Whether you feel like you’ve exhausted all of the familiar Christmas lights in L.A. or are planning a ski trip toward the end of the year, you’ll be excited to hear that a new holiday event is bound for L.A.’s closest alpine escape.
The Big Bear Alpine Zoo will turn on 1.5 million lights starting November 6 for the debut of Alpine Zoo Wild Lights. The zoo’s first-ever after-hours Christmastime event will sport four themed zones that celebrate the sanctuary’s flora and fauna.
Following a ribbon cutting ceremony on November 5, Alpine Zoo Wild Lights will run Wednesday through Sunday from November 6 through January 4 (with expanded hours around Thanksgiving and Christmas). Tickets cost $20 (kids under five are free) and support the zoo’s wildlife rehabilitation and conservation programs, as well as Care For Big Bear, the city’s sustainability initiative.
The trail starts with the Wilderness Gateway & Great Pine, where you’ll find a 20-foot illuminated archway, a two-story teddy bear and a 100-foot pine blanketed in lights. Next, the Village of Light & Moonridge Coffee Co. Zoo Café will serve cider, cocktails and cocoa alongside a playground. From there, the North Pole Path sports an oversized 20-foot ornament, snowmen and Santa’s sleigh, illuminated and all ready for photo ops. Finally, the Care for Big Bear – Dark Sky Grove features a large illuminated white tree flanked by glowing mushroom lights, with meteor shower–like lights overhead.
“Big Bear has wildlife in our DNA, and the Alpine Zoo is at the heart of it,” said Travis Scott, CEO of Visit Big Bear, in a statement. “With Alpine Zoo Wild Lights, we’re celebrating the animals that call this mountain home while supporting the Zoo’s rehabilitation work and our Care for Big Bear stewardship mission. Just as important, this is for our community—a place for neighbors to gather after dark, celebrate the season, and help our small businesses shine.”
If you’ve never been to the Big Bear Alpine Zoo before, it’s absolutely worth a daytime visit. Formed in the wake of a wildfire in the late 1950s, the compassionate care center gives a second chance to injured, orphaned and imprinted wild animals—in what I happen to think is a lovely, well-maintained space with 85-plus species, including bears, wolves, raptors and big cats.