January | 2010 | Daytripping Mom

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to take the kids to the Moonridge Animal Sanctuary/Park in Big Bear Lake. It is located directly across from Bear Mountain Ski Resort. We had spent the afternoon sledding and decided to top it off by visiting Moondridge Park.

The Moonridge Animal Park is a wildlife sanctuary and rehab center. It is the only Alpine zoo in the United States specializing in Alpine wildlife. The zoo is home to 160 orphaned and injured wildlife representing over 89 species.

The zoo is home to grizzly bears, black bears, mountain lions, snow leopards, bobcats, wolves, raccoons, foxes, bison and a pair of bald eagles.

My favorite animal was Hucklebeary, a three legged black bear. Huclebeary came to the park as a cub near death. His right front leg was injured, he was malnourished and suffered from a serious infection. His leg was amputated but he has recovered and he is a happy big guy. He was romping around in the snow and I could have spent hours watching him.

Everyday at noon, a zookeeper presents one of the Zoo’s residents so park visitors can be up close and personal with one of the animals. At 3pm on weekends during the winter and daily during the summer, a zookeeper leads a tour around the zoo grounds.

We had a great time visiting the Moonridge Animal Park. We also loved that because we are members of the Santa Ana Zoo we were able to get in for free through their reciprocal zoo program(another reason why memberships pay off! ). If you are planning a trip to Big Bear Lake this winter (you really should! It is so much fun) you should definitely add this to your itenirary.

The zoo is open year round. Winter hours are

10am to 4pm- Monday through Friday

10am to 5pm on weekends

3pm Animal Feeding Tours on weekends

Summer Hours

Memorial Weekend(May) through Labor Day Weekend

10am to 5pm

Park Admission

11 to Adult $9

3-10- $6

Children under 3 are Free!

Moondridge Animal Park