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Grey Squirrel Resort ( 909-866-4335, 800-381-5569; www.greysquirrel.com; 39372 Big Bear Blvd; cabins $94-240; wi-fi) Set amid the pines, this is a clump of delightful cabins, some with a fireplace, a sundeck and a Jacuzzi.

Knickerbocker Mansion Country Inn ( 909-878-9190, 877-423-1180; www.knickerbockermansion.com; 869 Knickerbocker Rd; r Mon-Thu $125-225, Fri-Sun $140-240; ) Classy and ornate B&B in a hand-built 1920s log home. Great breakfasts. Two-night minimum stay on weekends.

Adventure Hostel ( 909-866-8900, 866-866-5255; www.adventurehostel.com; 527 Knickerbocker Rd; dm $20-25, r from $49; wi-fi) Clean, recently remodeled and friendly hostel on the edge of the Village run by people happy to clue you in about the best trails, runs and other fun things.

Grizzly Manor Cafe ( 909-866-6226; 41268 Big Bear Blvd; dishes $5-8; 6am-2am; ) One-man grillmeister Jayme makes bear-sized breakfasts for quirky locals and the tourists who love them.

Kujo’s ( 909-866-6659; 41799 Big Bear Blvd; quiches & sandwiches $7.50-11; 10:30am-4:30pm Sun-Thu, 8:30am-8:30pm Fri & Sat; wi-fi) Soul- and energy-restoring pit stop with 30 varieties of homemade quiches, ginormous sandwiches and a killer roquefort burger.

Old Country Inn ( 909-866-5600; 41126 Big Bear Blvd; mains lunch $8-13, dinner $14-22; 8am-9pm Mon-Fri, 7am-10pm Sat & Sun; ) Hearty German cooking at night; big salads, sandwiches and burgers at lunchtime.

Getting There & Away

Big Bear is on Hwy 18, an offshoot of Hwy 30 in San Bernardino. A quicker approach is via Hwy 330, which starts in Highland and intersects with Hwy 18 in Running Springs. If you don’t like serpentine mountain roads, pick up Hwy 38 near Redlands, which is longer but easier on the queasy. Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority (Marta; 909-878-5200; www.marta.cc) buses connect Big Bear with the Greyhound and Metrolink stations in San Bernardino ($7, 1¼hr).

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DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

The name itself evokes all that is harsh and hellish – a punishing, barren and lifeless place of Old Testament severity. Yet closer inspection reveals that nature is putting on a truly spectacular show in Death Valley, with water-fluted canyons, singing sand dunes, palm-shaded oases, scuttling rocks, sculpted mountains and plenty of endemic wildlife. It’s truly a land of superlatives, holding the US records for hottest temperature (134°F, or 56°C, measured in 1913), lowest point (Badwater, 282ft below sea level) and being the largest national park outside Alaska (4687 sq miles). Peak tourist season is during the spring wildflower bloom.

Orientation & Information

Centrally located Furnace Creek has a general store, restaurants, lodging, post office, gas station, ATM and a visitors center ( 760-786-3200; www.nps.gov/deva; 8am-5pm) whose website is an excellent pretrip planning resource. Stovepipe Wells Village, about 24 miles northwest, has a store, gas station, ATM, motel-restaurant and ranger station. Gas and sustenance are also available at Scotty’s Castle in the north, and Panamint Springs on the park’s western edge. The entrance fee ($20 per vehicle, valid for seven days) must be paid at self-service pay stations located throughout the park. For a free map and newspaper present your receipt at the visitors center.

Sights & Activities

Start out early in the morning by driving up to Zabriskie Point for spectacular valley views across golden badlands eroded into waves, pleats and gullies. Escape the heat by continuing on to Dante’s View at 5000ft, where you can simultaneously see the highest (Mt Whitney) and lowest (Badwater) points in the contiguous USA. The drive there takes about 1½ to two hours round-trip.

Badwater itself, a foreboding landscape of crinkly salt flats, is a 17-mile drive south of Furnace Creek. Along the way, you’ll want to check out narrow Golden Canyon, easily explored on a 2-mile round-trip walk, and Devil’s Golf Course, where salt has piled up into saw-toothed miniature