Recommendations Mammoth-Big Bear
 

Adult son and girlfriend want to go to Mammoth Lakes or Big Bear over New Years (12/31-01/02). Would appreciate any recommendations.
Thanks.

There's a huge difference between the two if you ski - Mammoth is one of the best skiing mountains in the world - although the town has been pretty weak, recently they've been doing a lot to make it more of a charming ski town.

Big Bear is a little mountain by Los Angeles - it's charming in a kindof tacky way - skiing is really poor, unless you're a boarder with no standards or ski etiquette whatsoever (I'm not applying this to all boarders - just the ones in Big Bear!)

I'd do Mammoth... preferably Lake Tahoe, or Vail, or Aspen, or Sun Valley, but that's a whole 'nother discussion.

Thanks for the reply, brendamc. My son and his girlfriend are less interested in skiing and more interested in cuddling with the snow as a lovely backdrop. They live in W.Los Angeles and want to be within driving distance. I told them that it was a a bit unrealistic to look for a mountain resort over New Year weekend. If anyone knows of any availabiiity or recommendations within driving distance of West L.A., it would be most appreciated.

Lake Tahoe is gorgeous (just avoid the south end) & many more choices there - not a short drive, but absolutely beautiful & romantic. One of the lake front cabins at the Hyatt Regency would be wonderful!

Wrightwood
 

If they are only interested in snow and not in skiing, Big Bear and Wrightwood are MUCH closer than Mammoth (a six hour drive from LA). Depending on what part of LA they are Wrightwood and Big Bear are only an hour or more drive.
Mountain High lists lodging near the ski resort on their web site:

http://www.mthigh.com/pages/lodging.html

Snow summit is more skiing and Bear Mountain more snow boarding at Big Bear

http://www.bigbearmountainresorts.com/

If they are only interested in visiting a mountain with snow, Idyllwild is about an hour and a half from LA and has better restaurants and shopping than Big Bear in my opinion.

Big Bear is mainly a local resort rather than a tourist resort. It is mostly frequented by local Southern California Residents who rarely (or never) see snow in their own backyards and would like to play around with the white stuff or go for recreational skiing/snowboarding. Mammoth & Lake Tahoe on the other hand are more tourist oriented with more lodges & dining.

Big Bear is the most economical. The others, Mammoth and Tahoe, have more choices, however, they are typically more expensive.

So, what did they do & what did they think?