AT PLAY IN THE SNOW BIG BEAR HAS MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR FAMILY FROLIC BEYOND THE SKI SLOPES.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

BIG BEAR LAKE - Not everyone wants to spend hour upon hour tearing down the face of the mountain on skis or snowboard. Sometimes Dad's knees get a little rubbery. Sometimes the teens get bored with the features of the terrain park (hey, it's been known to happen). Sometimes the little ones want to have their opportunity for fun in the snow, too.

Big Bear stands ready to give them a change of pace.

The San Bernardino Mountains community, which has carved out a family-friendly niche, boasts about a half-dozen commercial snow-play areas, where patrons from the very young to the very young-at-heart can bomb down a slope on inner tubes (or, in one case, plastic discs). When combined with a stay at a vacation-rental cabin that is equipped with full kitchen - thus cutting down your time in restaurants - a getaway here can fit into even the most snug budget.

This is not the wintry recreation of your youth, though. Families used to seek out a suitable hill, climb through an open area of the forest, and create their own sledding run using scraps of cardboard, whatever was at hand. But that required a lot of patience and exertion, and there was the implicit danger of whacking into a tree or skidding across a turnout and into the path of a truck.

The play areas are much more sophisticated now, most employing snowmaking equipment - an important feature given the dearth of natural snow in the southern mountains in recent years. All supply equipment. All have restroom facilities (an important feature when it's 15 degrees out). And one even put in a form of lift last winter.

After just a few minutes in one of the parks, you're persuaded of one undeniable reality: This is an awful lot of fun for everyone involved. You see a lot of smiles out here, and hear an endless chorus of squeals and shrieks of delight as tubers plunge down the slopes singly or in mobs.

Alpine Slide, which is just west of the village, is the premier recreational park in the region. It has a 300-foot downhill tubing run, ski-resort-caliber snowmaking guns and a conveyor-belt lift to the top - kind of like the moving sidewalks you see in airports. It's $15 for all day, including use of a tube (no charge for kids ages 2-6 with an adult).

My mid-December visit to the park was made with three nephews, ages 11, 14 and 16, and they couldn't get enough of this place. Down the hill they raced, over and over in an ever-more-imaginative array of variations. Feet first. Head first. Linked together, tobogganlike, in single file. Feet-first toboggan. Head-first toboggan. Linked together in a great, spinning mass, each daredevil's arms looped around two adjacent tubes. Races - three tubes, three people, three different runs.

We saw others forming even larger interlocked jumbles of tubes, some breaking free halfway down, some tumbling head over heels.

It's not at all unusual to see adults sliding down the hill with youngsters seated in their laps, camcorders held aloft, filming all the way.

Every person who takes to the hill is advised of a single rule: no throwing snow. It seems to be universally ignored, but at least the staffers attempt to maintain some order. And, to their credit, they were found to be unfailingly polite and helpful throughout the day.

Another popular attraction at Alpine Slide is its bobsled run. It's priced separately ($15 for a strip of five tickets, $3.50 for a single ride) and early teens seem to get addicted to this one readily.

The ride up is via chair lift, and you pick up a dramatic view of the lake over your left shoulder as you near the top. Then it's into a plastic sled with Teflon runners and ball-bearing wheels for a twisting, turning, quarter-mile run down either of two concrete tracks.

Some of the turns are high-banked, and if you hit one at a good speed, you might be unnerved to find yourself suddenly sideways. There is a lever between your knees, which you have to forcibly push forward to disengage the brake and gain speed. And don't worry, the brakes work extremely well; you'll engage them just by letting go of that lever, much less pulling back to stop the sled.

One of the ride operators said the downhill speed approaches about 30 mph for the more daring guests. He boasted that some of the staffers have gotten them up to about 40 mph.

I encountered one middle-age fellow who stepped out of his sled at the bottom of the run and said with a blank expression, ``I was scared all the way down.''

Alpine Slide's popularity is reflected in its obviously robust attendance (general manager Bruce Voigt declined to disclose figures). On weekends and during holiday periods, the place resembles a snowcapped ant hill.

``The main thing is, families get to spend some quality time with their kids,'' said Voigt. ``It makes the adults feel young again - and the Magic Carpet (the conveyor belt lift) has a lot to do with that, believe me. Parents don't have to drag their tubes up the mountain.''

The feature was added last year, and in an era when couples are having kids much later in life, its value can't be minimized. The belt was found to be a bit balky on our visit, jamming several times during the course of a day, but the operators often had it reset and running again in just a few minutes.

The broad face of the tubing slope accommodates three straight-ahead runs; a popular, twisting run with three S-curves, called the Snake; and a short kiddie hill reserved for parents riding with children ages 2-6.

On our visit, a girl of about 5 leaped off her tube after her first run of the day and said excitedly to her mom, ``I want to go again!'' (And again and again and again, as it turned out.) As the day winds into afternoon, you see a lot of adults hanging out in the picnic area near the entrance, supervising their kids from afar.

One dad was encountered walking down the slope next to the lift, holding his 4-year-old by the hand. ``Scared,'' he said quietly in an aside.

Before visiting this place, it might be wise to visit an ATM; unfortunately, it does not accept credit cards. But budget travelers will be pleased to find that Alpine Slide permits picnic lunches to be brought in, and even provides four tables with benches for the purpose. But the staffers also fire up an open grill on the sun deck on weekends, and sadistically let the smoke of fresh-grilled burgers waft out over the hill.

Go ahead, indulge. All of this regression into childhood sure works up an appetite.

What you won't find anywhere in Big Bear is a commercial park that accommodates sleds, toboggans or aluminum disc. You'll have to create your own outlaw run for one of those. The liability issues are simply too great when steel runners and unforgiving wood are involved.

But recreational options for tubes and plastic discs include:

--Big Bear Snow Play. If you're not comfortable with crowds, come to this park on the western edge of Big Bear City. It's much less popular than Alpine Slide - perhaps because you have to trudge back up the mountain after every run.

--Snowdrift. If you have very young children who might want only a brief taste of downhill fun, you might want to consider this recreation park just east of Running Springs, as it is the only one in the area that charges by the hour ($8), rather than the day. There's a staircase to the top of the hill.

--Snow Valley. Like many ski areas, this one has scraped out a snow-play area adjacent to the slopes, but it is only open on weekends. This is also the only nontube hill in the region - you slide here on plastic discs.

--Big Bear Mountain Resort. This ski area put in a snow-play area and tubing hill next to its beginner slope, primarily because small kids and grandparents wanted to touch the snow and were wandering into dangerous territory at the bottom of the ski runs. A length of plastic carpet was laid alongside the run to make the return climb easier.

Flatlanders may be loath to live in a region where snow coats the ground throughout winter, but they can revel in a brief encounter, and Big Bear's parks are poised to provide it.

SNOW PLAY TIPS

On a visit to any of Big Bear's snow-play parks, heeding these suggestions can make the experience more enjoyable:

--Make sure you and your kids keep your heads on a swivel when you get to the bottom of the run. Speed on these hills is a function of weight, such that a 7-year-old won't travel as far down the hill as an 18-year-old. When a little one slides to a stop, he or she should grab the tube and quickly get off to the side. I saw one little fellow knocked completely off his pins by the barreling teen-ager who followed (fortunately, a rubber tube filled with air inflicts minimal damage).

--Whatever you do, don't forget to bring sunscreen. Big Bear gets about 300 sunny days a year, and the glare off the snow can quickly burn cheeks and noses - even if that's the only skin you and your kids have exposed.

--Try not to overdo it. That's some pretty thin air you're breathing up here at 6,750 feet of elevation. Also, in the winter chill your body is not likely to experience the usual sweaty effects of all that exercise. You can get tuckered out pretty easily.

--Bring along a change of clothes and shoes. Most people headed for the snow think primarily about what they'll require to be warm during the day. They don't give thought to what it will be like to be sopping wet during the ride home. This is less a concern if you're overnighting in the Big Bear area, but it's absolutely essential if you're making it a day trip.

- Eric Noland

Ski free

Learning to ski or snowboard can be an expensive proposition, because it often involves rentals, lessons and a lift ticket all rolled into one balloon fee. But during an off-peak period later this month, visitors to Big Bear who opt for certain types of lodging will have the opportunity to learn for free.

The service is being offered by the Big Bear Lake Resort Association, an organization of lodges, resorts, restaurants, etc., in cooperation with the Snow Summit and Big Bear Mountain Resort ski areas.

From Jan. 21 through Jan. 26 (a Sunday through a Friday), visitors who book rooms through the resort association's central reservations service will receive an all-day beginner's lift ticket to either ski area, equipment rentals and a two-hour ski or snowboarding lesson. That package often costs about $50.

Information and reservations: [phone], www.bigbearinfo.com.

- Daily News

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: Big Bear Lake is about a two-hour drive from downtown Los Angeles. The most direct route is I-10 east to Highway 30 (just past the I-215 intersection), then north and east on highways 30, 330 and 18.

< THE PARKS

Alpine Slide

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Snow-play hill admission is $15 for all day including use of a tube, $12 if you bring your own tube. Kids age 2-6 are free with an adult 18 years or older; one-on-one supervision required. Night sessions are from 5 to 9 p.m., admission $10. Cash only. Located on Big Bear Boulevard, about four miles east of the dam. Information: [phone]; www.bigbear.com/alpineslide.

Big Bear Snow Play

Open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $10 for all day, tube included. Kids age 2-6 are free with an adult 18 years or older; one-on-one supervision required. Located on Big Bear Boulevard at the western edge of Big Bear City, about a mile east of the Stanfield Cutoff. No phone. Portable toilets.

Big Bear Mountain Resort

Open daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5 per person per day, tube included. Located at 43101 Goldmine Road, near the end of Moonridge Road. Information: [phone]; www.bearmtn.com.

Snowdrift

Open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekends from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $8 per person per hour, tube included. Kids 36 inches in height or shorter are free with an adult. On Highway 18 about four miles east of Running Springs. Information: [phone]; www.snowdrift.net.

Snow Valley Mountain Resort

Open Saturdays and Sundays only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Plastic discs only. Admission is $7 per day, $13 with disc rental. Located on Highway 18, slightly east of the Snowdrift park. Information: [phone]; www.snow-valley.com.

ADVISORY: During dry and warm times of winter, some snow-play areas can open only when conditions for overnight snowmaking are favorable. It's best to call ahead to make sure a park plans to open for any given day.

< Major snow job

After what had been a long, dry start to winter, winter-sports resorts in the San Bernardino Mountains rejoiced over a generous dumping of snow this past week.

The leading edge of the storm, which arrived Wednesday, dropped more than two feet of snow in the base areas and three feet at the top of the mountain range, according to reports from Big Bear Mountain Resort and Snow Summit.

``This is a nice change from what we've had,'' said Greg Ralph, spokesman for Big Bear Mountain Resort. ``It hasn't been like this since the El Nino year (three seasons ago).''

To this point of winter, both ski areas had relied almost entirely on snowmaking operations to cover their runs.

- Daily News

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 5 boxes, map

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Revelers of all ages plummet down the tubing runs at Big Bear Lake's Alpine Slide, one of a handful of recreational parks in the area that provides snow-play opportunities for families.

(3) Tubers, take a ``magic carpet'' ride up the snow-covered hill in order to slide back down, at Alpine Slide in Big Bear.

(4) Thrill seekers ride down a fiberglass chute on special sleds.

(5) A train of tubers takes the plunge down Alpine Slide at Big Bear.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer

Box: (1) Snow Play Tips (see text)

(2) Ski Free (see text)

(3) If You Go (see text)

(4) The Parks (see text)

(5) Major snow job (see text)

Map: Big Bear Snow Parks