Southern California weekend
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Day trip
Lake Arrowhead
1. A gym-free workout in the snow Strap on a pair of snowshoes or skinny skis and hit the trails at Rim Nordic (about 10 minutes east of Running Springs), where there are miles of wintry panoramas to explore. Pack snacks and take five on the frosty boulders and fallen trees that make perfect picnic benches. $17 day pass, $15 equipment rental; rimnordic.com
BY Chantal Lamers photographs by amanda friedman
Why go now: A budget-friendly day of cross-country, snowshoeing, sledding, and skating is only an hour and a half from L.A. Wait ... snow? Where? In the San Bernardino Mountains, 26 miles west of better-known Big Bear Lake. Elevation: 5,191 feet Population: 13,000, which can triple with weekenders when it dumps. (And February can see 11 inches of snowfall.) What you won’t find: Downhill skiing What you will find: A picturesque lakeside resort town dotted with mountain cabins, waterfront mansions, and an old-school Tudor-style hub. The village mix: Postcard shops, caramel apples, pizza pies, Pendleton plaid throws, and—in a snazzy touch— a Coach outlet (lakearrowhead village.com). Next-door neighbors: Arrowhead is surrounded by the villages of Blue Jay, Rimforest, Skyforest, Cedar Glen, Running Springs, and (no relation to the TV series) Twin Peaks. Hollywood throwback: Hard to imagine now, but film stars flocked to these pineforested hills back in the 1920s. During Prohibition, mobster Bugsy Siegel ran a brothel and speakeasy in town. Explore more on page 46 »
Sunset February 2011
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