On a peak Saturday this winter, a BBMR Anytime pass gets you into the base lot at Snow Valley in Running Springs at no charge. On that same Saturday at Snow Summit, close to home on Summit Boulevard, the same pass does not cover the base lot. Big Bear Mountain Resort says it plainly: on paid-parking dates, season pass holders headed to Snow Summit or Bear Mountain park in the offsite lots and take a free shuttle, or pay to park closer to the lifts.
The resort has published its paid-parking calendar through March, while opening day is still unknown.
Opening Day Is a Guess. The Paid Dates Are Not.
The resort has not confirmed opening day for the 26/27 season. November 21, 2026 is the earliest the resorts may open, and the resort says it probably won't know more until around mid-November, when temperatures drop enough to turn on snowmaking. Its hours page also says this is an El Niño season, which it hopes will bring colder temperatures and snow.
Paid parking at the base lots has a fixed schedule. Here is what the resort lists for this season:
| Month | Paid parking dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| December 2026 | 4-6, 11-31 | 24 |
| January 2027 | 1-10, 15-18, 22-24, 29-31 | 20 |
| February 2027 | 5-7, 12-21, 26-28 | 16 |
| March 2027 | 5-7, 12-14, 19-21, 26-28 | 12 |
That adds up to 72 dates. They are mostly weekends, plus a solid block from December 11 through January 10 and the stretch around Presidents' Day in mid-February. Prices are $30 to $40 a day at Snow Summit or Bear Mountain and $25 to $30 at Snow Valley.
The first paid weekend, December 4 through 6, could come only two weeks after the earliest possible opening. If snowmaking starts late, a local's first ski day of the season may fall on a paid date.
Why Snow Valley Is Free and Snow Summit Isn't
On paid dates, pass holders park free at Snow Valley because it has no offsite lots to send anyone to. The resort tells Ikon, Ikon Base, BBMR Anytime, BBMR Midweek and Snow Valley Anytime holders not to buy a Snow Valley day ticket online and to show their pass to the attendant instead. Snow Summit and Bear Mountain do have offsite lots, so a pass there gets you a shuttle seat, not a base-lot space.
The setup goes back several years. In September 2018, the City of Big Bear Lake Planning Commission took up the resort's applications for paid parking at the Snow Summit and Bear Mountain base lots on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, with free parking on nonholiday weekdays. The commission's minutes record that the applications were approved. The City says it first put a winter Traffic Management Plan in place for the 2017-18 season. Its winter Traffic Management Plan page states the goal as reducing traffic impacts on residents and businesses.
Where Your Car Goes Instead
On the dates the Traffic Management Plan is in effect, usually the peak weekends and holidays that line up with paid parking, drivers who haven't bought reserved parking ahead of time get sent to the Sandalwood lot first. On other days the lots fill in this order: the Bear Mountain and Snow Summit upper lots, then Brownie Lane, Fox Farm and Sandalwood.
Here are the five free offsite lots the resort lists, with its notes on when each one usually opens:
- Sandalwood, 103 Sandalwood. Opens at the same time as the upper lots.
- Fox Farm Lot, 41850 Garstin Drive, behind the hospital. Usually opens with the upper lots.
- Brownie Lane Lot, 42044 Brownie Lane, between Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. Opens after the upper lots and the other remote lots fill.
- Moonridge Lot, 42600 Moonridge Road, across from the zoo. Opens after the upper lots fill.
- Backward Look Lot, 42344 Moonridge Road, on the way to Bear Mountain. Opens after the upper, Brownie and Moonridge lots fill.
The resort runs the shuttles from these lots, and the ride to the Snow Summit or Bear Mountain base area takes about 5 to 10 minutes. As of late October, those shuttles were paused until November or December 2026.
If you want a base-lot space on a paid date, you have to plan ahead. Season parking passes are already sold out. The resort put one-day parking on sale November 2, and online reservations have to be made at least 24 hours before you arrive. The resort says spots usually sell out a few days before the weekend, and the base lots are usually full by 7:30 a.m. on weekends, holidays and peak periods.
The Bus Already Stops Near Your Street
That leaves an option that doesn't involve a parking lot at all. Mountain Transit's Big Bear Trolley is free. Its Red Line runs from the Village through Moonridge, Big Bear City and Sugarloaf to Erwin Lake. It stops at Snow Summit on Summit Boulevard and at Bear Mountain on Goldmine Drive, which is the same base area the offsite-lot shuttles serve.
For anyone living in Big Bear Lake, the Red Line's 68 stops include several familiar places along the way:
- Village, Knickerbocker Road
- Dank Donuts, Moonridge Road and Fir Street, outbound
- Moonridge Road and Brownie Lane
- Best Western on Moonridge Road
- Lippy's Market on Big Bear Boulevard
- Stater Brothers on Big Bear Boulevard
- Bear Valley Hospital on Garstin Drive, east and west
One stop moved this fall. Mountain Transit closed the stop in front of Vons and Starbucks for good after October 18. Since October 19, 2026, it has been replaced by a new shelter behind Vons on Sandalwood Drive. That puts it on the same street as the resort's first-fill lot on peak dates.
According to Mountain Transit's route page, Red Line buses come about every 40 minutes, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:50 p.m. every day. That schedule only runs through December 31, 2026. The agency's general trolley page says every 30 minutes, so check the real-time tracking app before you head to the stop. Even at 40 minutes, catching the trolley from a stop near home means you don't have to look for an offsite space or wait for a resort shuttle on a paid date.
The Hours and Days the Calendar Leaves Open
The paid calendar covers set dates, not the whole season, and it has gaps a local can use:
- Unlisted dates. Nonholiday midweek days in January, February and March don't appear on the paid list. On those days the resort fills the upper lots first.
- Afternoons. The resort lists base-lot parking as 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.
- Drop-off. You don't need a paid ticket or pass to use the drop-off zone. Turn on your hazard lights and follow the orange parking-lot signs. So one driver can drop off the gear and the kids, then park offsite.
- ADA parking. On-site ADA spaces are free, first-come, first-served. The resort recommends arriving at least 90 minutes before the lifts open.
When Friends Come Up for the Weekend
Guests staying with you can leave their car in your driveway and ride the trolley too. Day-trippers without lodging parking can use the City of Big Bear Lake's public lots at 615 Bartlett Road and 630 Knickerbocker Road, the Pennsylvania Road lot with EV charging, or the Alden lot behind the Dynasty restaurant, then take free Mountain Transit to the base areas. Those lots are not for overnight parking, though. The resort notes that Big Bear Lake has no free public overnight parking. If friends book a reserved spot, the reservation lists a specific lot, and the resort says permits aren't valid at the wrong address.
Parking status changes daily, so check the resort's parking page and the BBMR app on the morning you go.
At SoCal Resorts, we live with this same winter calendar, and we keep it in mind when we talk with owners about guest instructions for winter rentals and with buyers about how far a cabin sits from a Red Line stop. If you're curious what your place is worth, or how its location fits the way winter works here, we're happy to put together a free home valuation.
