Dec. 7, 2025
184. The Road to Big Bear - Conquering California's Switchbacks
Some drives are destinations themselves. Johnny Mac tackles California State Route 18, the mountain road that climbs nearly 5,000 feet in thirty miles using switchbacks so numerous that counting them becomes futile. Experience the challenge of the Rim of the World Highway as it hauls you from San Bernardino's valley floor to Big Bear Lake at 7,000 feet, passing through multiple ecosystems and testing both your driving skills and your vehicle's capabilities. Learn why those brake check warnings matter, what the locals know that tourists don't, and why arriving in Big Bear feels like an earned accomplishment.
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Caloroga Shark Media.
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There are drives that announce their difficulty, gradually, letting you
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ease into the challenge with gentle grades and wide curves
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that build confidence before testing it. Then there's a California
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State Route eighteen from San Bernardino to Big Bear Lake,
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which dispenses with subtlety entirely. This road doesn't ease you
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into mountain driving. It grabs you by the collar and
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hauls you up nearly five thousand feet of elevation in
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less than thirty miles, using switchbacks so tight and numerous
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that counting them becomes a feudal exercise. Somewhere around turn fifteen,
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the approach from the valley floor provides no comfort. Looking
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up from San Bernardino, the San Bernardino Mountains rise abruptly,
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a wall of rock and forest that blocks the horizon.
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Big Bear Lake sits somewhere up there, hidden in those mountains,
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and the road to reach it is visible in places,
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a thin line carved into the mountain side, zigzagging upward
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in a pattern that suggests either remarkable engineering or complete insanity.
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Highway eighteen, known locally as the Rim of the World Highway,
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was completed in nineteen fifteen, which means it was designed
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for model T Fords, not modern vehicles capable of actual speed.
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The road remains fundamentally the same, two lanes, constant curves,
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grades that stress engines and brakes, and guardrails that sometimes
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feel more like suggestions than protections. Recent improvements have added
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passing lanes in strategic locations and improved some of the
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more treacherous sections, but to the basic challenge remains unchanged.
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Get from valley floor to mountain lake without driving off
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a cliff or cooking your brakes. The ascent begins in
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the urban sprawl of San Bernardino, passing through residential neighborhoods
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before the road starts climbing in earnest. The transition from
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city to mountain happens quickly. One moment you're passing strip
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malls and apartment complexes, the next you're in chaparral, with
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the road tilting upward at angles that make you grateful
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for first gear. The first switchbacks appear within a few miles,
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and they set the pattern for what's coming. These aren't
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gentle curves, but hairpin turns that require actual steering input,
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where you enter almost perpendicular to your exit direction. Driver
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is unfamiliar with mountain roads often take these turns too fast,
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discovering mid corner that physics doesn't negotiate. The guardrails show
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evidence of these miscalculations. Scuff marks dense and occasionally fresh
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damage from very recent learning experiences. The elevation gain happens
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faster than seems reasonable. Your ears pop repeatedly as atmospheric
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pressure drops. The temperature gage creeps upward as your engine
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works to maintain momentum against gravity. The landscape changes with altitude,
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chaparral giving way to oak woodland, then pine forest as
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you climb higher. Each ecosystem shift happens within miles, compressing
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climate zones that would take hours to traverse. Heading north
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or south, not sea level lookout points appear along the route,
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offering opportunities to pull over and appreciate how far you've climbed.
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These viewpoints serve dual purposes scenic appreciation and brake cooling.
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Signs worn trucks and RVs to stop and check their
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brakes before continuing, which seems alarmist until you see the
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grade percentages posted and do the math on what descending
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this road with overheated breaks would mean. The views from
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these pullouts reveal the scale of southern California in ways
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that that valley driving never does. The sprawl of San
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Bernardino and Riverside spreads across the valley floor below a
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grid of streets and buildings extending to the horizon. On
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clear days, you can see downtown Los Angeles in the distance.
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The visibility makes the smog visible too, that brown layer
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that sits over the basin trapped by the mountains that
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ring the La area. More after this, the switchbacks continue relentlessly.
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Some remark with signs indicating the severity of the curve
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fifteen miles per hour, warnings that should probably be taken seriously.
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Others sneak up on you, appearing suddenly after short straightaways
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that lull you into false confidence. The road occasionally provides
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brief respites straight sections of a few hundred year cards,
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where you can check your mirrors, glance at the view,
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and prepare for the next series of turns. Other vehicles
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on the road sort themselves into categories. Local residents who
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drive this daily take the curves with practiced efficiency, knowing
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exactly when to break and when to accelerate. Weekend warriors
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and sports cars treat the switchbacks like a personal racetrack,
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occasionally crossing the center line in ways that suggest optimism
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about oncoming traffic. Tourists in rental cars hug the inside
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of turns, driving slower than necessary while creating lines of
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frustrated drivers behind them. And then there are the cyclists,
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those individuals possessed of either remarkable fitness or complete disregard
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for self preservation, grinding their way uphill at speeds that
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that make walking look efficient. The road surface varies from
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good to concerning. Recent repaving leaves sections smooth and well marked.
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Older sections show the wear of weather and heavy use, cracking, patching,
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and occasional potholes that require tension. Winter damage from snow
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and ice creates ongoing maintenance needs, and the road sometimes
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shows evidence of rock slides or erosion that's been cleared
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but not fully repaired. Emergency turnouts appear with comforting frequency,
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marked for vehicles experiencing mechanical problems. These aren't suggestions. If
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your brakes smell like they're burning, if your engine temperature
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enters the red zone, if your transmission starts making noises
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that aren't in the owner's manual. These turnouts are where
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you stop and let things cool down. Pride has no
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place on mountain roads, and attempting to push through automotive
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distress can transform a minor problem into a major disaster
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very quickly. The final approach to Big Bear comes after
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what feels like an endless series of switchbacks. The road
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levels out somewhat, though level is relative. At seven thousand feet,
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pine forest closes in on both sides, thick enough that
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the lake remains invisible until you're almost upon it. The
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air temperature has dropped significantly. What was eighty degrees in
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the valley might be sixty five here, and in winter.
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The difference is dramatic enough to require completely different clothing
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than The lake appears spread across a mountain valley, blue water,
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reflecting sky, and surrounded by pine covered mountains. Big Bear
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Lake is a reservoir created by a dam on Bear Creek,
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but it's been here long enough since eighteen eighty four
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that it feels natural rather than artificial. The lake stretches
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for seven miles, its shoreline developed with cabins, resorts, and
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commercial areas that cater to the steady stream of visitors
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who've made the climb. The town of Big Bear Lake
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sits on the lake's south shore, a mountain community that
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exists primarily for recreation and tourism. The main drag, Big
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Bear Boulevard, runs parallel to the shoreline, lined with restaurants, shops,
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rental operations, and the kinds of businesses that support both
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tourism and the people who've chosen to live at altitude
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year round. Arriving in Big Bear after the drive up
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feels like an accomplishment. You've conquered the switchbacks gay, nearly
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a mile of elevation and reached a destination that's genuinely
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different from the value left. The earth thinner, the temperature cooler,
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the light different at this altitude. The pine smell sharp
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and clean, especially after rain. The pace is slower, partly
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because there's nowhere else to rush to and partly because
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the altitude makes everything slightly more effortful. The descent reverses
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the experience trading screaming engines for smoking brakes. Coming down
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requires different skills than going up. Gear selection becomes crucial,
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using engine breaking control speed rather than relying on brake
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pads that can overheat and fade. The switchbacks feel tighter
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heading down, the drop offs more present, the consequences of
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error more immediate. Drivers who rushed up the mountain often
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discover that going down requires more respect, not less. Big
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Bear exists because someone built a road to reach it.
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Without Highway eighteen and its switchbacks, the lake would remain
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accessible only to those willing to hike in, and the
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community that's developed here wouldn't exist. The road makes Big
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Bear possible, but it also makes Big Bear feel earned.
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You can't accidentally end up here. You have to commit
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to the drive except its challenges, and arrive having demonstrated
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at least minimal competence in mountain driving. That barrier to entry,
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while lower than it once was, still filters the crowd
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and creates a sense that reaching Big Bear means something
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beyond simply arriving at another destination. I'm Johnny Mack, and
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travelers back
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