Big Bear Discovery Center, Visitor information center in San Bernardino National Forest, California, United States.
Big Bear Discovery Center is an information and education facility inside San Bernardino National Forest in California, with exhibits covering local wildlife, plants, and forest conservation. It sits along North Shore Drive on the north shore of Big Bear Lake and serves as the main entry point for learning about the forest.
The sources record no founding date for the Big Bear Discovery Center; it is a nature center and visitor information point for San Bernardino National Forest. It is co-managed by the Southern California Mountains Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service and occupies part of the Mountaintop Ranger District Office complex on North Shore Drive (State Route 38) in eastern Fawnskin, on the lake's north shore.
The center is co-managed by the Southern California Mountains Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service, and its stated aim is to teach visitors to act as stewards of the forest and its natural resources. Naturalist-led tours and interpretive programs run from the center, and staff issue National Forest Adventure Passes and Forest Service permits.
Forest service rangers are available most days to answer questions, hand out maps, and help with permits for activities in the forest. Parking is available on site, and the building is easy to find along the main road on the north shore of the lake.
The center is co-managed by the Southern California Mountains Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service, a partnership that shapes what visitors find inside. It also sits in the Mountaintop Ranger District Office complex, so forest administration and visitor information share one site on North Shore Drive in eastern Fawnskin.
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