High Octane, High Altitude: Adventure Parks in Sky Forest and Big Bear, California

Posted on by Diversions LA

When you’re looking for some thrills, family fun, and high powered amusement, look higher – ascend from Interstate 10 up Highway 18 to Skyforest and then Big Bear Lake.

That’s right, it’s not all about skiing, snowboarding, and summer boating – it’s about wildly unique zip lines and coasters, adventures on outdoor climbing walls, archery, go karts and pedal cars.

If you’re wondering where to find these thrills, read on.

SkyPark at Santa’s Village

Located in Skyforest,  SkyPark at Santa’s Village takes an iconic attraction (the original Santa’s Village) and makes it new again – and packed with thrills.

Perhaps the most thrilling is the Adventure Zipline. Soaring 30 feet above the floor of the forest, and bringing riders excitingly – but safely – close to tree tops, riders are harnessed in to fly over the park, landing via another locked-in zipline to ground level again.  Our rider loved it, and felt what he described as “total delight” while skimming over the wooded landscape.

It’s a much tamer but equally charming ride through the forest at ground level on the Northwoods Express, a modernized version of a ride that kids and adults both loved at the original Santa’s Village. Electric powered and manned by the friendliest conductor around, the train takes guests on a leisurely ride through the meadowlands.

But back to those thrills: I’d never experienced archery before a visit to Princess Evergreen ‘s Archery Range. After a quick but smart lesson from one of the park’s Adventure Team members, guests retreat with a bow and set of arrows to individual outdoor booths to take aim at targets. While I wasn’t very good at reaching a bulls eye, it was a lot of fun tor try.  In close proximity to the archery range was the NorthWoods Sharpshooter Gallery, where again after a brief but knowledeable lesson, I took aim at a target or two and proved to msyelf I was better with my safety glasses and a BB than with a bow and arrow.  Both adventures are available for kids age 9 and above on their own, or ages 3-8 if accompanied by an adult at the shooting gallery, age 5 and up at the archery range.

Kids 12 and up are welcome to test out their throwing skills at King Celwyn’s Ax Challenge, where a small, light ax can be aimed at a target. While I mostly whacked into the wall below it, I was impressed with the safe caged throwing areas and my own ability to wield the ax.

All three of these attractions are a part of the Royal Games area located at the top of the park, near the zip line.

Any guest able to pedal and don the provided safety helmet is welcome to embark upon Arrow’s Adventure in a pedal car that zips on a lightly hilly route through an ice cave and over a wooden bridge. The leg pumping action boosted my adrenaline, as did a climb in the Magic Tree Bouldering Room.

It was time to take a delightfully serene break in the Chapel of the Little Shepherd, a charming, restored location originally built in 1955. With stained glass windows and quiet benches for contemplation, the diminuitive spot is also avilable for weddings.

SkyPark’s location is well known for it’s bike park and beautifully wooded trails which take riders on mountain bikes (available to rent, or bring your own) beneath pines on well-marked trails. Young riders can enjoy pump tracks; the trails are carefully groomed every day.

And while older kids and adults alike took the trails, little kids were also literally diggin’ the child-size Moutain Movers dirt excavators as well as frolicking over the Discovery Playscape playground.

When we visited, a Renaissance Fair was taking place at the park, with costumed vendors and a variety of arts, crafts, and clothing. The park frequently offers these kinds of “bonus” experiences, such as summer concerts, or the opportunity to experience fly fishing on the property.

Coming soon to Santa’s neck of the woods: the updated return of a classic aerial ride, the Bumble Bee.  Unlike the old motorized attraction, SkyPark has repurposed the monorail track to transport a bicycle pedal car allowing guests to travel a suspended 1,000-foot curving course from above.

And, if you visit as the SoCal winter season approaches, you’ll find more classics in Santa’s Village, whose candy-cane and gingerbread house structures offer food and beverages as well as a Santa’s Exploratorium workshop for kids all year ’round. Come the holidays, guests will experience live North Pole entertainment, and of course, a visit with Santa.  Holiday lights also sparkle twice nightly in Santa’s Village from mid-November through January 7th.

Summing up: SkyPark at Santa’s Village is terrific, experiential update of an historic location (yes, they kept the candy cane at the entrance.) The adventures are oriented toward nature and physical action that just about everyone in the family can enjoy in a natural setting.  According to owners Bill and Michelle Johnson, their reimagining of the park – which originally opened in 1955 -includes both the holiday seasonal magic and these spring-summer-early fall adventures from ziplining to mountain biking to an Outdoor Education and Enviornmental Education program.  Hours and dates vary by season, with day passes, three-day passes, and three levels of year-round passes available starting at $149. Day passes are $69 (ages 13+) and $59 (children ages 4-12/seniors.)

Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain

Alpine Slide Park, located at Big Bear’s Magic Mountain Recreation Area, is another classic, having celebrated its 40th year this July. Over the course of the park’s 40 years of mountain fun, multiple attractions were added according to Alpine Slide rep Lisa Orabuena, including a water slide in the summer and snow tubing in the winter,  the latter offering a “magic carpet”-like function that takes riders to the top of the tubing hill with no hiking.

The park provides Southern California’s only “authentic bobsled” experience in the eponymous Alpine Slide. A scenic chairlift ride begins the adventure, taking riders to the top for a view of Big Bear Lake, where they’re seated in their own, individually controlled sleds. The two quarter-mile long cement tracks feature both high banked turns and straightaways.  Because riders can control their own speed – with their own individual control handle braking – the fun is suitable for all ages. A five-ride pass is $40; individual rides are $9.

The park also offers its own zip line experience – a unique rocketing adventure called the Soaring Eagle. The ride is a two person, seated zip – which by no means makes it tame (the ride is for those 42″ or taller and is $12 per experience). Riders are mechanically pulled very rapidly backwards up some 100 vertical feet and 500 feet in length to reach the launch tower, from which they are then catapulted forward to reach the base platform at a windy 28 miles per hour.  Our rider loved the “total surprise” of the backwards thrust and the pulsing push forward again.
For those of us more attuned to ground level fun, the Go-Karts offer a delightfully long spin, a zooming mini-race car attraction featuring 5.5-horsepower Honda-motored racers.  The vroom-vroom excitement can be packaged along with my favorite adventure of all – mini-golf.

The 18 hole course includes several risky water traps, an appropriate (for the location) bear statue hazard, and many amusingly challenging curves and turns.  Admission for both is $22, but guests can also enjoy both attractions singly.

But the biggest and most unusual attraction of all is the Mineshaft Coaster.  Like the Alpine Slide, the experience is rider- controlled as to speed on the descent, but it is still a fast and furiously fun ride at any pace. The newest park attraction propels you past mountain greenery heading up the incline, and then you’re off on a descent that includes hairpin turns, tunnels and even a 360-degree corkscrew on your way down. The mountain coaster is the first and only one of its kind in the Golden State. So exciting is the ride – which can reach 30 m.p.h. as a top speed – that guests’ cars are equipped with video cameras to film riders’ reactions to the hurtling fun, providing a memory available for purchase after the screams and laughs reach the boarding station again.  Adults can ride for $20, and kids, with some height restrictions, for $10.

Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain also offers a snack bar with best sellers like ice cream, chicken fingers, and cheeseburgers. There are also a bevy of arcade games indoors for guests to decompress on after the thrills and winter chills or summer splashes of the great outdoors.

Summing up: There’s nothing quite like Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain. With two rider-controlled thrill rides, a sunny mountain setting, and the pure adrenaline rush of what must be the fastest moving zipline in the U.S., this amusement venue offers plenty of family fun that can be enjoyed for an entire day, or one ride at a time, any time.

Dank Donuts

In need of sustenance before or after the thrills? We discovered Dank Donuts, where delicious, airy vegan and/or gluten-free donuts are on hand for breakfast along with the more traditional variety of sweet doughy treats. There are maple bars, giant cinnamon buns, and cronuts, too. However, it’s not just the thrills and mountain air that makes these treats taste possibly superior to every other donut you’ve ever tasted – it is literally the altitude, according to owners. At close to 7000-feet high, Big Bear’s thinner air makes Dank’s donuts fluffier. They’re also hand cut, and come in a dazzling variety from sprinkles to glazed to chocolate to filled. There’s even a selection of doggie donuts for your best four-legged friend.

But it’s not all about the donuts and pastries. Breakfast and lunch sandwiches are served all day, and they are hearty, ample, and packed with both flavor and fresh ingredients. We sampled two different choices from the lunch menu: the Herbivore, my choice, was a juicy mix of hummus and avocado spread along with the vibrant punch of sundried tomatoes, marinated artichokes, cucumber, lettuces and microgreens on wheatberry bread. My partner enjoyed the spicy Wild Turkey, which offered chipotle dressing along with the tender turkey, capicola, and spicy Jack cheese on a Hoagie roll with mayo and salad fixings.

Dank Donuts offers shaded tables, a pink and aqua color scheme, and fast to-go service. It’s a great first stop before heading out to the thrills of Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain and the wild adventures of SkyPark at Santa’s Village.

We stayed at the delightful Sessions Retreat and Hotel, a completely revamped and reimagined resort located in Big Bear Lake, with fire pits, cool shared spaces, and funky but elegant design in a variety of rooms.

Think of the decor and charm as a reasonably priced luxury retreat combined with the aesthetic of the Meow Wolf art amusement collective. Don’t stay anywhere else.

  • Genie Davis, photos by Genie Davis

 

 

Sessions Retreat and Hotel Offers A Perfectly Curated Mountain Stay

Posted on by Diversions LA

Like uncovering a longed-for treasure, there’s nothing like discovering a resort destination so special that from the first glance, you want to return to it again and again.

Sessions Retreat and Hotel, a boutique lodging in Big Bear Lake is exactly that place. Unique décor, beautiful, shared guest spaces, a variety of room options, and fire pits that allow perfect star gazing above the pines – what more could you ask for.  Well, possibly, and accommodating, welcoming ownership that is all too rarely encountered. With a focus on art, wellness, and nature, you’ll want to come for one “session” and return for multiple Sessions stays.

Before diving into all this property has to offer, it’s worth noting that I am not usually a fan of Big Bear itself. I normally gravitate toward the desert or the ocean rather than the mountains, and I’ve stayed at the kind of “rustic” cabin-in-the-woods spots that the community has available by the score. But finding Sessions reveals the pure pleasures of the area: watching the sunset over the lake, the moon rising over the trees, listening to the morning birds while strolling the grounds.

The second personal preference worth noting: regular readers and subscribers here know that art is something I pursue and love experiencing. When I originally booked this property back in February – a planned visit delayed by the anomaly of astronomical snowfall in the region – I had no idea that the hotel was art-centric. But it is: from the unique, witty, found and installation art in public and shared spaces to the lovely art in each room and a fun mural with spiritual vibes lining an outdoor corridor that connects the property’s office to other buildings.

Let’s start with a look at the accommodations. Regardless of the room type, amenities are artistic yet comfortable. Bedding and towels are first class, and the complete redo of what was an older property is thoughtfully done. Beautiful hand-laid patterned tiles brighten the bathrooms, original art on the walls has a meditative quality, and an intelligent use of space make up the basis of every room type. Walls have a color block pattern that makes rooms feel and look more spacious. Small touches count: a small bonsai in a white-painted fireplace, a sculpture of a golden heart with branching arteries; a hanging lamp emanating gold light from a shade that could’ve come from Morocco. Two books rest on a wall shelf: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, by John Koenig, and the wildly fascinating Remember – Be Here Now with its mandala-like cover. A reed diffuser emanates the mellow scent of a Black Forest. Rooms are pet-friendly and have high-speed WIFI.

These amenities are a part of each room type. We stayed in the two story The Club, a former motel space that holds single kings and two-queen-bed rooms which also hold a mini-fridge, coffee maker, and smart TV.

The budget option – but you’d only know it by measuring the size of the rooms, which are smaller, is The Lodge. The rooms in this building are private with private baths, however the lower floor of the building holds a communal space with billiards, fun and funky wall art, an old-fashioned electric fireplace, dining tables, and a large and modern kitchen. This building would make a great space for group up to 30 including retreats or family/friend gatherings.

More commodious offerings are found at The Chalet, duplex, ample studio-size cabins quipped with queen beds, a full kitchen, and along with that queen bed a pull-out queen couch, as well, making them ideal for families or couples who want a little extra space. The biggest private space of all is Cabin 69, which has two queen bedrooms and a full kitchen.

Then there’s open space available for all hotel guests to enjoy: an outdoor deck, two gas-fed firepits with comfortable Adirondack chairs, a pool, and best of all, the Flatlander, a bar and event space that the owners named as a bit of an inside joke, at the Big Bear-locals somewhat derogatory name for a person who lives or lived at low altitude or at any city. There’s a classic pinball machine and mini-bowling arcade game that likely originated in the 1940s; a glassed-in collection of beer cans; a gilded throne chair – perfect for a birthday queen on a raised platform; a goggle wearing statue of a grinning mobster as the ersatz bouncer; and of course the long, shiny, well-stocked bar.  It’s a cross between the coolest rec room ever and an art installation that’s half steam-punk and half 1970s kitsch.

Beyond it is an outdoor patio, the long, long green lawn and trees, and a tee pee, where at times, yoga and meditation classes are conducted. Mushroom-shaped solar lights dot the paths, and overhead solar lights sparkle between buildings at night.

What more could you ask for? Well, maybe s’mores by those fire pits, and when we mentioned stocking up on some fixings, co-owner and property operator Frank Caruso proved his stated belief in hospitality accommodating every guest’s needs – and left Hershey bars, graham crackers, and marshmallows for us.

Caruso is an exceptional hotelier, one of three friends who saw the potential in the property as an “adult playground…filled with art and centered around strengthening our connection to nature and each other.” And so, what was a rather run-down and typical Big Bear vacation spot became this unique, sophisticated, yet sweet experience that creates what the team calls an integration of “ART-chitecture in Nature.”

Judging by the speed at which the property has been completely redone, the further changes Caruso and his team envision for the resort may already be under way – food and beverage service at The Flatlander even when events are not scheduled at the venue; making a Cinderella-like motorcoach on the property operational; creating a full-on yoga program. Even though it doesn’t seem as if it could get any better, Sessions is and will.

Personally, I can’t wait to go back, and you shouldn’t wait – go.

For more information visit sessionsretreat.com.

  • Genie Davis; photos by Genie Davis