Aspen Glen Picnic Area

First time here. Nice place for kids to enjoy the snow. Picnic areas. Restrooms could be cleaner.

I’m sure this place is nice when there’s a lot more snow and it’s less icy, and earlier in the day, or a weekday. We made the mistake of going on a weekend afternoon last December and there was a ton of traffic getting there, the place was crowded as heck, the slopes were icy as heck, and parking (roadside) was hard to find (AND YOU NEED AN ADVENTURE PASS OR YOU WILL GET A TICKET). And the bathrooms were the dirtiest, most horrible bathrooms I have ever seen. I don’t even want to describe it. Also, the masses of people BBQ-​ing made the place very smoky and not very picturesque — not the serene snowy un-​peopled backdrop I was imagining. It was a like a war camp on Game of Thrones. I would have given one star, but added one more, because, despite all of that, the little kids all still had fun sliding down the icy slopes. If I ever come here again (less than 50% chance), it will definitely be on a not-​weekend, and in the morning, preferably after a snow storm.

great area for sledding super fun 2 year old loved it… will go back again

This place was such fun. Many little slopes to slide from. Bathrooms are dirty but it’s a park. Also pay for parking so you don’t get a citation. Only five dollars. Will be coming back.

Went with a group of friends not really expecting much. We were wrong. Great place for sledding, not too crowded for a Saturday. Had a blast

Wasn’t looking to spend $ 30+ a day to sled so we Unilocaled and found this place!
This was my first time ever seeing snow/​sledding so I can’t compare to anyplace else but in my humble opinion, this place was great!
Parking: small. It was kind of horrible to find parking since it was a holiday but somehow we found it!
When I came, snow was amazing and thick and there’s a ton of hills of many shapes and sizes. Unlike a paid for sledding spot, slopes are very bumpy and can hurt (from personal experience). A serious thrill and super fun, I cannot explain in words. Met a lot of nice people (is this what snow + vacation does to people?).
BONUS: added a video of one sled ride. You go faster if there’s one person instead of 2. But with one person, you’ll get knocked out by those gnarly jumps. LOL

Great for everyone especially young kids. Kids under 2 are not allowed at Alpine Slide so this is a great alternative. It’s free but you have to have a parking pass ($ 5) which you can purchase at any gas station. Can get a little crowded though especially on the weekends. Tables available when you need a little break and restrooms too. Check out our video at Aspen Glen Picnic Area

great for sledding and picnic and it’s free, unlike most attractions in the area. maintenance, especially the bathrooms, could use some improvement– it’s not well-​maintained. we got there early in the morning and all the trash bins were already full. otherwise, a very relaxing place to spend a few hours and enjoy nature.

Great little park. I was there on a Friday morning with my little guy and we had the park to ourselves for two hours of playing in the snow. I’d would have given this park 5 stars but there was more trash on the ground at this park than any other park I’ve ever seen.
Disgusting and very disheartening that people are such pigs. Also, i guess the national park service must not clean this place until the snow melts.

You found it, the BEST sledding spot in Big Bear! This off-​the-​beaten-​track picnic area offers tons of safe sledding hills for all skill levels. Some steep speedy lanes for thrill seekers and some tame slopes for toddlers. The parking situation is this, you need an adventure pass, it costs $ 5 and you can buy one at the sports store on the corner of Mill Creek and Big Bear Blvd. on your way to the park. The parking lot itself holds like 8 cars max, so get there early if it’s a holiday or weekend. I went Christmas week, arrived by 10am, and had no issue, several spots still available at that time. The bathroom is a little gross, pretty typical for campground standards and some very disrespectful people like to leave behind broken sleds and trash, even though there are trash cans a plenty. Pro Tip: in a pinch a laundry basket and a belt make a great pull sled!

Use to go to Alpine slides but for $ 30 day, little steep when there is 3 of us who have to pay costing us $ 90. For $ 5 parking pass all day, all 5 of us got to play. Bought our pass at the Chevron station. Thus place is a litt I ever further past Alpine slides if you are coming from the village. T here is a parking lot, but only few dpaces. You can easily find parking along the road, but get there early. The place is really big so we didn’t find it being too crowded. Just walk a little further away from the street and u can most probably find a slide area all for yourself!

Wanted to take the kids on a walk. Kinda bummed out when I got there. You have to payfor a parking pass and ranger (very nice) on watch to make sure you have a pass. It got crowded quick. Also lots of trash and broken sleigh/​plastic toboggans.
Needs some cleaning.
Bathrooms were also disgusting… Saw frozen poop

What a gem! This is a great (free) alternative for families with young kids who won’t make the most of a pay-​to-​sled place or those who don’t want to pay $ 30 a head at Alpine Slide. There was plenty of snow, a variety of hills to go down, shops selling sleds nearby, and picnic benches. The atmosphere was friendly and not too crowded — even in mid-​December.
But bathrooms were horrendous. Only 2 smelly stalls were open, and there were no sinks. So bring hand sanitizer. Also, since it’s a free picnic area, it’s not maintained perfectly. Hence icy patches on the parking lots and other spots. Just watch your step and you’ll have a great time.

A great place for people to swing by and play in the snow. Parking can be annoying, so make sure you buy a pass ahead of time. Our son was a bit sick, so this was a great place to go sledding for a short bit, and then head back home.
If you don’t have a «great» sledding hill, wander around and you’ll find some different options. Most people appear to hang out for a short bit and leave too.

Awesome park. We timed it perfectly. Snowed the day before. There was plenty of fresh snow to sled down the clear path. Morning time was best as it was less packed. By afternoon temps rose and the snow started to melt off not to mention 3 times the amount of people. All in all, a fun, free time with tons of sledding and my 3 & 5 yr olds loved exploring too.

Awesome Park! Nice Hills! Beautiful scenery! The kids loves it! good hills for sledding and pictures! a lot of picnic tables:)

This area is nice but we didn’t we didn’t stay too long as you need a parking pass there. The passes are sold in various shops in town but you don’t know this until you get there at the picnic area. That’s a little disappointing that you have to go back to town and get a pass thus giving up your parking spot.

Maybe I’m reviewing this place too harshly because it was fun and we had a good time but as soon as we pulled in to the lot all I could see was the trash. I felt like I was swimming in filth. There were plates of half eaten sandwiches, bottles, cans, juice boxes, half full cups and soggy napkins everywhere. And the golden ticket for entry into the class of unredeemable dirt bags, the used diaper, sitting like a prize atop another tidy, little pile of trash.
And all that 50 feet from a trash can.
Deeper into the area there was a rainbow of plastic shards of every shape and variety littering the ground. Apparently the understanding is that you can buy your cheap plastic snow toy, ride it till you blow it to pieces on the rocks then fling each piece in any direction you choose confident that the clean up is someone else’s problem.
After hauling your fifth load of garbage to the trash you kind of loose your faith in the decency of the human race.

Great place to do some low budget sledding in the winter! There are multiple small hills for kids of all ages to play on although it can get very crowded during the weekend. The slopes are not too steep and generally pretty safe since its not overly close to the roads, barbed wires although there are ramdom trees spread throughout. We brought 5 kids aged 2.5 to 5 years and they all had a blast. Little kids need to be supervised as people are constantly coming down the hill from all different directions and might run into them on the way down.
As for parking some people made their own parking right outside the fence, but a store employee told me that tickets can run you $ 200…sooo i drove across the street to an empty lot where $ 10 allows you parking all day.

We found this place and was able to enjoy 30 minutes of some sledding fun.
Parking: there is a lot on big bear road and mill creek and then you need to cross the street otherwise some people park along mill creek road.
Previous posts talked about having a permit for the car but when we stopped in a liquor store — they said they weren’t selling permits anymore and just to keep an eye out on your cars In case they started ticketing. We didn’t see anyone get ticketed.
It was fun. And for free.
We drove by alpine slide and big bear play and the lines were incredibly too long and wasn’t worth $ 30.00