everyday we came here to eat and buy around at the shops. We are very glad there were restaurants opened that were able to seat our family. The food was amazing. The weather was great. Everything was clean and everyone kept their distance from one another. Thanks big bear city !! read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Local Flavor Near Me

Awesome place to walk around look at all the shops and meet new people. Definitely a must if you come visit big bear lake read more

See all

Nice tourist trap. Walkable streets, various goft shops, ice cream, candy stores, restaurants, live concerts, etc. Weekdays are best. Weekends are busy. read more

Yelp 100 Challenge 36 In all seasons this is the center of the tourist Mecca in Big Bear. Restaurants, tshirt shops, a candy/fudge store, a tea shop and more are all here. The area is a few blocks large with the action primarily on the main street. It's fun to walk around and people watch. The horse drawn buggy was operating while we strolled around the town. Most stores will allow a well behaved dog inside and you will even see community water bowls out front welcoming four legged family members. Not for me though, our little princess carries her own bowl. Parking is free and plentiful by the visitor center if the limited street parking isn't available. Clean restrooms are at the visitor center also. Enjoy your time at the Village! read more

What's not to like? Rohlin and I went to the tree lighting ceremony and it was a mixture of town and tourists, the tree was beautifully decorated, but the actual lighting took way too long, they were behind schedule because of the Mayor arriving late. A stage was set up, but only 1 speaker, you really couldn't hear anything, including the carolers. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/3c8vbNE-CGkKoQP-chD8Ng?select=IkV2_aq2gb5MsjS0iq_HLw#d7on6FdMNxYj7mSYkIR2RQ There are all kinds of shopping and eating experiences, some good, some bad. Highlights and Lowlights: *The Cooper Q, best around, see my review *Overpriced but fun horse drawn carriage ride thru town ($20 pp for approx. 12 minutes) They also have a stagecoach ride *Way too many same-old, same-old tourist trap shops filled with crap *Himalayan, a restaurant highly-rated on Yelp, didn't get to try this, but menu looked good and probably some of the best ambience around for fine-dining *North Pole Fudge & Ice Cream, huge selection of Dreyers ice cream and one of the best chocolate frozen bananas with crushed nuts I've ever had (double dipped) *There used to be two movie theaters, 1 is closed, the other is open for business *Plenty of real estate agencies in case you are looking to buy a cabin up in BB *A joke of an ice rink, this could possibly fit 4 people skating Hope you like dogs! They are everywhere, but generally seem well-behaved and friendly and I saw no bad owners not picking up after their pups. Your four legged friend is welcome in most stores and in many eateries, just outside. The Village is a nice way to spend some time in beautiful Big Bear read more

Big Bear Lake Village - First of the season - Local Flavor Near Me

The hubby wanted to make a day-trip and chose Big Bear. We haven't been here in over 25 years or so. An added incentive was an arts & crafts festival (actually two). This was a good choice because it was only a 2-hour drive from LA and there was plenty to see and do. There's plenty of free public parking (and a clean set of restrooms) in a lot next to the Visitors' Center located at 630 Bartlett Rd. After visiting the festivals, we strolled about the Village area and I was charmed with all the independent eateries and shops. No overload of chain stores here! We decided to come back at some time for a short vacation. Big plus for us- this is a very dog-friendly community. Our little Ruxin had a great time touching noses and sniffing butts! read more

See all

This village is magical during the holidays, the carriage rides, Tree lighting ceremony and the smell of fire wood burning, which is one of my favorite smells! Avoid the tourist and come during the week, the Village will be quiet. The Village always takes me back in time with it's architect and decor. Friendly shop owners, pretty decent grub, a movie theater for the movie buffs. Grab your jacket and mittens and find out what your missin' RANDOM FACT: The lake in Big Bear is eight miles long read more

Big Bear Lake Village - Local Flavor Near Me

See all

After wine country, Big Bear is our favorite getaway. You can stay elsewhere, but we stay in the Village (namely the cheap, clean, & quiet Robin Hood Resort) between the lake and the mountains because it's a short walk to (and a short crawl from) our favorite bar in the country, Murray's Saloon. Plus there's lots of great restaurants (Peppercorn, Himalayan, Teddy Bear, the Sunday brunch at Northwoods), shopping (don't miss Stupidiotic!), activities (Bowling Barn, Miss Liberty Paddleboat, the largest fireworks display in Southern California), and other bars (571 Lounge, wine tasting, brewery, etc), with blue skies, friendly locals, and Clydesdale horses clip-clopping down Pine Knot Rd. Check my reviews for the businesses mentioned above, plus those a short drive away, like Hot Shot Miniature Golf, Moonridge Zoo, Fawnskin Park, and the Castle Rock hiking trail. read more

Big Bear Lake Village - 8/14 - Local Flavor Near Me

Review #600 Big Bear Lake Village is the Heart of Big Bear Lake. Located smack down in the middle Big Bear Lake is this awesome 4 or so blocks of shops, restaurants, bars, theaters, horse carriages, and other businesses and cool things to check out. They have something for everyone, no matter what your interest or budget is. I have reviewed many of these business and food establishments in my Big Bear Lake Adventures List: http://www.yelp.com/list/big-bear-lake-adventures-big-bear-lake. This village holds some parades and special events through the year and is beautiful like a winter wonderland during the holidays. I have seen a lot of cool businesses come and go from here and that's a bit sad (especially with the 2 arcades they had back in the day). However, this village is still a part of my visits to Big Bear and should be yours too. What's there not to love about this place? read more

If you love cute cottages, the most adorable restaurants and a cute town that has all the right stuff, you will fall in love with Big Bear Lake Village. It's been a while since I've been back, but I owe them this review and I owe it to those that plan on visiting. The last time I visited was the first time I visited. My family and I spent about a week there with family and it was just a wonderful visit. Walking through the village area where all the shops, restaurants and cafes are was all that I hoped it would be and more. It's where you'd either want to and sip coffee in the mornings, while you go on a walk breathing in all of the clean air. If you're a late riser, grab some lunch and dessert and walk around to check out all of their shops for some bear-y cute souvenirs (get it? yup... pretty much the theme up there). The fams and I got to enjoy some of the delicious restaurant offerings + dessert shops. I was in mountain heaven. I can't wait to be back to experience more of what Big Bear Lake Village has to offer! read more

Beautiful little town, a nice little getaway for the weekend! Parking can be a pain in my rear, but it's a beautiful place to wine and dine! And a shout out to Jacalito grill for their delicious Mexican food read more

Amazing place to go to super nice. Relaxing and beautiful. Love coming here will be back a lot of little stores to look into and food was good definitely recommend read more

See all

First time we've been to Big Bear and decided to check it out. It's a wonderful and casual place to simply stroll around. Make a day trip out of it, browse the shops and stop for lunch. We plan to return to visit some of the other restaurants. read more

See all

(+) more than a village, kind of like a mini downtown.. pleasantly surprised by what could be found here even though it's only a few blocks or so (+) some unique stores to shop in and local restaurants to eat at (+) a pleasant area to walk around... bring kids, dogs, the whole gang (+) you can catch a movie at the little theater or play at the bowling barn to take a nice break from skiing the mountains or boating at the lake Here's their online directory: http://www.bigbearlakevillage.com/village-directory/ read more

I loooooove big bear! Just something about this place that makes it so much fun whether you're out with your family or spending time with your significant other. Such a cute romantic place to just stroll and check out the bars, shops and scenery. Parking is a bit of a challenge, especially when you own a big suv and it just so happens to be snowing like crazy ... But hey that's the whole part of the experience of going to big bear! The locals here are all very friendly and if you happen to have conversations with them, they'll tell you all the cool places to check out from resorts to hiking, restaurants and bars etc. Can't wait to come back! read more

Highly, highly, highly overrated. We found the places here to be full of incredibly pretentious staff and not welcoming at all. We planned to spend the day here but left after a couple of hours, because there was really nothing interesting. This was a day trip we had planned after driving up part of the Pacific Coast Highway. Compared to the places we stopped on our road trip, this one was so disappointing. Don't waste your time. read more

Restaurants using their parking lots for outside dining means no parking available....no public transportation for the Village means everybody is walking around hot. read more

This place is the best ! Bring your family and friends to this wonderful place. We come three times a year and have a great time every time NOT JUST IN WINTER. In Spring there are festivals, water sports, hiking, karaoke at the bowling barn, pizza at saucy mamas, beer at a local bar, lake cruises and MORE !!! In winter... there is snow sports galore ! C'mon over the fun is waiting. read more

How fortunate are we to have the snow and sand at our fingertips? Love coming up here, be it spring, summer, or winter. There are trails galore and all types of grub to satiate your hungry belly. Great folks and well maintained roads. When it snows, it is quite breathtaking! read more

See all

I'm pretty sure that this is Downtown Big Bear... it's just made for tourists. Super dog friendly area, which I love... because I love cuddling strangers dogs, against their will. Cute little shops: Christmas store, candle making shop, gelato and ice cream shops, touristy souvenir stores, and a ton of restaurants. On both sides of the street. If you're in the area, this is a MUST stop. It's not a super long walk from one end to the other. We basically were able to stop at most stores and look around within 1.5 hours. Plus the weather in October is phenomenal for outdoor strolling during the day. read more

We live around 90 minutes away from Big Bear Lake and every now and then we like to take a drive up to the mountains and always stop at Big Bear Lake Village. There are a number of good eateries and it's always fun to browse through the shops. Right now the lake is really low so it's not as pretty as it usually is. All in all it is a nice destination for either a day trip or a weekend get away. read more