Big Bear vs Mountain High
Researched September 17, 2026 against each resort's own published mountain statistics · figures change between seasons, so we say where every number came from
The short version: Big Bear is 3.4 times the mountain, Mountain High is 30 to 40 minutes closer, and that is genuinely the whole trade.
Big Bear Mountain Resort gives you 678 skiable acres across three mountains on one ticket, the highest lift-served peak in Southern California at 8,805 feet, the only halfpipes in the region, and the best beginner mountain SoCal has. Mountain High gives you 200 acres, ten terrain parks, night skiing five days a week in peak season, and a drive you can do on a whim after work.
Pick Big Bear for a first-timer, a mixed-ability group, or any day you want to still be finding new runs at 2pm. Pick Mountain High for a short-notice day trip, park laps, or an evening session.
The numbers, side by side
Every figure below is the operator's own published number or the California Ski Industry Association's. We do not use aggregator terrain data, for reasons we get into at the bottom.
| Big Bear Mountain Resort | Mountain High | |
|---|---|---|
| Skiable acres | 678 — Snow Valley 240, Snow Summit 240, Bear Mountain 198 | 200 across East, West and North |
| Mountains on one ticket | 3 | 3 |
| Summit elevation | 8,805 ft at Bear Mountain | 8,200 ft |
| Vertical drop | 1,665 ft at Bear Mountain | 1,600 ft |
| Trails / runs | 91 — 32 + 33 + 26 | 50 |
| Lifts | 26 chairlifts — 9 + 10 + 7 | 14 |
| Terrain parks | 6, including the region's only halfpipes | 10 |
| Terrain mix | 40% beginner, 30% intermediate, 10% advanced, 10% expert (Summit + Bear) | 18% beginner, 38% intermediate, 42% advanced, 0% expert |
| From Los Angeles | ~100 mi, a little over 2 hours | ~70-80 mi, about 90 minutes |
| Average annual snowfall | 100 in (Summit + Bear) | 117 in |
| Snowmaking | 330 snow guns, 6,000 gallons per minute | More than 80% of slopes covered |
| Major pass | Ikon | Cali Pass |
| Night skiing | Snow Summit and Snow Valley, 3:00pm-8:30pm, select dates | Wed-Sun in peak season |
| 2026-27 opening | Nov 21 at the earliest, explicitly unconfirmed | Targeting Fri Nov 21, expects to be first in the region |
If you ride park, one fact decides it
This is the question that fills the forum threads, and it has a cleaner answer than those threads suggest, because the two resorts are not competing for the same rider.
Mountain High runs ten terrain parks — more, and more varied jump and jib lines, on a mountain you can reach in 90 minutes. If you want volume and laps, that is a real advantage, and the night operation means you can session a park after work.
But Bear Mountain builds the only halfpipes in Southern California. That is the resort's own claim, stated plainly on its site — it brands Bear Mountain the "Park & Pipe Paradise" and lists "SoCal's Only Halfpipes" among its offerings. If you ride pipe, there is no comparison to make. Bear Mountain is the only option in the region and the decision is already taken.
For everyone else in the park: Mountain High for quantity and proximity, Bear Mountain for a top-to-bottom park mountain with 1,665 feet of vertical under it. Our California terrain parks guide covers the statewide picture.
For beginners, it is not close
If somebody in your group has never skied, this comparison is over before it starts, and the terrain percentages say why.
Mountain High publishes its terrain as 18% beginner against 42% advanced. It is a good mountain, but its centre of gravity is well past the learning stage. Big Bear publishes 40% beginner across Snow Summit and Bear Mountain — and more importantly it has Snow Valley, which the resort itself designates as the beginner and family mountain, and which has been teaching people to ski since 1937.
The structural advantage is the ticket. Snow Valley sits on the full three-mountain pass, so a first-timer who finds their feet on day one is not stuck on the beginner hill — they can ride the free shuttle over to Snow Summit and keep going. A Mountain High ticket has no equivalent step up.
The cheat code nobody mentions: Snow Valley is about 85 miles and roughly 90 minutes from Los Angeles — essentially the same drive as Mountain High — and it is on the full Big Bear ticket. If the drive is what is pushing you toward Mountain High but you need beginner terrain, this is the answer to both problems at once.
The drive is the real cost, and it is not symmetrical
Roughly 30 to 40 minutes each way, so call it an hour of your day. Whether that matters depends entirely on the shape of the trip.
It matters a lot for a day trip
An hour of driving out of a single day is a big share of your daylight, especially when Southern California resorts are typically running 9am to 4pm. Mountain High also opens onto the I-15 / SR-138 side rather than the mountain highways into Big Bear, which is a different traffic problem.
It matters much less for a weekend
Drive once, and Big Bear gives you a town at 6,752 feet with a deep vacation-rental market, three mountains and a free shuttle between two of them. Mountain High is set up for people who go home the same day.
Routes to Big Bear: SR-330 via Highland is the shortest and congests worst; SR-38 via Redlands is about 20 minutes longer with fewer switchbacks. Check both before you commit — SR-38 has a history of storm closures. Where to sleep: our Big Bear lodging guide and Mountain High guide.
Night skiing: more nights, or longer nights
Both run lights, and the difference is worth understanding before you plan around it.
Mountain High runs night skiing Wednesday to Sunday in peak season — five nights a week, which is simply more availability than Big Bear offers.
Big Bear runs night sessions 3:00pm to 8:30pm on selected dates, December through mid-March, and there are two catches that catch people out:
Bear Mountain does not offer night sessions at all. That is the resort's own statement. Night skiing in Big Bear means Snow Summit or Snow Valley only — which is awkward if you came for the park. And a day ticket does not include night access: it is a separate night ticket, or a $19 adult add-on. A Snow Summit night ticket includes same-day Snow Valley; the reverse is not true.
Big Bear's published 2026-27 night dates: December 12, 19-23 and 25-31; January 1-2, 8-9, 15-17, 22-23 and 29-30; February 5-6, 12-14, 19-20 and 26-27; and March 6 and 13. Subject to change.
Tickets and passes
These are separate companies. No single ticket or pass covers both.
Big Bear — Ikon
All three mountains are on the Ikon Pass with unlimited winter access. In the resort's own words: "BBMR lift tickets are valid for same-day use at Snow Valley, Snow Summit, and Bear Mountain (excluding Night Sessions)."
2026-27 adult day tickets run roughly $89 to $169 by date. Watch out: a Snow Valley-only ticket is a separate, cheaper, single-mountain product at $89 to $109 and does not include the other two.
Mountain High — Cali Pass
Not on Ikon or Epic. Mountain High is on the Cali Pass: unlimited with no blackout dates here and at Bear Valley, Dodge Ridge and China Peak, all four owned by California Mountain Resort Company. It also carries 3 days at each of 14 Powder Alliance resorts and buddy tickets at up to 50% off. The operator states it is not valid at Mammoth or at the Big Bear resorts.
Its ticket is good at all three of its mountains when open, excluding the tubing park. We are not quoting Mountain High prices here because we could not verify 2026-27 figures — its published rates were last dated to an earlier season.
Full breakdown on our California ski pass comparison and Ikon Pass guide.
Both make their own snow, so pick the week carefully
Neither of these is a snowfall mountain. Big Bear averages 100 inches a year across Snow Summit and Bear Mountain; Mountain High averages 117. Mammoth, by the same source, averages 400.
So both build their seasons. Big Bear runs 330 snow guns and can convert 6,000 gallons of water into snow every minute. Mountain High covers more than 80 percent of its slopes and has been reinvesting in low-energy fan guns.
The practical consequence applies equally to both, and it is the single most useful thing to know about skiing in this region: snowmaking runs on wet-bulb temperature, not the number on your weather app. The threshold is 27 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, and on a dry night 32-degree air can read 22 on the wet bulb. Check the overnight lows and humidity for the three to five nights before you go, not the precipitation forecast. A dry cold snap is better news than a warm storm, at either resort.
The full explanation is in our Southern California ski guide.
The verdict, by what you are actually doing
| If you are… | Go to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Taking a first-timer or kids | Big Bear (Snow Valley) | 40% beginner terrain, a dedicated learning mountain since 1937, and room to progress on the same ticket |
| Riding halfpipe | Bear Mountain | The only halfpipes in Southern California. No decision to make |
| Lapping jumps and jibs | Mountain High | Ten parks against six, on a shorter drive, with more night availability |
| Going after work or on a weeknight | Mountain High | Night skiing Wed-Sun in peak season versus selected dates only |
| Deciding that morning | Mountain High | 30 to 40 minutes closer each way, which is most of an hour of daylight |
| Making a weekend of it | Big Bear | Three mountains, a real town at 6,752 ft, and a deep vacation-rental market |
| Skiing with a mixed-ability group | Big Bear | One ticket spans a beginner mountain, a groomer mountain and a park mountain |
| An advanced skier wanting steeps | Neither — Mt. Baldy | 600 acres, 2,200 ft of vertical and 70% advanced-to-expert terrain, about an hour from LA. Almost no snowmaking, so check conditions first |
Big Bear vs Mountain High — frequently asked questions
Is Big Bear or Mountain High better?
It depends what you are optimising for. Big Bear gives you 678 acres across three mountains on one ticket, the highest lift-served peak in Southern California at 8,805 feet, the only halfpipes in the region, and the strongest beginner mountain in Snow Valley. Mountain High gives you a drive roughly 30 to 40 minutes shorter each way, ten terrain parks and night skiing five days a week in peak season, on 200 acres. For a first-timer, a mixed-ability group or a full weekend, Big Bear. For a short-notice day trip, park laps or an evening session, Mountain High.
How much bigger is Big Bear than Mountain High?
Big Bear Mountain Resort is 678 skiable acres across Snow Valley, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, all covered by one ticket. Mountain High is 200 skiable acres across its East, West and North areas, also on one ticket. That makes Big Bear roughly 3.4 times larger. Big Bear also has the higher summit at 8,805 feet against 8,200, and slightly more vertical at 1,665 feet against 1,600.
Which is closer to Los Angeles?
Mountain High, by roughly 30 to 40 minutes each way. It sits about 70 to 80 miles from Los Angeles, typically about 90 minutes. Big Bear is about 100 miles and a little over two hours. One thing worth knowing: Snow Valley, which is on the full Big Bear ticket, is about 85 miles and roughly 90 minutes — so you can get Big Bear ticket access at close to Mountain High drive times.
Which is better for beginners?
Big Bear, and it is not close. Snow Valley is the beginner and family mountain that Big Bear Mountain Resort itself designates as such, it has been teaching since 1937, and it is on the full three-mountain ticket so a progressing skier is not locked in. Mountain High publishes its terrain as 18 percent beginner against 42 percent advanced. Big Bear publishes 40 percent beginner across Snow Summit and Bear Mountain.
Which is better for terrain parks and snowboarding?
Mountain High runs more parks — ten of them. Bear Mountain runs the only halfpipes in Southern California, which the resort states directly, and brands itself the Park and Pipe Paradise. So the answer splits: for volume and variety of jump and jib lines on a shorter drive, Mountain High. If you ride pipe, Bear Mountain is the only option in the region and the choice is made for you.
Can you ski Big Bear and Mountain High on the same ticket?
No. They are separate operators. A Big Bear Mountain Resort ticket covers Snow Valley, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain on the same day, excluding night sessions. A Mountain High ticket covers its own East, West and North areas. Big Bear is on the Ikon Pass; Mountain High is on the Cali Pass, which also covers Bear Valley, Dodge Ridge and China Peak unlimited with no blackouts.
Which has better night skiing?
Mountain High runs night skiing Wednesday to Sunday in peak season, which is more nights than Big Bear offers. Big Bear runs night sessions from 3:00pm to 8:30pm on selected dates from December through mid-March, and only at Snow Summit and Snow Valley — Bear Mountain does not offer night sessions at all. At Big Bear a day ticket does not include night access; it is a separate ticket or a $19 adult add-on.
How we sourced this
Per-mountain acreage, vertical, elevation, trail and lift counts for Big Bear come from the resort's own mountain statistics page. Mountain High's figures and both resorts' terrain percentages and snowfall averages come from the California Ski Industry Association, so the comparison is like-for-like rather than stitched together from different methodologies. Ticket terms, night-session dates and the halfpipe claim are quoted from Big Bear Mountain Resort's own pages.
One asymmetry we are not going to paper over: we quote 2026-27 ticket prices for Big Bear but not for Mountain High, because Mountain High's published rate card still carried an earlier season when we checked. We would rather leave a gap than print a stale number.
A general warning about the figures you will find elsewhere. The largest ski-conditions aggregator currently lists Bear Mountain at 748 skiable acres against the resort's own 198 — 748 is the US Forest Service permitted boundary, not developed terrain. It lists Mountain High at 290 acres against 200. It also files Mammoth and June Mountain under Southern California. Check the operator, not the aggregator.
Before you book
In this region the week matters more than the mountain. Check conditions first.
SoCal ski guideSnow forecastOpening datesResort mapTerrain figures are each operator's own published numbers or California Ski Industry Association data. Ticket prices, night-session dates and opening dates are as published for 2026-27 and change without notice. SnoCal is not affiliated with Big Bear Mountain Resort, Mountain High or any pass operator.