Thanksgiving is a time for family, feast, reunion and fun. Do something different this year and spend the holiday in Big Bear! It’s especially easy to feel like you’re at home-away-from-home at the Grey Squirrel, because all our cabins come with kitchens — complete with stove, oven, fridge, and microwave — so you can create your meal right here. We’re even offering a free turkey upon check-in to the first five families who book with us for Thanksgiving night! (As of this post…call for confirmation of qualifying.)

Full Kichen at Log Haven for full Meals

We can sleep anywhere from 2 to 14 people at our main resort cabins, and our private vacation rental homes sleep from 2 to 15 people. Cozy up in one, or spread out into several of them — we’ll make the booking process easy, either way. You’ll be able to relax on our grounds; use our playground for kids; play basketball, tetherball, volleyball, badminton, shuffleboard, or croquet; try out our chipping green, or kick a ball around on our large grassy field. Or make yourself comfortable in your cabin, curled up with a good book or movie in an armchair or on the couch.

Family Gathering in Squirrel's Nest

Once the tranquility of Thanksgiving day has passed, there’s lots going on in Big Bear. Nov. 25 is the tree lighting ceremony in the Village, complete with a visit from Santa. From Nov. 25-27, the Mountain Christmas Boutique will be held at the Convention Center — a perfect spot to find holiday decorations to take home, or presents for those on your gift-list. Plus, performances of “A Christmas Carol” will be going on at the Performing Arts Center on Nov. 25-27 as well.

Any way you look at it, there’s something for everyone — including the Lake, and all of Big Bear’s hiking trails, of course! So gather your family together and caravan up to Big Bear. We’d love to have you stay with us this Thanksgiving!

It’s hard to believe, but there are only about 12 weeks left until Christmas! The holidays are a great time for family reunions and getaways, whether it’s for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s or any other occasion. In Big Bear you can almost always count on snow in December, which makes for all sorts of family fun — from skiing to snowball fights.

Here at the Grey Squirrel, our huge grassy area becomes the perfect spot for building snowmen — there’s plenty of room to spread out and make a whole family of them! If there’s enough snow, there’s also an area directly behind us that is perfect for (free!) sledding. All of our cabins have fireplaces so you can feel cozy and warm when you come back inside. Each cabin also has dishes, a microwave, refrigerator, stove and oven, so it’s easy to make yourself at home and whip up a batch of hot chocolate or whatever else sounds toasty.

On our main resort, we have 19 cabins which sleep from 2 to 14 people. We’ve also got 18 private vacation homes to rent out which sleep from 2 to 15 people, so we’ve got you covered, no matter how large your group may be. Pets are OK too; we know that they’re part of the family and the holidays wouldn’t be complete without them!

So — take some time this week and get in touch with your family. Find out when their school holidays are, pick some dates and give us a call — we’ll take care of the rest, making sure everyone’s cabins are close together. It’ll be a getaway you won’t forget, and you’ll make some great memories to close out the year with.

The incredible colors of fall usually visit our Big Bear trees in October, which is only about five weeks away! The beauty is incredible — yellows, golds, browns, oranges, reds — you name it, the hues we associate with fall will be everywhere. Our trees at The Grey Squirrel are stunning this time of year, local hiking trails are truly a sight to behold, and a wander through Big Bear’s Village is sure to put you in a seasonal mood.

If this sounds like the right time for a trip up the mountain, you’re right. There’s lots happening in October. If you’re looking for something that really feels like autumn, you’ll want to coincide your visit with Oktoberfest or Halloween. Oktoberfest runs weekends beginning September 17 through Oct. 29, and we’re offering special deals and promotions to tie in with it. Boo in the Zoo is where the kids will want to be — it’s Oct. 29 at the Moonridge Animal Park and includes a Pumpkin Patch, Scarecrow Land, Witches Lair and more. If the first weekend of the month works better for you, Troutfest is Oct. 1-2, which always draws lots of anglers and excitement!

41st Annual Big Bear Oktoberfest. All week-ends 9/17/11-10/29/11

The colors of our autumn leaves are one of nature’s gifts, and you won’t want to miss it. October in Big Bear usually also brings crisp air and blue skies — all in all, it’s fall at its finest. We’d love to host you at The Grey Squirrel and be your home away from home as you explore the mountain!

School is starting, and some amount of chaos accompanies that each year no matter how much we prepare. It’s culture shock going from the lazy days of summer into the momentum of class — we know, we’ve been there! Sometimes it helps to know there’s a little summer addendum planned… a couple days to reclaim our stake on summer, because hey, the season’s not over for more than a month! So take a few weeks to get used to new routines, and then give yourself a breather from it all with a weekend in Big Bear.

There’s lots going on up here in the weeks leading to autumn. Fall Festival on Sept. 3-4 features beautiful arts and crafts for sale, and Wine Walk in the Village on Sept. 17 offers tasty wine samples and hors d’oeuvres. There are other activities too, and with our sunny 70- and 80-degree weather you’ll be able to really enjoy the outdoors.

The Lake is filled to the brim, and it’s truly scenic to anchor in the no-wake zone near the new bridge. At The Grey Squirrel we have a “Rock the Boat” package with Pleasure Point Marina with 20% off your lodging Sun-Thurs, and 30% off a half-day weekday pontoon rental. We’ve also got discounts and coupons for lots of other activities — from golf to the sky chair to lunch at the top of the world. And, we’re getting our deals for Oktoberfest nailed down right now so stay tuned for those!

There’s something for everyone, and there’s probably no one who wouldn’t benefit from a final summer hurrah before we settle into the changing of the seasons. We hope you’ll join us for a final summer getaway!

The summer is ticking by, and if you haven’t planned a get-away yet, we can help make your decision easy. There are many choices when you travel — when to go, where to stay, what to do when you get there. We think a get-away in Big Bear is ideal for those who want rest and relaxation, fun activities, a reconnection with nature and a chance to explore a fresh environment. Nothing beats the experience of the mountains and the lake.

There are lots of reasons to choose the Grey Squirrel as your home base once you’re up here.  We strive to create a peaceful experience, starting with comfortable cabins,  beautiful grounds, and friendly service. We offer lots to enjoy, including a children’s playground, heated pool and jacuzzi, volleyball/badminton net, barbecues and more. We’re a pet-friendly bunch and you can feel free to bring your dog, hamster or any other members of your family circle.

Lastly, we’re proud that hidden fees are NOT part of the experience at the Grey Squirrel.  No cleaning fee, booking or reservation fee, parking fees, rental charges to use amenities, or change fees if your dates need to switch. You can book with us with confidence — we’ll be upfront with you from the get-go.

It’s definitely not too late — we have cabins and private vacation homes available, and you owe yourself some special time away before the summer ends!

In addition to the 19 cabins at our main resort, we manage 18 private vacation homes. These offer the space of a full house, along with access to the amenities at our main resort (all our private homes are within a block or two of the Grey Squirrel). A special option these homes carry is that they can be booked on a monthly basis.

This concept works for all sorts of situations — an extended vacation, residents of the desert areas who want to escape the summer heat, people who can work remotely and want some time away from home, even folks who live nearby in Southern California and want a place to call home for a month’s worth of weekends! We’ve also had extended families rent a home, with members of the group coming up on various weeks and splitting the cost amongst themselves.

All our private homes offer something special, and you can see photos from our homepage. Brewers is our largest, sleeping up to 15. The Boulders, Bayshore Lake, Hagey’s Haus and Brewers offer beautiful lake views. Bunk beds are often a big hit with kids, and those are at Molly’s Peak, Aspen Pines C, Bayshore Lake and Reno’s Starview. Pappy’s Place and Reno’s Starview have pool tables, and Pelican Pines has air hockey. Several of our rentals are either new homes or have undergone recent remodels. We could go on, but you get the gist — there’s something for everyone.

Whether you’re looking for a bona fide log cabin, or a house with a big deck, or one with a jacuzzi — we can accommodate all those requests and more. Everyone works hard all year, whether at work or in school. Sometimes we need more than a three-day weekend to recharge, and a monthly rental could be just the ticket!

We have several spacious cabins for large groups. This short video shows the resort cabin Mink. We tried to show the size of the rooms by sweeping from the dining area, through the living room. Note the large screen TV.