Like many North American ski resorts, the mountain relies on artificial snowmaking during the early part of the ski and snowboard season until the natural snowfall arrives.

Known for its youthful atmosphere and progressive terrain, Bear Mountain established the first freestyle terrain park in North America (Outlaw, 1992) and is home to the largest learning areas, highest lift-served peak (Geronimo, 8,805 feet), and only halfpipes in Southern California.

In 1988, the ski area was acquired by S-K-I Limited and renamed Big Bear Mountain.

In 2014, both ski areas were bought by Mammoth Resorts (owned by Starwood Capital Group) for $38 million[2] to pair with Mammoth Mountain and June Mountain.

In 2017, Starwood announced the sale of Mammoth Resorts to a partnership led by Aspen Skiing Company and KSL Capital Partners that became Alterra Mountain Company.