Bear Valley Ski Getaways

Bear Valley Resort started its lifts in the winter of 1967-68 and has been slowly evolving ever since. Now in the hands of Dundee Realty USA, the same company that owns Arapahoe Basin in Colorado, Bear Valley continues to grow. Recent improvements include replacing the Hibernator lift with a new high speed quad, aptly named the Polar Express, as well as updates to the mid-mountain lodge, the rental area and the ski school. With an average snowfall of 359 inches annually, 10 lifts(including the carpet), and 1280 acres of skiable terrain it's easy to see why visitors to Bear Valley tend to enjoy themselves.

The terrain at Bear Valley consists of 67 trails with about 65% of the terrain being designated as beginner or intermediate. Beginner terrain is clustered conveniently in front of the base lodge and can be accessed in its entirety by the Cub Chair, the Super Cub Chair and the Panda Carpet. Intermediates can take the Koala chair to the left of the base lodge for some shorter runs or head straight to the top via the Kuma or Bear Chair. (Are you seeing a trend in lift names here?) From the top the whole right side of the mountain opens up offering a number of intermediate runs, some freestyle terrain and even a couple of more advanced trails. For the advanced skier or rider there are a number of options if you head to the top, but the area below the base lodge is all yours. Known as the Grizzly Bowl, there is nothing but single and double black diamond trails in this area. Plus there is no snowmaking here, although about 100 acres are covered on the upper mountain, so it is all natural in the bowl.