Cabin Rentals? Snowy season? (South Lake Tahoe, Truckee: ski resort, high school, living in)

[nora019]

Hello everyone,

This may sound pretty dumb to those of you who know, but I was wondering when does it typically snow in CA (Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead, etc...)? I know we "can't predict the weather" ( that's what I was told my a RUDE customer representative), but when is there snow up there for sure? mid December? mid January? I would love more info from those of you who live or have been up there. We're planning on renting a cabin in advance, but what's the point if there's going to be no snow. This is our first time going up to the mountains so ANY tips and information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks sooooo much in advance!

[violone]

The resorts most likely will make their own snow Thanksgiving-March...you can't bet on natural snow by mid-January, probably. The resorts make enough snow to stay open weekends and holidays all season, regardless of the weather...usually

[lookingfortheperfectplace]

There is always real snow in Febuary.

[Thunderbird]

Hi nora019!
I can see both Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead mountains from my house, and live about 30 minutes - 40 minutes from them.

When it rains here, it usually will snow up there. We get a lot of rain in March so, if I were to plan a trip for snow, it would be for March.
Winter doesn't usually start around here till about the end of December.

Not to say we won't get snow up there in December, January and February.

Just let me know when you want me to do a rain dance and I'll work on it for you.

[gizmo980]

Honestly, Big Bear isn't the snowiest place, so it's kind of a crap-shoot... though with our wet winter last year, you might get lucky! As the others said, February (early in the month) is good, and January's usually a good chance too. Though if you want some REALLY deep snow, come up here to Northern Ca. and visit Kirkwood or Northstar! But all the big resorts do make their own snow, so at least you can ski regardless of the actual weather.

To add to your comment about predicting the weather - I used to live in South Lake Tahoe, and we once had snow on the 4th of July!! Also, my best friend went to Truckee High School, and it snowed on their graduation day in June.

[stuff and things]

I personally have lived full time in Lake Arrowhead for the last 12 years so I believe I can give some insight as to the snow conditions.

If you are looking to ski or snowboard, the snow is generally good from late December to Mid-March. It of course varies some years but the amount and quality of the snow at the resorts is more dependent on the temperature than snowfall. Low temperatures allow the Big Bear resorts to make huge amounts of snow most nights from Late December to Late February. Snow Valley has a significantly inferior snowmaking system to both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit. The Big Bear resorts also have much more terrain and variety. Bear Mountain is basically an all-mountain freestyle park with jumps and rails everywhere. Bear mountain also has the best Advanced Terrain of the three by far (Experts will likley be dissapointed). Snow Summit is much more family friendly with wide open crusiers and better views of the lake.

If you are just looking to hang out in the mountains and play in the snow, Lake Arrowhead would probably be the better bet. Lake Arrowhead is somewhat nicer and significantly less crowded in the winter months than Big Bear due to the lack of a ski resort in the town. Even though Lake Arrowhead is lower elevation by about 1600 ft. the amount of snowfall from most storms is about the same. Snowplay is usually only good for a few days after a snowstorm and the safest bet for good snow is mid to late February.

If you really want to find snow for sure and do some serious skiing/snowboarding, the only truly safe bet in California would be to go to Lake Tahoe or Mammoth in Late February. I guarrantee you can find some snow and have an awesome time.

P.S. It has, in my 12 years living in Lake Arrowhead, snowed in every month except July and August.

[jdavid93225]

Well, I had planned my response as I read the original post, but "Stuff and Things" pretty well summed up what I was going to say. I live in another SoCal mountain community, and from my many years of experience, I would agree that February is probably your best bet for snow. I, too, have seen snow here every month of the year with the exceptions of July and August, but have seen freezing weather in both of those months. February has not been the snowiest month of the year, but it seems to be the most consistent for receiving snow. Our snow season has gone from before Halloween to Father's Day some winters, but it has also only been from January to late March at other times. This year seems to have been one of the latter. Some years we've had six to ten feet of snow throughout the season, while other years we're lucky to get even one foot.


Remember, it's never guaranteed that you will have snow at any time of the year, but most of the time, there will be snow on the ground in February. As was stated earlier, the best time for the snow is the first few days after it falls. Good luck in your search.