A definite upside to visiting the mountain town of Big Bear is you don’t have to drive through Greater Los Angeles to get there from Santa Barbara. There’s a back way — it speeds eastbound through Ventura County and jogs over to the Pearblossom Highway, a mostly flat but sometimes rolling strip of superheated Mojave Desert asphalt that delivers you to a twisting climb from barren flats and Joshua trees to the granite peaks and pines of San Bernardino National Forest, home to Big Bear Lake.
For a quick trip in late July, my family and I, including our two dogs, timed our getaway to steer clear of Big Bear’s summer weekend congestion, settling in midweek for easy outdoor exploration and a few nice sit-down meals.