mountain cabin trip

audioaxes · Franchise Player Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 12573

My wife and I's friends are hashing out a plan to do a weekend mountain getaway something this winter... It will be 4 couples in the late 20s. We are looking to rent a 4+ bedroom cabin/house we will all share.
We are looking into Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead as possible destinations but are still open to any place within reasonable distance of SoCal.
So I was looking for any tips and suggestions for ways to make a successful weekend as none of us are seasoned outdoor/mountain people.

LarryCoon · Site Staff Joined: 11 Aug 2002 Posts: 11265

Big Bear has more "stuff" than Arrowhead, so that might be a better choice. I'm there every couple months.

I've never used it (I don't need it for Big Bear), but you might want to try a place like vbro.com to see if anything there is worthwhile.

For example, here's a four BR that sleeps 11 for $595-$795/night:

http://www.vrbo.com/258288

They have about 250 of them listed.

audioaxes · Franchise Player Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 12573

thanks, that one looks nice but that made me realize an awkward situation could come with trying to workout who gets what room. Im sure very few cabins exists with 4 more or less equal rooms

sickside323 · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 5:42 pm Post subject:

a few years ago, a group of friends and i rented a cabin in Crestline for the weekend, which is like 30 minutes before big bear. prices there are a little cheaper than actually staying in big bear, but the experience is similar.

as for tips, it all depends on what you guys plan on doing. we did a little walking/exploring during the day but stayed in the cabin for the most part. if you plan on doing that, just make sure you take enough alcohol (or whatever), a few games and anything else to keep you entertained. these cabins come fully furnished/stocked so all you really need is food and some warm clothes.

DaMuleRules · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 7:54 pm Post subject: Re: mountain cabin trip

PLATNUM · Star Player Joined: 17 Dec 2002 Posts: 7124 Location: L.A.

My sister and her husband rented a cabin up in Big Bear a few years back. I believe he used a site similar to what LC mentioned above. It was them and their 2 boys , my parents and myself, my wife and our 2 kids.

I think we had 4 days there and when we split the cost 3 ways , I came out of pocket about 400 bucks. There was a grocery store and a wal-mart or target just down the street. We brought a lot of our own food and drinks from home though. My parents and sister's family were content with just relaxing in the cabin and eating/drinking all day. There was a hot tub outside on the 2nd floor balcony, a pool table and multiple HD tvs in the cabin. I brought my PS3 for the kids to play with as well.

My family and I were not OK with just sitting around though. We could have done that at home for free. So one of the days we just walked/hiked around the area behind our cabin. We were pretty high up on a hill and it was a good amount of hiking/climbing. My son was 3 at the time, so we didn't want to get too outdoors-y. But we saw a ton of wildlife. Rabbits, squirrels, lizards, a variety of birds, etc. The kids collected a bunch of "cool" rocks. We spent a good 3 -4 hours out and about just "enjoying nature" as my daughter put it.

The next day we picked up a couple of fishing poles and licenses and set out for one of the nearby parks for some fishing. We didn't catch a damn thing, but the kids had a great time and we were able to do
something we wouldn't normally do.

I assume with adults and no kids, you will probably just want to chill in and around the cabin and maybe head outside for some snow activity. It's really up to what activities (if any) you all want to partake in.
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audioaxes · Franchise Player Joined: 26 Apr 2004 Posts: 12573

safari_in_cali · Star Player Joined: 06 Oct 2002 Posts: 1029

Another site you might want to check for rentals is AirBnB. I haven't used it myself, but I know someone who've used it a lot and swears by it.

DaMuleRules · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 2:23 pm Post subject: Re: mountain cabin trip

LarryCoon · Site Staff Joined: 11 Aug 2002 Posts: 11265

Agreed, a lot more options in BBL. If you want to ski/snowboard, Snow Summit is right there. For shopping there's the Village -- Pine Knot Ave. There's plenty of decent food -- some favorites are Peppercorn, Hacienda, Stillwell's for brunch, North Shore Cafe on the other side of the lake in Fawnskin, and there's a German restaurant that's good for breakfast but the name escapes me.

For activities, in addition to skiing & maybe boating (depending on when you go), go check out the Discovery Center on the north side of the lake, and there's some good hiking from there (up to the Pacific Crest Trail).

Also general advice, I usually take Hwy 18 up, but if the weather's bad I take 38. It's longer, but less twisty & crowded.