Big Bear Lake Mountain Village & Lake Kayaking

The north shore village of Big Bear Lake has been a Los Angeles mountain retreat since the 1930s — a two-block main street of independent shops, restaurants, and the Big Bear Discovery Center documenting the natural history of the San Bernardino Mountains. The lake itself (3,000 acres, 7 miles long) is visible from almost every point in the village; the morning light on the water is the village's best quality.

A Big Bear Village institution serving hearty mountain cuisine — the wood-fired breakfast plates and the lunch sandwiches built around local ingredients make this the village's most reliable midday option. The outdoor patio faces the main street; the elk burger is made from locally-raised elk.

Island Packers' seasonal whale-watching cruises from Ventura Harbor offer guaranteed-or-return-free sightings of gray whales in winter, blue and humpback whales in summer. The 3-4 hour cruise passes the Channel Islands' dramatic sea cliffs without requiring any physical exertion.

The lakefront promenade along the north shore between the village marina and Pine Knot Landing is a half-mile of level walking with continuous lake views — benches, picnic areas, and the dock where the Big Bear Queen paddleboat departs for narrated lake tours. The afternoon light on the water from this shore is the lake's most photographed moment.

The Channel Islands National Park visitor center in Ventura includes an observation deck and touch pools overlooking the harbor, with exhibits on island ecology and a scale model of all five islands — a gentle way to experience the park's story without taking the ferry.

A lakeside restaurant directly on the Big Bear Lake marina, serving California coastal cuisine in a mountain setting — the fresh trout, the Dungeness crab (transported from the coast), and the cold craft beers are the midday anchors. The dock-side seating puts you 10 feet above the water surface.

A research facility on the north shore of Big Bear Lake operated by the New Jersey Institute of Technology — one of the world's foremost solar observatories, positioned over the lake to avoid atmospheric turbulence. Public tours are available by reservation on summer weekday afternoons; the 65-centimeter telescope is one of the largest solar telescopes in the United States.