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THE BASICS:
Our condo is located in Bear Valley Village, away from the main cluster of buildings. The roads are always plowed and accessible in the winter, and our building has its own private parking lot.
The condo is a tri-level.
The top level, the master loft, has a king-size bed and good-sized closets and excellent windows looking out over a forested hill to the east. Great for sunrises and for star-gazing.
The main floor, with the front entrance, has a living/dining area along with a kitchen and a full bathroom. There is a brick insert wood fireplace, a big TV with stereo-surround and DirecTV, DVD, VCR, CD, a private balcony, and all appliances including a Mr. Coffee, microwave, toaster, and pots and pans etc. There is also a gas BBQ on the balcony.
The ground level, beneath the main floor, has a large room with four single beds and a second TV with VCR, as well as a private bedroom with another king-size bed. There is also a second bathroom on this floor.
On the main floor, the couch is also a queen-size hide-a-bed, and there are foam pads available for another two or three people to sleep on the floor if you like. Christmas 1998, we had fourteen family members in the condo at one time, but that was pretty tight. The place sleeps eight easily and ten comfortably (two king-size & four singles, plus hide-a-bed).
There is a ski locker for all of your gear.
Everything except firewood is supplied, including clean bedsheets, pillow cases, towels, soap, toilet paper, silverware, plateware, etc., and there are frequently bare essentials like salt, pepper and ordinary spices. There is a washer and dryer.
The ski resort is 2.25 miles up the highway. No one is any closer. There is *no* lodging whatsoever at the resort itself.
If you don't want to drive, a free bus leaves from in front of the Valley Lodge, just 60 second walk in ski boots around the corner from our condo, every morning on the hour. Weekends, there is also an 8:30am and a 9:30am bus. The bus returns from the resort on the half hour until 4:30pm.
(Or, if you know what you're doing, you can get an end-of-day bonus by skiing Home Run back to the condo. Please don't attempt this unless you are familiar with the area. People do get lost.)
Dozens of miles of cross-country skiing can be accessed directly from our condo.
There is fantastic sledding and snow-shoe hiking on The Rocks straight out our front door.
IN THE SUMMERTIME:
Superb hiking in all directions.
Great boating and fishing at Lake Alpine, Spicer Reservoir and Stanislaus River, as well as swimming at Bear Lake.
The week-long Music Festival is not to be missed!
*** BE ADVISED THAT THE AVAILABILITY CALENDAR AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS SITE IS A NEW, MANDATORY FEATURE ADDED BY VRBO AND THAT WE HAVE ELECTED *NOT* TO USE IT, GIVEN THE HIGH NUMBER OF CALLS, REQUESTS, RESERVATIONS AND OCCASIONAL CANCELLATIONS.
This decision may not be very 21st Century, but we do prefer some human contact. Please call if you are interested, or email Jeff directly at skicarlson at hotmail dot com. Even if we're booked, we can put you on a cancellation list. Once in a while, somebody will back out of Christmas or President's Day or whatever, and if you're at the top of the wait list, it's yours; but if you never contact us, you never get anything.
We're happy to answer any questions. We've been skiing and playing at Bear Valley through three generations and have pretty done it all.
Thanks!
AND NOW SOME ADJECTIVE-LADEN HYPERBOLE FOR THOSE WHO JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH:
This beautifully furnished luxury condominium features a sunny, southern exposure into the master bedroom loft with its king-sized bed. A magical place to start your days, gazing at the magnificent pines, or looking out through windows to enjoy the star-studded nights from your bed.
A quick walk from the front door gets you to shops and restaurants, and to the free shuttle up to the ski resort. Just outside the front door, across the parking lot, are the most marvelous giant granite rocks, with huge trees climbing a gentle hill. These provide the most marvelous areas in which to play, sled, and walk up to finish your day with a bottle of wine and a magical view of the sunset.
Bear Valley is an undiscovered jewel on the western slopes of Alpine county. It is located off of Highway 4, a less-traveled and highly maintained road that never closes in winter, unlike the roads up to Tahoe, and Highway 4 does not experience the Tahoe traffic jams either! The ride up and back is a joy in and of itself.
Bear Valley offers a wonderful variety of activities, from the alpine skiing (children 6 and under ski for free), great intermediate skiing, and knock-your-socks-off expert runs on lower mountain. There is cross-country skiing in almost every direction, from delightful groomed trails to the roads through the houses to lots of wilderness trails. Winter also provides opportunities for snowmobiling, if you like. Past the turn-off to the ski resort, Highway 4 is closed during the winter, providing wonderful access to snowmobiling or cross-country skiing in the forever open spaces.
Spring, summer and fall have hiking, biking, swimming and fishing in the wilderness, with fewer crowds and magical scenery than in most places in California. It is only a 15 minute stroll from the condo to the beach at Bear Lake, or a short drive to five other lakes, or the Hell's Kitchen area on the Stanislaus River. There are thousands of acres of adjoining wilderness and forest land around the Bear Valley Village. |
