Big Bear Summer Magazine 2019

Worldclass Skyline Trail Fun to Hike or Bike
Judging from the tracks Big Bear’s
newest trail is more popular with twowheelers
than two-footers.
Which is fitting because the people
responsible for creating Skyline Trail are
well represented by cyclists, both road and
mountain. Just when it seemed like there
would never be another new local trail
after a couple decades without one, along
came Big Bear Valley Trails Foundation
which has built some and rehabilitated still
more to Forest Service standards. It’s since
become part of Mountains Foundation,
but by any name the group continues to
repair and create path in Big Bear.
The showcase effort is Skyline Trail,
about 15 miles of worldclass singletrack
that spans Big Bear Valley’s southern
ridge. The trailhead at Skyline’s eastern
terminus off Clubview just past Bear
Mountain is inviting with parking, trail
system sign and benches. Actually the
trailhead services two routes, Skyline and
also Fern that heads north, one of several
trails being reworked as part of a revamp
of the South Shore system. Along the way
Skyline accesses numerous paths
legendary in mountain biker lore, like
Pirates and Cabin 89.
Ascending up the ridge Skyline feels a
lot like sections of the Tahoe Rim Trail
with gradual uphill stretches and sharp
switchbacks. Its multi-use design has a low
average grade of 7-8% so mountain bikers
generally don’t get going too fast, pleasing
equestrians and hikers who also share it. In
truth, most users ride instead of walk it, so
buddy John Daskam and I as two-footers
stand out from the rest when we’re on it.
The trail is perfect in every way,
professionally designed by Dave Kotlarski
with the assistance of Gavin Burkey from
Southern California Mountains
Foundation and Jeanette Granger of the
Forest Service. Unlike long upper sections
of the trail which were machine cut, the
first 2.5 miles of the eastern section was
hand-cut. International Mountain Bike
Association (IMBA) analyzed much of
the South Shore Network and helped flag
the general route.
Much of the trail’s early eastern
sections are dotted with oak trees, some of
which sadly appear to be under attack. In
the fall this section is spectacular as the
oaks turns yellow and rust colored for a
real autumn feel.
The trail gradually climbs up the ridge as
views of Big Bear Lake and the East Valley
emerge. A mile of so in it crosses 2N10,
commonly known as Skyline Dr. and the
trail’s namesake, and continue to climb. It’s
another mile-and-a-half to the top of the
Southern ridge, about 600 ft. elevation gain,
where Radford Rd. descends to Seven
Oaks at the trail junction.
Continue further on Skyline Trail and
the route circles behind Snow Summit as
views across the Santa Ana River canyon
to San Gorgonio Wilderness unfold,
including the 11,502 ft. mountain of the
same name, highest point in Southern
California. Go far enough to Skyline’s
western terminus in the Mill Creek area
and there’s still more trail options.
A forest fire is largely responsible for
Skyline Trail. After the Old Fire roared
through neighboring mountain
communities in 2003, fuel break was
created around Big Bear Valley including
the south shore, to give firefighters
2-wheelers love Skyline Trail,
2-footers do too
something to defend in the event of flames
coming up Santa Ana Canyon.
Environmental studies conducted for
the fuel break were applied to Skyline
Trail as well. And though the creation of a
fuel break is what made Skyline Trail
possible, there is plenty of natural shading
and forest canopy left behind to afford
quality hiking and biking.
On multiple visits we’ve spotted deer
along the way, apparently unfazed by
mountain bikers. ■
— by Marcus Dietz
www.trailsfoundation.org
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BIG BEAR SUMMER 2019 • 19