Big Bear · Trails & routes
Champion Lodgepole Pine
Short forest walk near Bluff Lake to a famous old tree
Managed by San Bernardino National Forest
The Forest Service maintains a Champion Lodgepole Pine Trail page as part of its Pacific Southwest wildflower viewing areas, in the Bluff Lake area southwest of Big Bear Lake.
It is a short, gentle walk through meadow and forest rather than a hike, which makes it one of the easiest genuinely memorable stops in the Big Bear backcountry.
Getting there
- The site sits in the Bluff Lake area, reached from the south shore via Mill Creek Road and the Forest Service road network — the same approach used for Bluff Lake Reserve.
- The last stretch is unpaved forest road. Check Forest Service road information and alerts before you leave; we do not publish road status.
Safety & etiquette
- Around 7,500 ft with no services, no water and unreliable cell coverage.
- The meadow is fragile — stay on the path and off the root zone of the tree.
- Forest roads here are seasonal and can be impassable after storms.
Community information — not from an official source
Community and travel guides commonly describe this as the largest lodgepole pine of its species and give a specific road route via 2N10 and 2N11. We could not confirm either claim on a Forest Service page, so we present them as community information, not fact.
Keep exploring nearby
- Bluff Lake Reserve →
High-elevation nature preserve southwest of Big Bear Lake
- Pine Knot Trail 1E01 & Grand View Point →
Oaks, pines and wildflowers to a south-rim overlook
- Castle Rock Trail 1W03 →
Short, steep climb to a granite outcrop above the south shore
What we don't publish
Tree measurements, trail length, driving directions by road number, seasonal access and closures are not published here — the superlative and the road numbers are community information we could not verify with the Forest Service.