Fall foliage: Aspen aglow near Big Bear

The fall foliage around Big Bear is exploding, courtesy of heavy snows a year ago. Meanwhile, a grove of aspen 30 minutes from town is expected to peak this weekend.

Dan Mckernan of the Big Bear Lake Resort Assn. says the grove is the only one in Southern California and a favorite of local hikers. Note that the final leg of the drive from town takes you on a forest road that is not particularly friendly to low-slung sports cars or low-riders. Family sedans should by OK, if you take it slowly.

Once there, you’ll think you are in Colorado, rather than two hours from Los Angeles. Also on display in area day hikes are oak, cottonwood and ferns. Timing the color peak in the area is always tricky, Mckernan says. Peak colors usually last only a week or two. Don’t forget your forest day pass ($5) before leaving town.

Directions: To get to Aspen Grove from Big Bear Lake take Big Bear Boulevard to Highway 38 east. Drive about 17 miles to Heartbar Campground. Look for the 7,000-foot elevation sign as a marker. About 100 yards after the elevation sign turn left at the entrance to Heartbar Campground Forest (Road 1N02). Follow 1N02 until it forks right to 1N05. Go right up 1N05 (this is the rough patch of forest road) to the signed Aspen Grove Trail parking, 2.6 miles in from Highway 38. After crossing the creek, take the trail to the left. After 1.5 miles, the trail joins the Fish Creek Trail (8,180-foot elevation).

Contact: Big Bear, (800) 424-4232

– Chris Erskine, Los Angeles Times deputy Travel editor

[Trees are hitting their peak at Aspen Grove, in photo by Greg Zook]

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This entry was posted on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 6:00 am by Chris Erskine and is filed under California, Fall, Last Minute, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.