Southern California Resort Check In

California is big. Like really big. Like the third biggest state in the country with some of the most varied geography and ecology.

The skiable areas stretch from the Cascades near the Oregon border to the Sierra Nevadas to the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains outside of Los Angeles.

No matter where you are in California, you’re usually only a couple hours away from some skiable mountains.

We know Tahoe and the Sierras are having a solid winter in terms of snowfall. The Northern, Central, and Southern sections of the Sierras are all near or over 100% of the average snowpack .

But what about the rest of the state?

The Transverse Ranges in Southern California is home to the resorts near Los Angeles County like Big Bear, Mt. Baldy, Mt. Waterman, and Snow Valley.

With a couple recent storms, the snowpack in these areas is a little higher than average, but this hasn’t curbed concerns of California’s deep rooted drought problems.

The good news is that the three ski areas at Big Bear Mountain Resort, Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, and Snow Valley, all have season totals over 133” with more snow expected today and tomorrow.

Mt. Waterman even opened for the first time since 2020 this weekend for a St. Patrick’s Day bash. It’s the closest ski resort to Los Angeles, and they have been in business since 1939. It’s a historic ski hill that rarely opens but is beloved by the community.

Mt. Baldy is also having a good season with 86” of total snowfall , the biggest snow year since the 2020-2021 winter. They're also expecting some new snow in the coming days.

"A 20 percent chance of snow showers after 11am. Some thunder is also possible. Mostly sunny, with a high near 53," says the resort on their website . "Wind chill values as low as 25 early. Breezy, with a northeast wind around 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph."

Well, conditions might not be prime, but hey, that's skiing. It's winter and there's snow in them hills. Might as well get after it.