Big Bear Today Magazine November 2020

Page 8—November 2020
Maple Hills Trail Complex now open
Big Bear Today
After a decades-long drought that
saw no new trails in Big Bear, now
they seem to be springing up everywhere,
like Sawmill Pebble Plains Ecological
Preserve (October 2020 Big Bear
Today) and Rathbun Creek (story page 9)
among others.
The newest trail is actually an entire
network of paths winding up and down
Maple Hill next to the high school in Big
Bear City. And this is just the first of three
trails that will comprise the Maple Hills
Trails Complex, open for hiking and biking
with multiple trailheads accessing 213
acres of forest land immediately next to
Big Bear Blvd.
School Loop is the primary path in the
complex, about 3.2 miles long as it essen-
tially circles the property’s perimeter. Yet
there are multiple connectors and variations
that lead to the different access points
plus other variations so there’s a lot of ways
to vary your route.
The property was donated by RCK
Properties in 2018 and title is now held by
BVUSD Education Foundation, so Maple
Hills Trails Complex is on private property.
Southern California Mountains Foundation
and its Big Bear Trails program cut
miles of trail by hand and with machinery
in creating the trail system.
One access point to School Loop,
aptly named since it traverses right below
the high school for a stretch, is at the top
of the ridge. There’s a little dirt parking lot
just north of the high school parking lot
and like at the
other trailheads
there’s awesome
signage with full
map detailing the
many options.
Each junction is
well marked with
distances between
points. In short
this is a trail complex
done right.
Head west on
School Loop paralleling
the high
school and at first
the trail feels
pretty urban with
Wilderness-worthy hiking, biking on new Maple Hill Trails, between Big Bear
Blvd. and the high school west of Maple, but a world apart
traffic noise in the distance. But it doesn’t
take long to transform from city as the
double and triple wide track twists and
turns along the ridge, descending slowly
as it goes downhill. The only hint of civilization
is the fence above the trail as sprawling
views emerge and sounds dissipate.
As it traverses ridge lines School Loop
wanders through pine forest, exposed manzanita
and more. The trail doesn’t feel like
it’s close to town even though it is. Signposts
mark junctions with routes that lead
directly to trailheads and access points on
Shore Rd. or the boulevard, or just stay on
School Loop as it passes both.
Plus there’s more challenging variations
that go straight up and down Maple
Hill. Amazing that there’s so much hiking
and biking in just a couple hundred acres
right above the highway!
After reaching the boulevard School
Loop works its way back uphill, winding
back and forth on the complex’s east side.
Trail junctions are spread out every third
to half a mile so users remain engaged and
connected.
Just as incredible, on a Saturday in late
October as I hiked School Loop, there were
only two others using it, both mountain
bikers. One was a girl who was looping
the loop, riding three or four circumnavi-
gations of the property, and then another
guy. That’s it. Pristine new trail that has
just opened, all to ourselves. It won’t take
long for the word to get out, especially after
Mountains Foundation held its “Treats
and Trails” event on Halloween showcasing
the area, introducing the new terrain
in hopes of luring volunteers to work on
future sections.
That’s because more’s coming. School
Loop passes a marker showing where trail
coming down from near Baldwin Lane Elementary
with another trail network and a
third is in the plans too. Not just hikers and
bikers will benefit either; it’s ideal terrain
for high school cross country runners and
bike team members to train on and will
afford field-based learning opportunities
galore.
“We are excited to participate in building
this trail, said Stacy Gorin of Southern
California Mountains Foundation. “Our
team of Urban Conservation Corps members
and volunteers worked alongside staff
to create a safe and picturesque trail in the
urban Big Bear center.”
Maple Hill Trails is located between
Big Bear Blvd. and the high school west
of Maple in Big Bear City.
—by Marcus Dietz
Visit bigbeartrails.org for information.