On Big Bear Lake's north shore the water shows through the pine trunks, with sagebrush on the slope behind camp and Snow Summit's ski runs striping the mountain across the lake. The motorhome stays put all week with the awning out and the power on. Kids ride the loop, dinner happens at the picnic table, and the lake is a walk through the trees whenever someone wants it.
Getting there takes the first afternoon. From Westminster the freeways carry you inland to Redlands, and from there SR-330 leaves the basin in a long run of switchbacks you'll feel in the brakes on the way home. At Running Springs the road meets SR-18 along the rim, and Recreation.gov's directions follow SR-18 east and SR-38 around to the north shore. Plan a daylight arrival, since the first climb in a 30-foot rig is no place to hurry.
Serrano and the Snowberry loop on Big Bear's north shore
Serrano is the Forest Service camp that puts a rig on the north shore itself, in the pines with the lake through the trees. The week settles into an easy rhythm from there: mornings by the water, afternoons in the shade, and an evening drive around the lake to the village when nobody wants to cook.
Rigs go to Snowberry, Serrano's RV loop, where sites carry 30-amp electric and a water hookup. As of September 2026 the Snowberry loop's pads run from about 35 to 40 feet. Reserve the pad first and book the motorhome to fit it, because summer weekends and holidays fill the north shore early.
Hookups are water and power, so the tanks set the pace of the week. Serrano has its own dump station, charged per use, which makes a midweek dump run and another on the way out an easy routine. Power can run short when the camp is full, and since industrial generators aren't permitted, go easy on the air conditioning on a busy weekend.
On the village side, Pine Knot has no hookups, and its limited turnaround restricts RVs over 25 feet. A two-person trip that wants that end of the lake fits better in a campervan from Westminster.
Lake Arrowhead and Dogwood, off SR-18
Dogwood sits on the Lake Arrowhead side of the same mountain, a Forest Service camp of narrow paved aprons under cedar and pine at about 5,800 feet. It works as a quieter week of its own or as the first nights before the drive on to Big Bear, with Lake Arrowhead's village for a morning out.
As of September 2026 the Forest Service lists 87 reservable sites, 18 with electric, pads from 28 to 40 feet, a dump station, and a season from mid-April to late October. With so few electric sites, pick the one that fits the rig and reserve it before booking anything else.
Coming back down, one night at sea level before the rig goes home is easy to add. The closest beach overnight is the RV lot at Bolsa Chica State Beach, and the Huntington Beach RV page covers it.