Big Bear, United States: Self-Guided Walking Tour
Things to Do in Big Bear
Big Bear is a mountain community in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California, centered on Big Bear Lake and offering alpine scenery throughout the year. Visitors come for skiing, hiking, wildlife encounters and scenic spots such as the Big Bear Alpine Zoo and the Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain. Neywo provides a free audio guide for Big Bear with 14 narrated places available in 11 languages, letting you explore at your own pace.
Key Places to See
Big Bear Alpine Zoo
The Big Bear Alpine Zoo, formerly known as Moonridge Animal Park, focuses on rehabilitating local alpine species and releasing them back into the wild when possible. It also maintains a permanent collection of animals that cannot be returned to nature.
Animal Park
Animal Park lies in a sparsely populated, forested mountain landscape of San Bernardino County, surrounded by hills, nearby peaks and coniferous forest.
Meadow Park
Meadow Park is a quiet open space set within a sparsely populated mountain area. The park is largely covered by coniferous forest, with Snow Summit—reaching 2,491 meters—about 3.1 kilometers to the south. The climate is Mediterranean, averaging 21 °C in July and near 0 °C in January, with yearly rainfall of roughly 225 mm.
Moonridge Zoo
Situated at an elevation of about 2,162 meters, Moonridge Zoo is surrounded by coniferous forest and lightly populated hills, with higher mountains rising to the southeast.
Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain
This amusement park features the Alpine Slide, which lets riders descend the mountain, and the Mineshaft Coaster. It is noted as the first and only mountain coaster in California.
Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain is a ski area in the San Bernardino National Forest, originally established in 1941. Over time it has been known as Moonridge Ski Area, Goldmine Mountain and Big Bear Mountain before adopting its current name.
Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain (duplicate entry)
The same amusement park described above offers the Alpine Slide and Mineshaft Coaster, highlighted as California’s sole mountain coaster.
Bear Valley Unified School District
The district oversees education for communities across the valley, including Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Boulder Bay and Sugarloaf. It operates seven schools: Big Bear Elementary, North Shore Elementary, Baldwin Lane Elementary, Fallsvale Elementary, Big Bear Middle School, Big Bear High School and Chautauqua High School.
Bow Canyon
Bow Canyon is a valley in San Bernardino County, offering an open landscape typical of the county’s mountainous terrain.
Eagle Point
Eagle Point is a cape in a hilly setting near Big Bear Lake. The surrounding area’s highest point is Bertha Peak at 2,499 meters, located roughly 3.3 kilometers to the north.
Mallard Lagoon
Mallard Lagoon is a quiet bay in San Bernardino County, providing a calm water setting amid the mountain scenery.
Gilner Point
Gilner Point is a cape where the terrain varies, with nearby mountains and extensive coniferous forest covering the area. Plains, springs and other water sources are also present in the wider region.
Gibralter Point
Gibralter Point lies in a sparsely populated, forested mountain landscape close to Big Bear Lake, offering a secluded vista.
Rebel Ridge
Rebel Ridge is a ridge in San Bernardino County where the surrounding environment shifts with the seasons, providing changing views throughout the year.
Explore Big Bear with Neywo
Download the free Neywo app to enjoy a self‑guided audio experience of Big Bear. The app triggers a narrated story as you reach each of the 14 featured spots, allowing you to move at your own pace without a group or a fixed schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages, so you can discover the city’s alpine zoo, scenic parks, ski areas and natural landmarks in the language that suits you best.
Places with an audio guide in Big Bear
8 places in Big Bear with a Neywo audio guide. Each one starts telling its story as you reach it.
Walk Big Bear with Neywo
Neywo turns Big Bear into a self-guided audio tour. Stories arrive as you reach the place they belong to, and the route reshapes when you wander off it.
