Winter in Lake Arrowhead with Kids

 

For some reason, our Santa Monica beach family always went looking for snow and winter fun in Big Bear Lake, never Lake Arrowhead.

 

 

In the summers, it was always back to Big Bear, to try our luck at fishing, which never seemed to change.

 

 

I wasn’t the adult, back then, making the decisions of where to take my family but now that I have a little more control, I wonder. Lake Arrowhead is actually about a half-hour, or approximately 20 miles, closer to where we started our road trip. That translates to a half-hour less windy mountain road travel and a half-hour less of having to deal with my pesky little brother in the backseat of our car and, today, my two fighting boys.

 

 

 

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The Video

And here is a sample of the fun we had visiting Lake Arrowhead in winter with our kids! Have a peep to see if it’s a good fit for your whole family!

 

 

Where To Stay

Until my husband, boys, and I were invited to explore Lake Arrowhead, we had never made the short journey. So, we were a bit curious and definitely excited.

 

 

The centrally located, Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa, is a comfortable and luxurious hotel to spend a weekend or holiday break.  Our room had two queen-sized beds, a balcony overlooking the water and Lake Arrowhead area lake with evergreens and glimpses of rust and golden oaks surrounding them. We discovered the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa is dog friendly, so we thought fondly of our Golden Retriever waiting with friends back home. The whole town is very dog friendly and we saw many tongues dangling from four-legged friends who brought their own fur! Snow was still a whispered promise when we visited right before Thanksgiving but it was still cold. However, there was no way my boys were passing up a heated swimming pool and hot tubs. It didn’t matter that it was outdoors and freezing! They must have an ultra-thin, internal layer of whale blubber to insulate them.

If the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa is booked or you’d like to stay elsewhere or in a private home, put the dates you’d like to visit in the map below and see what’s available and how much it costs!

What To Do

 

Snow Tubing

We did see snowplows on the sides of the road, ready for action, for when the hoped-for white powder arrived. The perfect place for actual snow fun, is right near the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa called Snowdrift Snow Tubing, SoCal’s largest and longest operating inner-tube park.

 

 

Skiing / Snowboarding

Also, about 27 miles up the mountain is Big Bear Mountain Resort, which is a great place for both beginners and advanced show-offs because it combines super fun trails at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain ski resorts. This is where we go when we visit Big Bear to ski. Snow Valley is only a short distance from the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa, about 14 miles, and is a good place for beginners.

 

 

Spa Treatments

When you’re done with your fun day with the kids, snow or no snow, don’t miss the Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa’s 8,000 square foot Spa of the Pines, this is the best place to get personalized treatments that utilize essential oils specific to your needs. My therapist offered four blends and I chose the one called Revive. My Signature Massage included hot stones that rolled my stress away and broke down all my knots. Finally, after she insisted our session was really over, I drifted to the post-treatment relaxation room, which was mostly windows that opened to green swirls of forest and a calm lake. This is a great way to rest and relax after your family adventures.

 

Where to Eat

For dinner, onsite restaurant, BIN 189, has one of the best charcuterie platters we’ve ever tasted.

 

 

Also, their guacamole was so fresh, we swore they must have had avocado trees growing in their basement. Their crispy, homemade tortilla chips were the perfect compliment. BIN 189 is one of the best restaurants in the area and takes pride in locally sourcing their food and choosing vendors that don’t use GMOs. The boys loved their chicken fingers and Caesar salads and mommy loved the bites she snuck from them.

 

 

Also, a huge bonus, the restaurant allowed my husband and I to split our two main dishes, the Alaskan Halibut and Campbell River Salmon, so we were able to enjoy the full experience of each dish, instead of just partial bites. Our whole family had the best time eating at BIN 189.

 

 

We decided room service with a view of the lake was the perfect way to start the next day.

 

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Santa’s Village

After breakfast, we took a short drive to the amusement park, Skypark at Santa’s Village, which is a combination of holiday tradition and mountain thrill. Depending on the ages of your family members and level of thrill they’re seeking, there’s enough variety of activities and other fun things to keep you entertained for a couple of days.

 

 

Snow Quest is a scavenger hunt with a tube of magic glitter and a crystal as the final reward but the real payoff are the activities along the way that are easier to discover if you’re being guided by a game. We found the Magic Tree Bouldering Room where the boys practically skipped through the small, extended plastic pieces set into the walls, while mommy was reminded of her age from trying (see video below). Then, the boys raced against others on oversized bikes, with snow tires, along a winding track, shot arrows into bales of straw at Serrano Archery Range and flipped their hearts out at Blitzen’s Bungee. Zipliners sped overhead and North Pole characters beckoned with homemade treats everywhere.

 

 

We saw kids riding the free balance bikes hanging on the wooden rails outlining the park paths and adults jumping mountain bikes on professionally-designed bike trails. The bikes are available to rent from a pretty fancy-looking shop. There’s also a frozen pond for ice skating, though it wasn’t quite frozen while we were there. There are trails to hike for next time and fly fishing clinics to learn how. Restaurants and elf-filled variety shows offered a little rest between all the adventures. Our whole family truly had such a fun time here.

 

Lake Arrowhead Village

Back at the resort, a 10-minute walk will take you to Lake Arrowhead Village.

 

 

There, you’ll find 50 lakeside shops, restaurants and galleries, and other great things to explore. We tried dinner, our second night, at The Grill at Lake Arrowhead & Sushi Bar. It was the sushi that was the draw but, turns out, they don’t serve sushi on Mondays or Tuesdays. Yet, we were determined so we found plates that came close enough, like the Thai Seared Tuna Salad with Noodles, which was slightly peanutty and so good. Also delicious was the Poke Salad, though they had run out of rice the night we went.

 

 

To make up for it, our waitress offered us a free dessert, which was more than enough.

 

 

Since there was so much to see at the Village, we went back the next day and ate breakfast at Belgian Waffle Works, which was worth every carb and gram of sugar, explored some of the shops and got a closer look around the heart of Lake Arrowhead with an Arrowhead Queen Boat Tour.

 

 

 

On our boat ride, Captain Don showed us many celebrity homes around the lake inside the Alps of Southern California and shared stories of famous people who’ve lived, loved and played on the shores of this pretty private lake. One funny story we heard was about the habits of raccoons, who seek shelter during the winter months inside the tented boats, docked under canopies. These wild animals find their way inside and start raccoon families. So, in the spring, owners have to chase them off by blaring rap music! One of the best things happened toward the end of the tour. Captain Don let the kids drive the boat, which made them feel very special, especially when he let them wear his hat.

 

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After our ride, the boys found the arcade inside the Lake Arrowhead Deli, Pizza and Arcade which was fun for everyone because it was the first time we got to play pinball with them, which they’d never seen. it was really nice to spend some quality time with the boys.

Also fun in the Village, but only on weekends during wintertime, is Lollipop Park, where kids can ride a carousel, bumper cars and, of course, eat lollipops from the candy store! We missed this since we came during the week, in the early winter, but now that we are Lake Arrowhead veterans, we can’t wait to try out kayaking, waterskiing, rock climbing, mountain biking, and other outdoor activities available in the summers and who knows? Maybe I’ll have better luck fishing in Lake Arrowhead than I did in Big Bear. Certainly can’t be worse.

Getting There

Lake Arrowhead is about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles via the US 101-S and CA 60-E or the US 101-S and I 10-E

 

 

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