Ski Beach Park is a two-acre lakefront park at 41216 Park Avenue on the south shore of Big Bear Lake, inside the city of Big Bear Lake in the San Bernardino Mountains. The Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park District, a San Bernardino County special district, runs the park, while the lake itself is managed by the Big Bear Municipal Water District. Its east end holds Swim Beach (listed in the district's fee schedule as McDill Swim Beach), the only part of the lake set aside and staffed for swimming. Meadow Park, with its ball fields, courts and dog park, sits right next door.

From Big Bear Boulevard (State Route 18) in town, head toward the lake on Park Avenue. Ski Beach, Swim Beach and Meadow Park sit side by side along the shore with paved parking off Park Avenue, so you can park once and walk between all three. The lake sits at about 6,750 feet, and the town is roughly 100 miles east of Los Angeles by mountain highway.

Swim Beach is a sandy beach with lifeguards on duty whenever it is open. It reopened after roughly ten years out of service. It runs only in summer, usually from June through the end of August, and Visit Big Bear currently lists it as open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM (the district has also posted Friday 1 to 5 PM and weekends noon to 5 PM, so call 909-866-9700 to confirm). Admission is $10 for adults 13 and over, $5 for youth ages 3 to 12, $5 for seniors 60 and over, $5 for military and veterans, and free for children under 3. Smoking, alcohol, glass and pets are not allowed inside.

Outside the Swim Beach area, entry to Ski Beach Park is free, and water district rules allow swimming anywhere within 50 feet of shore, within a designated swim area, or within 20 feet of a private dock. That shore swimming is at your own risk with no lifeguard. Expect a rockier bottom with weed beds and fish beyond the sand, and stay close in, because boats and personal watercraft use the open water off this shore. Scuba diving is banned lakewide.

Check conditions before you get in. The State Water Resources Control Board has posted lakewide harmful algal bloom warnings here, telling people not to swim and to keep pets out of the water until they are lifted. Toxic blooms can return in any warm spell, so check the state's algal bloom portal and obey any posted signs. The water is also much colder than the air on a summer day at this elevation, and the lake sees drownings most years, so a life vest is a good idea for weaker swimmers.

The park itself has a fishing pier, a playground, restrooms and lawn space that the district rents out for events. Meadow Park adds tennis and pickleball courts, a sand volleyball court, ball fields, a picnic pavilion and the Big Bear Bark Park for dogs, which makes this stretch of shore an easy all-day stop for families.