At 8,200 feet, the barbecue at Snow Summit’s View Haus is head and shoulders above the rest.

    No doubt it’s the most fun to get to as well. Leave the car behind for this one; enjoying a relaxing lunch at the top of your world is a tranquility-filled 20-minute Scenic Skychair ride to the top of the mountain. Along the way, there’s breathtaking views of Big Bear Lake and town below, and the higher you go the more views unfold, of adjacent mountain peaks and distant desert, as the chair glides gracefully through the trees.

    View Haus doesn’t serve up just barbecue for lunch either; the views that go along with it are better than dessert. Let the eyes wander across the Santa Ana river canyon to the snow-covered San Gorgonio Wilderness dozens of unobstructed miles away. The magnificent mountain of the same name dominates the distant horizon at 11,502 ft., making it the highest point in Southern California.

    Soak up the rays, views and maybe some suds or cocktails on the spacious deck. Try your luck at horseshoes on what has to be the highest pit in Southern California—the only one that’s lift served too.

    And how many barbecues let you work off your meal? Kids love to wander around at the top and climb rocks or chase lizards, and the walk down the ski runs is fun too. Or ride the Skychair back down for a downhill experience even winter skiers and snowboarders don’t get.

    Mountain bikers also love the Scenic Skychair. While Snow Summit no longer allows downhill mountain biking or racing within its permit area, an entire network of cross-country rides await bikers at the top and the Skychair eliminates much of the uphill grind. Novice riders can get a great introduction to mountain biking on Bristlecone Trail east of Snow Summit’s base area and Towne Trail to the west.

    For intermediates there’s slightly more challenging terrain on Skyline Dr. at the top of the Skychair, which takes riders to Grandview Point, Towne Trail and back to Snow Summit for a terrific nine-mile ride filled with spectacular lake and distant mountain views. The quarter-mile pedal out to Grandview Point is challenging on singletrack, but the 270-degree vistas are well worth the effort.

    At $10 for a roundtrip ride—or $7 one-way for those who want to hike back down—the Scenic Skychair is one of the more inexpensive ways to see Big Bear, from high above it. Having a sky-high lunch is an out-of-this-world bonus. Scenic Skychair is open Saturdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sundays 9-4, starting May 16 with daily operation through September 7. Then it’s weekends-only till the start of winter.

    Bear Mountain gives everyone a snowboarding tease on Sept. 19 when it hosts the 6th annual Hot Dawgz and Hand Rails competition. Pro riders battle it out in a unique competition setup for thousands of dollars in cash under summer skies on manufactured snow—60 tons of it!

    Plus there’s a giant weenie roast, movie premieres, season pass sales, sponsor booth city, product giveaways, and season pass specials. On the 13,000 sq. ft. deck the barbecues and Beach Bar will be fired up. It’s all free and makes for a great winter-style party...in the summer!

    Call Snow Summit at (909) 866-5766.