More than 20 million people live within a couple-hour drive of the San Bernardino mountains. That’s why a road trip to Lake Arrowhead in autumn is a wonderful idea. California’s “Rim of the World” is most visited for boating activities in summer and snow ski activities in winter, but the fall can offer a delightful visit with fewer crowds and hassle.

How about colorful leaves that rival the East Coast? A blanket of snow without the need for tire chains? Hiking trails that aren’t crowded? Plenty of available vacation rentals at a discounted price? Warm days for outdoor activities and cold nights by the fireplace? Fewer traffic jams getting there and back? Mid-September to late-November can provide all of those.

Southern California is like few other places in the world. You could surf the Pacific Ocean in the morning and snow ski mountain slopes in the afternoon. Just bring the right clothes!

We depart the beach at Dana Point, in Orange County, mid-morning and check into our Airbnb house at noon. We peruse the village at Lake Arrowhead, buy groceries, and take a hike, all before dinner. It’s easy to pack a lot into a 48-hour stay, whether you choose a weekend or mid-week.

The drive

Lake Arrowhead sits in the San Bernardino National Forest, but an easy 2-hour drive from most parts of Los Angeles and Orange County. Add an hour for San Diego. Freeways whisk us to the National Forest, and the last half hour is a scenic, well-maintained, wide 2-lane road. We enjoy some of the turnout vistas, best seen on the way up. And by up, we mean we quickly go from sea-level to an ear-popping 5,700 feet (1,700m).

Accommodations

Once in the area, we have definitely left the urban lifestyle behind. Lake Arrowhead is a heavily-wooded upscale enclave, surrounding the large lake, with a resident population of only about 10,000 people. Like many resort areas, the economy is tourism-based, with some 4 million visitors a year. Fortunately, most of those crowds occur in the summer and winter months!

For our November stay there are plenty of Airbnb options. We highly recommend a vacation-rental stay. First, there are limited hotel options (and no chain hotels). Second, you can rent an entire house for less than the price of an urban hotel room. That’s the definition of “upscale on a budget.” We research the area and decide on a home just minutes from the village and lake. It is tucked away high up on one of the myriads of twisting, wooded residential streets.

A mountain retreat should have a fireplace in the living room, a fully-equipped modern kitchen for making pancakes in the morning, lots of bedrooms and baths, and a driveway for parking, right? Oh, and it should be dog-friendly. Throw in log cabin pine walls and outside decks, and you have described the perfect getaway. There are many from which to choose.

Provisions

Since this is a road journey, we can fill the ample trunk of the Tesla with more than just suitcases and dog bedding. We bring food supplies to eat most meals in our home-away-from-home, saving time and money.

Since this is also a mini-vacation, eating out can be part of the fun, albeit this trip is in the middle of a pandemic. We take out a delectable fire-roasted artisan pizza from Lou Eddies Pizza in nearby Skyforest.

Activities

Many of the summertime activities, such as boating and water skiing, are dormant in the late fall. And the wintertime operations for skiing and snowboarding, even with man-made snow, don’t usually open until just before Thanksgiving. So, what is there to do?

We like easy, scenic hikes. Our first one starts on the north side of the lake and winds around the shoreline. There are varying views of the lake, dotted with golden-color oak trees and tall pines, mixed with magnificent homes. And the trail is dog-friendly. Note that Lake Arrowhead is a private lake. Your vacation home will probably come with a guest pass, but verify this. The village, with Swiss-like architecture, sits on the south lakeside, and creates a sort mini-Lake Geneva feeling.

Hike number two is just a few miles out of town at Heaps Peak Arboretum. What makes this mile-loop trail most interesting are the more than two dozen educational signposts explaining everything from the age of the sequoia trees to the Native American use of acorns. The trail is snow-covered on our visit, but still easy to manage, even for our little dog!

Hike number three is a short drive west of nearby Blue Jay. It is the Will Abell Memorial Trail at Arrowhead Ridge. Part of the trail is wide and paved and an incline from street-level. It’s still pretty easy, offering more expansive views than the previous hikes.

There are plenty of other activities to engage in during the fall. Mountain biking is especially popular and trails are not as crowded. Families seem to enjoy a full day at SkyPark at Santa’s Village in Skyforest, with 230 acres and fun stuff for all ages, including biking, zip lining, and ice skating. We enjoy early morning neighborhood walks, admiring the A-frame houses nestled in the woods.

Finally, the area is simply a convenient retreat from places like Hollywood. For some, the best activity is to sit by the fire and read (or write) a new screenplay.

The Big Bear option

Lake Arrowhead isn’t the only resort community in these mountains. Big Bear has its own lake, which is big and public, and surrounded by similar things to do. We don’t visit Big Bear on this road trip for a few reasons. It is yet another 45 minutes away – 50 miles round trip on winding roads. One realistically needs to allow a day to get there and back, especially with fewer hours of daylight afforded by autumn. At 7,000 feet, Big Bear has closer skiing in the winter and more lake recreation in the summer, but this is the fall. Finally, our journeys are about “upscale travel on a budget,” and Lake Arrowhead seems to have more of a mountain luxury vibe to it.

Weather

We are still in Southern California, despite the mile-high altitude. That means paying close attention to local weather reports. The week before our arrival Lake Arrowhead was sunny, dry, and daytime highs in the mid-70s. Then came a weekend with a cold front and 6 inches of snow. We experienced the aftermath – cool days, nights below freezing, and lots of snow melting slowly.

Our whole stay is just two nights. 48 hours of fresh mountain air, cool temperatures, and snow play. Lots of walking and driving around heavily timbered homes overlooking a beautiful crystal-clear lake. Leaving the beaches of Orange County, it is like a sudden transformation into an alpine forest. A road trip worth taking.

Do you have any questions? Have you been to Lake Arrowhead? Feel free to comment at the bottom of this post.