Santa Ana River Trail (Upper)
Big Bear to Angelus Oaks (San Bernardino Mountains) · near Big Bear Lake · Los Angeles / SoCal
Mountain Biking
At a glance
- Skill level
- advanced
- Trail miles
- 20+ mile point-to-point descent · Often shuttled from Big Bear
- Elevation
- Descends from Big Bear (~7,000ft) toward the valley · Long, sustained singletrack drop
- Best season
- Late spring–fall (upper sections snow-free)
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- No
Mountain Biking detail
- Ride types
- all-mountain · enduro
- Signature trails
- Upper Santa Ana River Trail
- Ebike
- No
- Ebike note
- San Bernardino National Forest e-bike rules apply; check current regulations for the trail's designated sections.
- Intl tip
- Big Bear Lake is a full four-season mountain resort town — the lake itself offers kayaking and SUP (in the kayak guide), and winter brings skiing (in the skiing guide). Making Big Bear a weekend base gives you lift-served laps, the SART descent, and the lake all in one trip.
The guide
The upper Santa Ana River Trail is one of Southern California's premier long descents — a 20+ mile point-to-point that drops fr…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Santa Ana River Trail (Upper) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 34.165, -116.8