Snow Valley Mountain Resort
Overview
Long before it carried its current name, this stretch of the San Bernardino Mountains was known as Fish Camp, developed in the 1920s by the Swetkowich brothers. The Arrowhead Springs Corporation converted it into a proper ski area in the 1930s and renamed it Snow Valley, reportedly installing one of the first overhead cable ski lifts anywhere in the region — an early sign that this would become a fixture of Southern California skiing rather than a passing venture. Norwegian-American skier Johnny Elvrum bought the operation in 1940 and expanded it further, and the resort has stayed open continuously since, a run long enough that it’s now considered the longest continually operating ski area in Southern California.
Today the mountain rises from a 2,049.6m base to a 2,387.5m summit, a vertical drop of 337.9m spread across 42 runs and 13.39km of terrain. The runs skew intermediate — 6.77km of the total, more than half — with 2.17km of advanced terrain and a smaller 0.48km expert slice concentrated toward the upper mountain, plus 2.08km easy and 0.52km novice for people still finding their edges. Thirteen lifts move skiers around, twelve chairlifts and a single magic carpet, a setup that leans toward capacity over glamour: this is a workhorse Southern California day-trip mountain, one of three ski areas inside the San Bernardino National Forest, rather than a destination resort with a village at its base.
Alterra Mountain Company bought Snow Valley in January 2023 and folded it into the Big Bear Mountain Resort operation alongside Bear Mountain and Snow Summit, which is why its official site runs on bigbearmountainresort.com instead of a standalone domain. That ownership also explains the pass situation: both the unlimited Ikon Pass and the Ikon Base Pass cover Snow Valley with no blackout dates, giving Southern California skiers on either pass a third local option beyond the two Bear Mountain-area hills. Getting there means driving up from the Inland Empire — San Bernardino International Airport is the nearest airport at roughly 22.6km, with Ontario International and Palm Springs International both under 65km away, and the cities of San Bernardino, Rialto, and Moreno Valley all within a 36km radius of the mountain.
Snow Valley’s terrain also carves out room for freeriders that a lot of Southern California day hills skip entirely: 1.12km is classified specifically as freeride terrain, on top of the two named parks, The Edge and East Bowl, that anchor its freestyle offering. The resort’s own figures put annual snowfall around 150 inches, and with 12 of its 13 lifts being chairlifts rather than surface tows, the uphill capacity leans toward moving a lot of skiers quickly rather than a slower, learn-to-ski setup — consistent with a mountain that draws heavily from the greater Los Angeles and Inland Empire day-trip market rather than overnight destination guests.
Key stats
Official website — Last checked 2026-09-13
Lifts by type
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| chair lift | 12 |
| magic carpet | 1 |
Runs by difficulty
| Difficulty | Distance |
|---|---|
| easy | 2.08 km |
| other | 0.25 km |
| expert | 0.48 km |
| novice | 0.52 km |
| advanced | 2.17 km |
| freeride | 1.12 km |
| intermediate | 6.77 km |
Maps
View official Snow Valley Mountain Resort trail map (image) →
Run & lift overview
Snow Valley Mountain Resort: 42 runs, 13 lifts. A schematic built from OpenStreetMap/OpenSkiMap data — this is not Snow Valley Mountain Resort's official trail map. © OpenStreetMap contributors, OpenSkiMap (ODbL).
Typical conditions by month
Monthly conditions data for Snow Valley Mountain Resort is not yet available.
Lift tickets & passes
- Ikon Pass — Unlimited, no blackout
- Ikon Base Pass — Unlimited, no additional blackout
Getting there
Nearest airports
- San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) — 22.6 km straight-line
- Ontario International Airport (ONT) — 54.9 km straight-line
- Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) — 64.9 km straight-line
Nearest cities
- San Bernardino, California — 26.1 km straight-line
- Rialto, California — 33 km straight-line
- Moreno Valley, California — 35.6 km straight-line
Also covered by
Where to stay
A dedicated lodging guide for Snow Valley Mountain Resort is not yet available.
Nearby resorts
- Snow Summit — 13 km straight-line, 372.2 m vertical
- Bear Mountain — 16 km straight-line, 502.7 m vertical
- Mt. Baldy — 53 km straight-line, 636.3 m vertical
- Mountain High — 62 km straight-line, 486.4 m vertical
- Mount Waterman — 84 km straight-line, 304.6 m vertical
FAQ
- How big is Snow Valley Mountain Resort?
- Snow Valley climbs from a 2,049.6m base to a 2,387.5m summit, a vertical drop of 337.9m. It runs 13 lifts (12 chairlifts and one magic carpet) across 42 runs totaling 13.39km, with intermediate terrain (6.77km) making up roughly half the mountain.
- Is Snow Valley good for beginners?
- There's a modest but real beginner slice: 2.08km rated easy and 0.52km novice, served by a magic carpet, alongside 2.17km of advanced and 0.48km of expert terrain in the East Bowl area. It's built more for intermediate mileage than first-timers or experts.
- How old is Snow Valley Mountain Resort?
- The site was originally known as Fish Camp and developed by the Swetkowich brothers in the 1920s. The Arrowhead Springs Corporation turned it into a ski area in the 1930s and renamed it Snow Valley, installing one of the first overhead cable ski lifts in the region. Norwegian-American Johnny Elvrum bought and expanded the resort in 1940.
- Who owns Snow Valley Mountain Resort now?
- Alterra Mountain Company acquired Snow Valley in January 2023, which is why it now sells through the Ikon Pass network rather than operating independently.
- Which pass covers Snow Valley?
- Both the full Ikon Pass and the Ikon Base Pass include unlimited, no-blackout access to Snow Valley.
- What's the nearest airport to Snow Valley Mountain Resort?
- San Bernardino International Airport (SBD) is closest at about 22.6km, followed by Ontario International (ONT) at 54.9km and Palm Springs International (PSP) at 64.9km.
- Is Snow Valley the same as Big Bear?
- It's a separate mountain from Bear Mountain and Snow Summit but is operated together with them under the Big Bear Mountain Resort brand, which is why Snow Valley's official site sits on bigbearmountainresort.com rather than its own domain.
- Does Snow Valley have terrain parks?
- Yes, the mountain runs two named terrain parks, The Edge and East Bowl, and carves out 1.12km of its trail network specifically for freeride-style terrain alongside the groomed runs — a notable amount of park and freeride skiing for a mountain this compact.
Data sources
Last verified: 2026-09-15
Base facts from OpenSkiMap (ODbL), OpenStreetMap contributors, Wikidata (CC0), OurAirports (public domain) and GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). See /data-sources/.