Big Bear Lake's Ski Season Runs on a Parking Calendar
November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
When does ski season start in Big Bear Lake? Big Bear Mountain Resort has not confirmed an opening day. It says November 21 is the earliest date any of its resorts may open for the 2026-27 season, and that this is not an official opening date. Lift tickets on sale now start November 21 at Snow Summit and November 27 at Snow Valley and Bear Mountain. Opening depends on conditions, and the resort has said it may not know until snowmaking can begin around mid-November.
The more useful question for someone who lives here is which days cost money to park. The resort has published that calendar in full, and for a local with a season pass, it explains the winter better than any opening announcement.
Paid parking in the base-area lots runs $25 to $30 at Snow Valley and $30 to $40 at Snow Summit or Bear Mountain on selected 2026-27 dates. Spread across the months, those dates look very different from one month to the next:
| Month | Paid parking dates | Count |
|---|---|---|
| December 2026 | 4–6, 11–31 | 24 of 31 days |
| January 2027 | 1–10, 15–18, 22–24, 29–31 | 20 of 31 days |
| February 2027 | 5–7, 12–21, 26–28 | 16 of 28 days |
| March 2027 | 5–7, 12–14, 19–21, 26–28 | 12 of 31 days |
December has the heaviest load. From December 11 through January 10, every day is a paid day, a 31-day stretch with no free gaps. After that the pattern turns into Friday-to-Sunday blocks, plus longer runs for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend (January 15–18) and the Presidents' Day period (February 12–21). By March, only weekends are paid. In practice, a Tuesday in mid-January and a Saturday in mid-December are two different kinds of ski day.
Two more rules matter. Online parking reservations have to be bought at least 24 hours before arrival. Same-day spots may be sold by a parking attendant if any are left, and the resort says spots "tend to sell out a few days prior to the weekend." Base lots are usually full by 7:30 a.m. on weekends, holidays and peak periods.
On paid dates, holders of the Ikon Pass, Ikon Base Pass, BBMR Anytime, BBMR Midweek and Snow Valley Anytime park free at Snow Valley. The resort's reason is practical. Snow Valley has no offsite lots, so there is nowhere else to send pass holders. The same lack of offsite lots cuts the other way for day guests: anyone at Snow Valley without a Daily Paid Parking ticket is turned away from parking.
At Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, the two resorts on the edge of Big Bear Lake, a season pass does not include base-lot parking on paid dates. Pass holders either pay the daily fee or park in a free offsite lot and take the shuttle. The season-long workaround, the $699 Premium Parking Pass for the upper lots at all three resorts, is sold out for 2026-27.
So on a paid Saturday, the lifts closest to home are the ones where a pass holder pays to park, and the drive west on Highway 18 to Running Springs is the one where parking is included. On a free weekday, the base lots at Summit and Bear Mountain are first-come, first-served at no charge.
Night skiing comes with a narrow exception. The resort says base-lot parking is free at Snow Summit after 2 p.m. and at Snow Valley after 6 p.m. for guests with Night Session reservations, based on availability.
If you don't buy a ticket on a paid day, you end up in the offsite system. The resort runs five free lots with complimentary shuttles to the Snow Summit and Bear Mountain base areas. These lots open based on volume rather than on fixed hours.
The order changes on peak days. The City of Big Bear Lake requires the resort to run a Traffic Management Plan on selected dates, usually peak weekends and holidays that line up with paid parking. On those dates, drivers without reserved parking are sent to Sandalwood first. On other dates, the order is the upper lots at Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, then Brownie, Fox Farm and Sandalwood. The resort's stated purpose is to reduce the effect of guest traffic on residents and businesses, and the BBMR mobile app shows lot status in real time.
The resort's shuttle service is still ramping up for the season. Its shuttle page lists the offsite-lot shuttles as paused until the season starts. It also lists the intermountain shuttle between Snow Summit and Bear Mountain as paused until December, after which it runs every 30 minutes on selected dates.
For people who live in town, the simplest option on a paid day may be the bus. Mountain Transit's Red Line runs seven days a week, and its route name lists its path: The Village, Moonridge, Bear City, Sugarloaf, Erwin Lake. It stops at Village–Knickerbocker Rd, Snow Summit–Summit Blvd, Bear Mountain–Goldmine Dr, and Alden Rd & Big Bear Blvd. Mountain Transit says Big Bear's Red, Blue and Gold fixed routes are free for all riders. Big Bear Mountain Resort also points people staying locally to the Red Line.
The current Monday-through-Saturday timetable at the Village–Knickerbocker stop has Red Line departures:
On Sundays, the same stop has departures every hour from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. On paid Saturdays, the half-hour departures cover the ski day. One stop has moved recently. As of October 19, 2026, the Vons stop for the Red, Blue and Gold lines is a new shelter behind Vons on Sandalwood Dr.
Day visitors without parking at their lodging can use the City of Big Bear Lake's free public lots at 615 Bartlett Road, 630 Knickerbocker Road and Pennsylvania Road, which has EV charging, plus the Alden Lot behind the Dynasty restaurant. From any of them, Mountain Transit runs to the base areas. These lots have no free overnight parking. If your house guests head up the hill on a December Saturday, those addresses keep extra cars off the base lots.
The city's 2026 Snow Removal Guide, announced October 16, covers parking at home. Under Ordinance 2023-517, the city treats October 15 through April 15 as a period of snow conditions. During that time, vehicles may not be left unattended on any city street. Cars that get in the way of plowing can be fined up to $500 per offense and towed. When snow conditions are in effect, the city offers free overnight parking at the West Civic Center Parking Lot, 39707 Big Bear Blvd., and the Alden Parking Lot, 547 Alden Road. Its 24-hour snow removal hotline is 909-752-2830. The full rules are in the city's Snow Removal Guide.
The Alden lot fits both systems. It is a daytime public lot the resort sends day visitors to, and it is a free overnight lot when snow conditions are in effect. The Red Line stops at Alden Rd & Big Bear Blvd.
Buying lift access works on a calendar this year too. The BBMR Double Play, new for the season, is two undated lift tickets for $149, for ages 5 to 79, with no blackout dates. It also introduces the resort's first limited-capacity reservation system. Buyers choose a BBMR ticket good at all three mountains or a Snow Valley-only ticket when they reserve a day through their Ikon Pass account. Reservations must be made by 9 a.m. on the day of arrival, and canceling by 11:59 p.m. Pacific the night before keeps the visit from being forfeited. The pack is non-refundable and non-transferable.
The resort currently lists season passes at $739 for an adult BBMR Anytime pass and $499 for BBMR Midweek or Snow Valley Anytime. The Anytime pass's current pricing tier runs through December 1, and its winter tier starts December 2. A new "Cancel for Any Reason" option makes a pass refundable for an extra 20 percent of its price, subject to restrictions. The parking fines and refund terms above come from the city and the resort. This is general information, not legal or financial advice, so confirm the details of your situation with the right source before you rely on them.
If the ski calendar has you thinking about which side of the valley gets you to the lifts fastest, or whether your cabin works as well in January as it does in July, John & Ryan Real Estate Group can walk you through it in person. Schedule a consultation and we'll map your winter with you.
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