If you would like private lessons from experienced, engaging and patient instructors in big Bear, look no further. We booked two lessons for my five year-old skier with Jake and one lesson for my nine-year-old snowboarder with Chad. Both instructors were professional, on time, and engaging with my children. Best of all my kids skills improved dramatically during their sessions, and they both said it was the favorite part of their vacation! What an amazing find. Thank you Jake and Chad read more

We had a wonderful experience with Jake. He was so attentive even days prior. The best part was that my daughter was skiing within minutes!!! I will definitely recommend them 100%. Thank you so much for the wonderful experience!!! read more

Very experienced ski instructors at Big Bear. My three kids learned a lot from Sean, an instructor there for 50 years. He was great with them, and I felt confident that they were safe above all else as well as consistently learning and growing. I skied for the first time. My instructors were very good at explaining the technique and physics behind skiing. I was able to learn parallel skiing with Rodney on day 2. Rodney teaches beginners and kids all the way up to competitive levels. He really helped me achieve parallel skiing in an hour. You can only get the chance to learn like this from a very experienced skier as well as instructor. read more

Do it!! I've learned over many activities that no amount of self learning will override learning from a pro. I did a group lesson in 2018 for skiing, then in 2022 I thought I remembered what I learned boy was I wrong. I cried and complained the entire time mad at myself because I couldn't remember what I learned. Like anything else in life I couldn't let myself down. This year I decided to call a pro so I got in contact with Jake, had a 2 hour lesson. He taught me things I could never had learned on my own. I went from crying one year to this year I wouldn't stop, once you actually know what your doing it's not only a lot more fun but also less painful . Last year I was hurting the next day all over my body to this year only feeling slightly sore. Not only did Jake teach me fundamentals but what made it better is he followed me down the mountain so I could actually focus on getting better and not worrying about someone hitting me. I promise you will not regret a penny. Also don't be a jerk tip the man! read more

Learn To Snowboard - I was doing something that I never thought would be natural for me which is turning effortlessly and looking down to my path - Ski Schools Near Me

The short version: Do not book your lessons with this company. This company is NOT ALLOWED to administer lessons on the Big Bear or Snow Summit mountain. After I found this out, the guy responding to my email, Sam, started acting like a bully and got rude real fast. The long version: I was booking a stay on Airbnb and these guys came up as an experience. I got their phone number and called to ask if my two boys, ages 3 1/2 and 6 would be old enough to take lessons. On the phone, Libby, answered my questions to my satisfaction and I booked the lessons over the phone to take place 3 days later. Three hours later, I had a question for Big Bear staff and called the mountain resort. They informed me that outside lessons are not allowed on the mountains and our lift tickets CAN BE TAKEN AWAY... This was not disclosed to me by Libby. See directly from the Big Bear website: -- To ensure the safety of our guests and employees, California Penal Code 537 PC prohibits the sale and administration of ski or snowboard lessons by private teachers not employed by Big Bear Mountain Resort. All group and private lessons administered at Bear Mountain and Snow Summit must be booked directly through Big Bear Mountain Resort. Persons found in violation of 537 PC will have their lift access revoked and be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. -- I called these guys back, three hours later, same day, asking to cancel, and low and behold Libby tells me that their bookings are not refundable, and that's supposedly their policy that was emailed to me after I booked, which was not disclosed to me at the time of booking. At no point during our phone conversation was the non refundable part mentioned. At no point during our phone conversation did they mention that my lift ticket can be taken away. Libby told me to email them because their policy is to NOT TO GIVE REFUNDS, even if I booked just 3 hours ago... for a service that hasn't been performed.. that they're not even allow to perform. Sending emails to them, I got replies from Sam, who refused to listen to anything and admit anything and told me that I should read all of their positive reviews on Yelp he said. Well here I am, Yelpers -- do not go with these guys. Nobody needs this drama in their lives. Save yourself the heartache; this company is straight up fraud with a shady business practice. Here's a sample email from Sam after I laid this out for them and told them I'd do a chargeback: -- We are more than happy to dispute this as you were informed of cancellation policy...it was also emailed. This isn't our first rodeo with people like you. -- Clearly very unprofessional. read more

From the moment I made the call to Learn to Snowboard I realized I had made the right choice, great customer service. We (my 10 year old twin boys and I) wanted to try snowboarding, so we booked lessons with them. Our instructors Jake and Erika were amazing to us, nice, knowledgeable and straightforward, but above all patient. Couldn't have asked for a better experience, Learn to Snowboard is the way to go for lessons. And ask for Jake and/or Erika, they're the best! read more

Learn To Snowboard - Jake instructing us, he was great. In Big Bear. - Ski Schools Near Me

We got lessons for our 4 year old daughter - it was her first time skiing. She was nervous and didn't really want to try, but her instructor, Dave was great. She quickly stopped crying/whining as she felt comfortable with him. She would ride in front of him using his poles to brace herself. After her first 2-hour lesson, she was able to shuffle her skis to move down the chair lift line. After second 2-hour lesson, he would let her go fir a few seconds and she would bend her knees and even wedge a little. Ultimately everyone was happy and had fun. read more

Learn To Snowboard - In chair lift line with instructor Dave. - Ski Schools Near Me

First, I chose to take multiple lessons as I've never snowboarded before and wanted to improve quickly and I'm super glad I did! I learned a lot in the first 2 hours no doubt, but continued to improve infinitely faster than I would have on my own after that. Dave was my instructor and he was great! He pushed me and gave me very clear instruction on what to do/how to move. I clearly improved each run and did an S turn on day one! He was very patient and motivating as well. Overall, very fun and worthwhile experience. Will definitely be taking more lessons in the future as I master the basics. read more

So I never write reviews on yelp but I have to sing the praises of this company. I am an intermediate snowboarder and I was taking my wife for the first time. We went to mammoth mountain and unfortunately since the mountain just opened up, only intermediate runs were open. We all know how difficult it is to snowboard on an intermediate slope after maybe day 2 or 3 snowboarding, but to go down a blue slope your first time is nuts. Our instructor actually taught her to do it, and she was actually able to get down the mountain by herself after the instruction. We were really impressed with our lesson and our instructor also gave us good advice on where to rent gear, where to go out, etc. Overall, our experience couldn't be more positive. Definitely better value then going with the resort in my opinion. read more

Our 8-year-old wanted to try skiing this season, but he didn't like the group lessons he'd had the previous year learning to snowboard. So we decided to go the private lesson route--AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DIFFERENCE IT MADE! Jayden had a blast for two days in a row, 3-hour lessons each. We couldn't believe how well he was doing after even one lesson. By day two, we were thinking "future Olympian"...or more precisely, "Thank heavens he knows how to turn and stop!" But seriously, Jake was very patient and taught Jayden good habits and strong fundamentals (with the emphasis on FUN). At first, we were a little worried, especially when, after only 80 minutes, we saw Jake and Jayden sitting at a table, drinking water and eating Doritos. But it turned out that Jake was familiar with kids needing a little "refueling break," as Jayden had started not listening and getting a little ornery. After the snack, though, Jake reported back that Jayden was a totally different kid--listening, following instructions, and really enjoying learning to ski. Jayden confirmed that he'd had an awesome time and couldn't wait for lesson #2 the next day. Kudos to Jake also for being easily reachable by phone in the week prior with instructions on where to pick up rental equipment at a discount and a strong recommendation to get lift tickets the day before the lesson. GOOD ADVICE! Jake was always ultra-nice on our calls and never seemed bothered by a nervous, clueless parent booking their kid for private lessons for the first time and asking a million questions. There was one glitch that I'll mention only to show that these folks sometimes have to face the unexpected and do their best to deal with problems they can't control. The evening before Jayden's first lesson, one of the instructors was in a car accident. Although the instructor was fine and able to teach the next day, his car wasn't so lucky. So Jake had to drive the instructor to his morning lesson at Bear Mtn. We were at Snow Summit. With the super-heavy Presidents Day weekend traffic (perfect snow conditions brought everyone up from L.A!), this resulted in Jake being about 20 minutes late for our start time. Jake kept us apprised via text every five minutes as he battled the lines of cars, got himself parked, put his boots on, and rushed to meet us. He assured us that Jayden would get the full lesson time (3 hours), and he did. Jake also made sure to take photos and a short video of Jayden, which was more than worth the slight inconvenience of waiting. On the second day, Jake was at the meeting spot two minutes early (we were right on time), and they got right to it...this time hitting a more challenging slope to work on new skills. So while I can't speak for other parents or their kids, and I can't comment on other instructors, Jayden LOVED his one-on-one with Jake and can't wait to go skiing again. And we'll be calling Learn To Snowboard for sure! read more

See all

My girlfriend and I were looking for a lesson at Big Bear. She's a skier and I'm a snowboarder and we're at different levels. Learn To Snowboard provided each of us an instructor for the same time slot. Dave taught skiing and Will taught snowboarding. They were both experts who we learned a lot from. Dave gave my girlfriend the tools needed to confidently do black diamond runs. And Will helped me dial in my toe-side turns and attack the runs more aggressively. It was fun and a good price. The lessons helped make our trip successful. read more

Do not hire this company if you have kids! We recently had scheduled a lesson with them for our five kid s and it was terrible! Below is an email i sent to them about the situation. , the services promised to us by your company were NOT provided. Your instructors both admitted guilt, confided in us that they would get fired, our kids never made it down the mountain, and my eight year old was injured due to the environment your instructors put him in. This was the response... The fact is you are unhappy we provided a service the best analogyI can give you is this you buy a movie ticket you do not like the movie and then you want a refund...your child was not hurt, you are fabricating the situation, you assume the risk when you buy a ticket from the motion and use our service, and you will soon learn the legal process works two ways in regards to defamation and threats. Don't waste your money! read more

I did a lesson with this company last year, and another one again this year. Last year I was a beginner and could barely get down the bunny slope without falling. They taught me falling leaf, following your hand to change direction, that my hips control the board....all that expedited my ability to become the intermediate that I am now. Then for my lesson this year (thought what else could I learn now), they had me try JUMPS. Landing with my feet flat, hitting the tail first and not catching an edge once I land were all things I didn't even think of myself when trying jumps on my own. Well these guys helped me get to the intermediate level, and now I'm hoping with my lesson this weekend that I'll be an expert next time I come in. Maybe they'll help me improve my skiing! ;) super happy I can finally say yes to the ski and snowboard trips my friends plan and not lie and say I can't go or have to just drink wine in the hot tub the whole trip! (I mean still sounds good). But I am super greatful for this company and what they have taught me read more

Wanted to jump start my 7 year old and his buddy as they venture into snowboarding, I decided to give LTS a try given generally good reviews on Yelp. Overall I think it was a good investment, and I think the instructor played a key part here. I'll go over a bit more in length below. It was a painless booking process, which can be done by phone or online. I resorted to a phone call as I had a question (see below) and following the response I booked right away being provided with the same availability as we see on their website. My question was that we are sure we'll be able to make it to a two-hour window, but depending on certain conditions, it could be 2-4 participants. Jason on the phone was flexible with that, as it's pretty much the same with one instructor anyways. Jake then followed up a few days before the lesson with texts about the name and contact of our instructor, things to watch out for, including pictures on the meeting place. We exchanged texts before, during, and after the lesson, and the turnaround time was great. Eventually we only have two kids for the lesson, and Jess was the instructor. We liked the way Jess works with the kids, with good amount of patience, and the right coaching techniques to get kids going... which is key for the little kids. Knowing and actually coaching is very different. So following the first day, we saw the results, and the same night I booked the lesson for the next morning with Jess, and fortunately there was availability the next day. My boy did wake up second day in a bit of pain and couldn't turn his neck, so I tried to ask about cancellation policy there. It was not doable within 24 hours which I understand so we decided to move forward and thinking to let my wife take it. Eventually my kid's neck loosened up and was able to go, and had another good lesson with Jess and able to get down the slope with falling leaves and turning from heel to toe. I'm sure kids' progress may vary, but I'm happy with the outcome already. I'm looking forward to give it a try again in my Tahoe trip in a couple months. read more

I would like to star by saying that this is by far the worst service I've gotten from a supposed professional service. We asked for a beginner, never have skied in my life, lesson. It al started by trying to find our coach. We had to walk carrying boots and equipment all around parking lots because Dylan the teacher could not walk and find us at the entrance. When we finally arrived he started making us chase him back to the entrance. Once we arrived he went directly to the lift before even giving the basics or telling us how to wear or put on the skis. After a quick two basic rule of pizza-French fries we got on the lift towards the top of the mountain. He started going downhill without any further guidance. My wife and my friends were panicking and today do not want to ski anymore after the trauma and fear of that day. This Dylan guy just followed us through the green and blue slopes and if there was something he did was at least help them stand up from the tenths of falls we experienced going down. After finally arriving down we asked him to take us to the beginner bunny slopes for which he told us he didn't hace access because he wasn't an official coach. We decided to let him go and went back and had to hire a new coach from the official office. The experience was completely different and certainly more professional. We received instructions from wearing the equipment and started slowly until we managed to stand up and go down without puto ting our integrity at risk. We are very disappointed and will not reccomend this service at all. Perhaps was only the instructor but just think that the same could happen to you and they will be putting your life and integrity at risk. read more

I can't say enough great things about Dave and Will. Communication prior to the lesson was great. They were super flexible working with me on a snowboard and my 5 & 7 yr olds on skis. It was my first time in 22 years and their first time ever. My daughter is SUPER shy but they were both very patient. Fast forward - I got the pointers I needed, Dave had my oldest pretty much skiing on his own and Will had my daughter just loving it. They very quickly assessed our varying levels of skill and comfort and made for the beast lesson possible. read more

Erica and Jake were the perfect team to teach my boys. They were super down to earth and talkative and took the time to explain how to ride. They were very hands on and the boys were practically riding on their own after 2 runs! read more

Learn To Snowboard - My boys listening to tips from Jake - Ski Schools Near Me

My friend and I had our snowboarding class with Christian today. It was very awesome. Neither of us can do S turns without falling before but after 2 hours we can do quick S turns and also jumps! Christian was very professional and knowledgeable. We had a great experience!! read more

Excellent experience with Learn to Snowboard. After a few lessons at Snow Summit, we weren't really progressing. We stumbled upon this company on Yelp. It only had a dozen reviews but looked promising. Well, the yelp rating was spot on. Jason the manager at Learn to Snowboard called me back immediately. He arranged for us to have a lesson with an excellent instructor name Cortland. Furthermore, Jason strongly recommended that we rent our equipment at a nearby store. This recommendation was excellent. At the slopes, Cortland taught my wife to ski within a two hour lesson. He is able to ski backwards and spotted her down the hill. This truly made her trip to Big Bear memorable. My advice- skip the Snow Summit lesson and book it here. If you are lucky enough to get Cortland, you will be very happy!!! read more

My husband Kevin and I had our first snowboarding class with Dave today. It was great. Communication prior to class was very effective. Neither of us had snowboard before so we were pretty nervous. Dave was very patient and knowledgeable. We had a great experience and a lot of fun. We will def be coming back. read more

These guys are fantastic. We've used them 2 seasons in a row. Very knowledgeable and friendly. Worked with my daughter really well. Definitely recommend them!! read more

Such an awesome experience! The staff was so amazing and patient. And there were only 6 people in the class so you get a good experience.

First time I tried snowboarding was earlier this month. My instructor Dylan was courteous and enthusiastic about the sport, and helped me feel like I could do it without being scared (which I was!). I wouldn't say just anybody could do it, but if you don't feel like you can, I'd recommend these guys for sure. They helped me get over my fears (of the chairlift especially) and actually had me go down some pretty fun slopes my very first time. Please use these guys! Thanks Dylan!! read more

Will was a great instructor. Really easy to work with and he gave me some great tips. I am a terrible snowboarder and am only able to go up maybe 1-2 days per year, but I wanted a private lesson in order to gain more confidence and learn better technique. The pricing is fair in comparison to what you would pay from Bear Mountain. Will met me close to the base and we immediately got on the lift. The way he explained the physics and body positioning had me feeling more confident going down the mountain, especially going onto my toeside. We had to cut the lesson 30 minutes short due to staffing issues, but I was prorated a fair amount. I would take another lesson with Will :) read more

Both of my kids had the best lessons at Bear Mountain with Will who went above my expectations. My 7-year old son went from never having been on a snowboard in his life to getting on/off a lift and riding green runs without falling. He took my 11-year old daughter on her first black diamond and built her confidence on freestyle terrain. When we come back to Big Bear, my kids will be doing lessons with Learn to Snowboard again for sure!! read more

These guys were awesome! The communication with Dave leading up to the lesson was clear and concise, and he was kind enough to make some time adjustments at our request. Once we got on the hill, Will was a patient, kind, enthusiastic ski instructor with our seven-year-old daughter. He taught her many useful techniques during their two hour lesson, and gave me many tips to help her continue to progress. My daughter was a confident skier by the end of their lesson together, and she was excited to spend the rest of the day practicing everything that Will had taught her. I'm really glad we went with these guys, and we'll be reaching back out when my other daughter is ready to get started! read more

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! This place offered a deal where you can have a private instructor for 2 hours for $150. First of all, I consider myself a seasoned snowboarder: 10 years from Big Bear, Mammoth, whistler, Lake Tahoe and more. I wanted to share the experience with my friend, beginner, to learn how to ride. First of all, the instructor was LATE, TERRIBLE and IMPATIENT! He could not teach the basics to my friend and I basically had to do the job myself. When I asked him to help me perfect my skills, he responded clearly: "You already got it man! You don't need me!" $150 for nothing.. Finally after exactly 1h28, the instructor said that we were done. When I told him that we had 30 minutes left, he responded by saying that going down the slopes would take 30min. I did it in 3min and my friend 10.. Long story short, we WASTED $300, had the worst instructor and didn't have our full 2 hours. Stay away!! read more

We are very unhappy with taking a class from this company. We were starting from level 0 experience, thinking we would go over the basics. Dylan put us on a green level which felt like a blue and was an awful time. It took an hour and half to go down one mountain , falling the whole time and it was miserable. We didn't learn anything from this lesson and I recommend going directly with a ski company from Big Bear. Save your money from this company! read more

Very accommodating and easy. My instructor, who's name escapes me, was beyond kind and patient. While I had snowboarded before she helped me nail down the areas I felt less confident in while also spending the majority of the time teaching my son the basics. While I try to progress in my snowboarding experience I will definitely think about hiring them again as they are far cheaper and I am confident just as good as the instructors you can hire at Summit. read more

Met our guys up at Snow Summit with our 8 and 10 year old. After a two hour lesson for them they were able to get down the bunny slopes pretty easily. Super convenient and they were prompt and courteous. They do recommend beginner lessons at Big Bear (as opposed to Snow Summit so take that into account.) Thanks guys for a great day! read more

My son rode with Dave over the Holiday and had a blast. Highly recommend Dave! Thank you for another great experience.

DO NOT BOOK WITH THIS COMPANY !!! READ BELOW FIRST On December 21, 2018 my family and I booked a two hour private snowboarding lesson for our five kids ages 6 to 11. The cost of the lesson was $500 which would have been worth it to us if our kids were taught the proper fundamentals of the sport in an appropriate environment, unfortunately they were not. Below are the exact details of what happened to explain our dissatisfaction. Our kids were taken up lift 9 at big bear resort to the top of the mountain. The instructors new our kids have never been on boards. This was the first bad decision as the terrain too challenging for their age and skill level. When I questioned the instructor he said it was ok there were other runs that would be ok for the kids. Not only was this run too challenging but it was very crowded with very good and fast skiers and boarders. Our kids were terrified! My middle son's arm was ran over and his jacket was torn due to the level and speed of the individuals he was around and the terrain he was on. This is completely inappropriate as your instructor put our kids in a dangerous situation with real risk. They should have been on the beginner slopes with kids and adults of the same skill level! Our kids did not even finish the run. The were told to take the lift down the mountain when the instructor realized it was just too challenging. How is that a lesson?! Towards the end of the lesson because of my frustration with the situation I called your company and spoke with Jason. He told me the instructor should have taken them on lift 6 or 7 which are the intermediate runs. When I told him they took them on lift 9 he seemed shocked. I also spoke with the second instructor, Jay, and she confided in me that the decision to take them up lift 9 was wrong. She told me her standard lesson was to start out on the bunny hill and them move up as their confidence grows. Jake called last night to apologize and said he had made a mistake in judgment. When I mentioned wanting a refund he stated he would probably loose his job. While I understand mistakes I don't believe we should be responsible for this. As you can see what we paid for we did not receive. In addition when taking our kids on the bunny hill later they told us they were not taught how to stop, which was obvious! Overall this was a terrible experience which was a waste of our time, money, and negatively impacted our kids first experience on the mountain. We have since attempted several times to speak with someone from the company as well as sent emails requesting a refund and no response as of now. This is a terrible company. Please don't waste your money. read more

Absolutely fantastic experience! David and Will were knowledgeable, patient and so fun teaching our family how to snowboard. The pictures and videos were great. We made some amazing memories and would definitely recommend Learn To Snowboard!!! read more

My daughter (7) and I took lessons with Jay and she was fantastic! By the end of our second 2 hr lesson my daughter was getting down the mountain by herself with proper control and without falling and I was mastering my heel-toe turns! We were both so happy. My daughter has a new favorite sport and I believe Jay really helped give her and I the instruction and confidence we needed to keep at it. Couldn't have asked for a better experience and so thankful for Jay for being such an awesome teacher! read more

I took my son snowboarding 2x. He could not get off his back edge. Arguments started happening every time he caught an edge. Collin was our instructor and had the ability to hold my son from behind and turn as a tandem. This really helped and by the end of the day he stared carving. Great investment as we prepare for a Mammoth trip. read more

Will did a great job with two kids in a private board lesson. On the first run, they were both moving down the mountain smoothly. Will was also very accommodating to me, allowing me to get some good runs in while the kids were learning. read more

I took a lesson with this company this weekend. Called at 11pm hoping they would still have a spot for the following day and somehow they moved things around and got me and my boyfriend in for a ski lesson. He's a snowboarder but I made him try skiing with me. My instructor Jonathan was our instructor and we were very happy with him. He was knowledgeable and attentive, and never made me feel bad about falling 1000 times. I exceeded my own expectations and was able to start and finish the entire run after Jonathan's help. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone who wants to give skiing a try. read more

Thank you Jake for accommodating our last minute request for ski lessons for my 7yo daughter and her friend. We were able to very easily meet up with Vini and he was so kind and helpful with the girls. They had a GREAT time on the mountain with him and he helped them both with their technique. read more

Will did a great job getting my 8 yr old up on skis and cruising, in less than two hours. He was engaging with my son, and I could tell he made it fun for him. I would recommend LTS to friends. read more

I'm really bad at snow boarding and hate the cold.. but going to Learn to Snowboard helped me get so much better with my balance and skills. Having lessons with Jake made it so fun and easy, and you forget how cold you are :) read more