Bear Valley, California

Bear Valley is southwest of the Lake Tahoe basin in the central Sierra and caters to families and locals.

Stats and Rating

Real Vertical ?	1,900′, Rank: 78
Size	1,680 Acres, Rank: 51
Annual Snowfall ?	359″ claimed / 352″ actual, Rank: 27
Lift Pods ?	4, Rank: 72
Distinct Trails ?	75, Rank: 56
Review Date	1995-2002, 2021, 2024-2025
Number of visits	22
Our Rating	★★★
Resort website	https://www.bearvalley.com

Bear Valley Review

Before 2021, the last time we skied Bear Valley was in 2002 when our kids were young and still learning to ski. I also had a couple of visits in the mid-90’s. Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures from any of those visits.  So in early March 2021 we decided to go back, get some pics, and give it another chance.  A few years later in 2024 we briefly owned a house in Arnold about 45 minutes away and spent a whole season (15 days) there.

On paper Bear Valley looks pretty good with 1900 vertical, 9 lifts, and 1680 acres, but it skis much smaller than that most of the time. Prior to 2021, the problem was that we had never been there when the lower part of the mountain below 7,500 feet was open. This is quite common since the summit elevation is fairly low, topping out at less than 8,500′. That means that the effective vertical drop is commonly only 950 ft. The resort has only 100 acres of snowmaking and the main lodge could really use an upgrade. In our earlier visits before lift upgrades in 2006 and 2017, it would have been a fine family area, but back in 90’s many of the lifts were center-bar doubles, which we found to be very difficult to load kids on safely.  Since then, the resort has installed 2 new high speed lifts on the 2 major ski pods so this problem has been fixed and it is a much better situation for families now.

By the end of the 24/25 season, I had skied every named run served by the 2 high-speed upper mountain lifts.  This isn’t that hard, but there are several runs that go down to the town of Bear Valley that we’ve never skied, and we didn’t get a chance to ski all the runs on the Grizzly chair due to lack of it being open.

Front side

The Mokelumne Express 6-pack was newly installed in 2017 and has really solved any issues on the front side that used to exist.  This chair only has 730′ of vertical but it’s fun and has some steep sections.  The capacity of this lift will eat up any weekend or holiday lift lines quickly.  They groom most of the runs off this lift and the new (used) Koala quad chair.  Koala has some steep groomers but it’s very short at only 500′ vertical.  The bottom line is that the front side terrain typically only keeps us entertained for an hour or 2.

Back side

The Polar Express pod is the main course for most people who will ski at Bear Valley.  This is a modest 950′ of vertical, but it’s really ideal intermediate terrain.  We almost always ski every groomed run on Polar twice in a typical day.  About 5 of the intermediate runs here and one advanced run will be usually be groomed.  Everything is skiable on a powder day, but on a typical day when it’s rock hard off-piste you will need to stick to the groomers.

Grizzly

Out of the 22 days we’ve skied Bear, Grizzly has only been skiable about 5 of them.  The problem here is that most of it is below 7,500′ and there is no snowmaking and it’s hardly ever even groom-able.

It’s pretty intimidating from the top.  You don’t really know what’s over the edge until get right up there and peek over.  This area is completely different from the other parts of the resort.  It’s a north-facing rocky bowl with few trees.  The view is spectacular, and the terrain is really steep in places, but manageable.  There is usually a less scary way to angle across the slope if you don’t want to go straight down a steep line.

Skier’s left is the more difficult side with some seriously steep pitches.  West Ridge has the steepest pitches and even accessing these runs can be an adventure along a steep razor back ridge that drops down to un-skiable terrain on the left and terrain on the right that cliffs out in many spots.  The entry gate for West Ridge is well above the top of the chair on the Mokelumne run, so it requires 2 chairs to lap.

Skier’s right off the Grizzly chair is the easier side with a very approachable line that cuts the steepness considerably going down Upper Snow Valley.  This side faces the sun more so is a better choice on a firm day that is waiting for the snow to soften.  The entry for Snow Valley is right next to the relocated triple Cub chair maze at the base of the upper mountain.

Grizzly is the place to be on a powder day or within a couple of days after before it ices up due to the low altitude.  There are so many interesting lines that will get your heart pumping and give you a real sense of accomplishment and adventure.

Down to town

Bear has at least 17 marked runs that lead down to the town of Bear Valley.  The resort has long sought to build a lift to serve this terrain, but it’s a complicated situation and it has thus far not happened.  In addition, the skiing is going to be nice and steep at the top but probably require a very long runout half way down or a traverse/drop/traverse type of run.  It’s mostly south-facing meaning it will need grooming to be skiable most days.

Currently there is a shuttle bus from town to take you back to the base lodge, but we never had time to do that.

The good

• Usually uncrowded, the resort is a good choice for central-sierra skiers looking to get away from the bustle and expense of Tahoe.
• They do a good job with grooming and it’s a friendly atmosphere.
• There are lots of shorter black runs available on the upper mountain and some really legit advanced/expert terrain on Grizzly when it’s open.
• The “Polar Express” lift on the West Side area has some decent intermediate groomers.
• The main frontside ski pod now has a high-speed 6-pack “Mokelumne Express” which has an enormous capacity and will be easy for families to load.
• The Village side could provide an additional adventure that is quite unusual.
• Highway 4 is hands down the easiest access to any ski area from the lower elevation cities in Northern California.

The bad

• The low elevation means the bottom of the resort does not get or hold snow very long, and it ices up quickly.
• The terrain is “upside-down”, with the most difficult terrain on the Grizzly chair at the bottom.  Obviously steep terrain at a low elevation is not a good combination, and in fact it is rarely in very good shape.  You really have to be there within 1 or 2 days after a fresh snowfall.
• Although it does have a high-speed quad on the West Side and a 6-pack on the front, these  serve less than 1,000 feet of vertical, so it’s a quick ride up and run down.
• The lift upgrades were welcome, but they could really use a lodge upgrade and more snowmaking.

The bottom line

This is one of the closest areas to where we used to live in Fremont, but it took us 19 years to get back there while we waited for improvements to be implemented.  In 2014, the area was looking for an investor to finish the master plan they have approval to start, which will link the village with the resort for the first time, but that still hasn’t happened as of 2026. Still, it’s an interesting place when the snow is right.

We really struggle with the star rating on this one.  With Grizzly open and with good conditions, it’s a 3-star resort.  Without Grizzly open or skiable, it doesn’t even meet the minimum vertical drop requirements to be on the list and it would be a 2-star resort at best.  Unfortunately this is most of the time.

We are giving them the 3-star rating because we feel like the Grizzly terrain is really something special.  Just pick your days carefully.  Go there on a cold powder day or 1 day after a snowfall when it didn’t warm up enough to solidify everything down low into ice and you will have a great time.