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The Big Bear Valley offers a vast collection of mountain biking trails and is known as one of the hot beds of the sport. Cross-country mountain bikers of all ages and skill levels will find the ideal two-wheel adventure in Big Bear.

Cross-Country Paradise

For novice riders, the Bristlecone Trail east of the base area and Towne Trail to the west offer gentle, rolling terrain that is a perfect introduction to mountain biking. Intermediate riders will find terrain that is slightly more challenging from the top of the Scenic Sky Chair including Skyline Drive, which rolls across the top of the ridge with great views of Big Bear Lake. A short, steep single-track climb takes you to Grandview Point, which is a great spot to take a break and is the starting point of a thrilling ride to Towne Trail and back to Snow Summit. It's a nine-mile loop and one of the most popular rides in the area. Those who are looking for more time in the saddle can stay on Skyline Drive all the way to the Champion Lodgepole Pine then loop back to the resort making an epic 16 miler.

Snow Summit will no longer transport downhill specific mountain bikes on the Sky Chair during the summer months for either recreational or competitive purposes. The resort will continue to haul conventional (cross-country) mountain bikes for the public on the Sky Chair, with access to off-site Forest Service trails and roads. The resort has taken this action because of the liability exposure and forest damage from downhill bikes. Furthermore, there will be no more biking of any kind on the ski runs.

Any one of the following four factors will disqualify a bike from being transported on the chair:

1. Bikes must be less than 35 pounds.
2. Designated tire size must be less than 2.5.
3. Front shock must have less than 6 inches of travel.
4. Bikes must have three chain rings unless they are single speed.