Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest | 10 Weekends of Fun in Southern Ca

Big Bear Lake is a magical place in the San Bernardino mountains of Southern California. And their Oktoberfest is one of the best in the United States, boasting 10 weekends of German fun from mid-September through mid-November annually. Big Bear Lake has an altitude of approximately 6,752 feet and offers water sports in the summer, slopes in the winter, incredible hiking, amazing views, incredible food and they even have some pretty famous bald eagles that you might be lucky enough to see. 

Oktoberfest is open Saturdays and Sundays in September. In October, it expands to Fridays through Sundays. In November, it goes back to Saturdays and Sundays.

I’m going on a Sunday afternoon, where it’s a bit more of a laid back atmosphere, and family friendly, but stick around til the end where I’ll tell you all about the late night crowds and what to expect.

Oktoberfest happens at the Big Bear Lake Convention Center. As we enter the large indoor space, festivities are already under way.

By the way, the convention center has both indoor and outdoor spaces with activities specific to each area. There’s also indoor and outdoor food and beverage options, each with their own menus. Some of the menu items overlap, but in general, the outdoor food is more casual and the indoor food has more full German meals. 

Oktoberfest | Beer Cheese Soup & A Giant Pretzel

I am here with my husband Chris. We decide to beeline it to the outdoor food to get one of their giant pretzels. I could have completed it with a simple cheese dip, but today, I’m going all in. I’m going to pair it with a Beer Cheese Soup. This is a creamy homemade soup made with dark beer and finished off the slices of Bratwurst. We carry our food inside to eat and enjoy the atmosphere in the Beer Hall.

This pretzel is so huge, it fits in front of both of our faces. I can’t believe the size of this thing. Or how much fun everyone is having!

First I’ll taste the beer cheese soup on its own. Wow. That is so amazing. It has such a unique and wonderful kick to it. Has to be that wonderful dark German beer. Now to dip the pretzel into it. That is so good! Chris likes it too! 

And we are just in time for the Chicken Dance lead by local celebrity Larry The Chicken!    

Oktoberfest | Bavarian Dress & Chicken Hats

I’m noticing all the traditional German outfits. And the amazing hats. I see a turkey hat, many chicken hats, and one amazing keg hat! This wonderful and kind gentleman tells me that he bought this hat at Big Bear’s Oktoberfest 20 years ago!

By the way, did you know that Big Bear Lake’s Oktoberfest has been going on for 56 years?! So amazing!

You can buy a chicken hat or hair garlands and fedoras at the festival.

Most people arrive in their traditional Bavarian attire. The other fun thing is that Oktoberfest and Halloween coincide so if you head over to Spirit Halloween, you might be able to find a perfect costume! Just to be safe, I will put links right here to a women’s Dirndl Dress and Men’s Lederhosen as well as children’s attire if you are looking to order online to outfit yourself prior to Oktoberfest! 

Women’s Dirndl Dress (SM – XXL)

Men’s Lederhosen (SM – XXL)

Girl’s Dirndl Dress (ages 3-14)

Boy’s Lederhosen (ages 3-13)

Oktoberfest | Beer & Drinks

Now it’s time for the proper German cheer and toast. 

Zicke Zacka, Zicke Zacka, Hoy, Hoy, Hoy

After that toast, it’s a great time to talk about the beer! This year’s beer line-up will include three German beers, two of which are the very same beers poured at the original Munich Oktoberfest. This year’s festival features a variety of beers from Spaten, Hofbräu and Warsteiner!  American beers include Pumpkin beer, a variety of IPA’s and Michelob Ultra. 

There are also plenty of American beers. 

There are two full-service bars located inside the Convention Center and four different bar locations outside, which includes the High-Altitude Beer Garden, the Sports Garten, the Munich Midway, and the Tiki Bar.  Each location features not only a variety of German and American beers, as well as Seltzer’s, Mixed Drinks, Wine, and of course, Jagermeister.  

The Tiki bar also features Bahama Mama, Blue Hawaiian, Margaritas, Craft Beers, Ciders and Seltzers.

You can also get a Mini Keg to share with your group of friends! Mini Kegs come in three different beer flavors – Warsteiner Pilsner, Hofbräu Oktoberfest, and Hofbräu Original Lager.  Mini kegs serve approx. ten 16 oz. beers.  

My understanding is that people sometimes bring their own commemorative steins to drink out of. You can purchase a commemorative stein there as well. I saw someone drinking out of this glass boot which is also called a Bierstiefel. So cool! 

Oktoberfest | Why Drink Beer Out of a Glass Boot?

I learned that glass boots are popular because of German Folklore which says a Prussian military general promised his troops he would chug beer straight from his own leather boot if they won an upcoming battle. When they won, the general wanted to keep his promise without actually tasting sweaty leather or ruining the beer. He hired a glassblower to make a replica of his boot out of glass instead. And the boot glass was born! 

Meanwhile the band is playing polka versions of everything! You haven’t lived until you’ve heard the polka version of Lady Gaga’s Pokerface sung as Polka Face! They also did an incredible polka Star Wars medley, including the Cantina song.

The Polka Band is called Die Sauerkrauts and they are so much fun! I will link to this fabulous band’s Polka Version of Proud Mary right here:

Die Sauerkrauts’ Polka “Proud Mary”

Outside also has a live band playing. Occasionally they alternate between a DJ and a band, so that the music and fun never stop, even if the band needs a break. 

Oktoberfest | Outside Activities

Now we’ll check out the activities available outside. There’s so many booths, containing everything under the sun. They have psychic readings, lawn ornaments, funnel cakes, scary Halloween wreaths, photo booths and more! And if you’re lucky, you’ll be here on a day when they have a mechanical bull!  I should also let you know that outside, there’s a large screen tv, games like corn hole, and plenty of seating.

There’s also plenty of photo ops. We got pics in front of a giant inflatable jeigermester, the giant banner, and inside the special Oktoberfest cutout. 

Oktoberfest | Stein Holding Contest

But now, it’s time to go back inside for the Steinholding Contests! In true chivalrous fashion, the women go first.

The rules of the contest are simple. A Beer stein filled with water, weighing about 5 lbs, is placed on the ground in front of each contestant. 

On “eins” you bend down. On “zwei” you grab the handle only. No thumb on top of the handle, no pinky underneath. Just a nice firm grip on the handle. 

And on “drei” you stand up with one arm to your side and the other arm completely straight, holding the beer stein out in front of you, perpendicular to the dance floor. On eins. zwei. drei. And contest begins! 

It’s much harder than you think it is! One by one, the ladies are disqualified or dropped out, until finally a winner is declared. By the way, they use water instead of beer because a lot of it spills on the floor during the contest. And why would you waste perfectly good beer?

Next up, the men try their hands at this feat of strength. They hold the same 5 lb stein and give it a try on eins, zwei, drei. One by one, they drop out. It’s so hard to hold up these steins! This is truly a feat of strength! The men continue to drop out until it’s down to two men. They are shaking! Finally a winner is declared. By the way, the top 3 win a prize. You’ll have to attend to find out what you win!

Oktoberfest | Log Sawing Contest

Next up is the Log Sawing contest. As usual, the women go first. There’s a giant log. Staff sit on it on both sides to keep it stable. The rules are simple. A team of two will saw back and forth on a log, slicing a round off the log. The team with the fastest time wins. The teams wear gloves for their protection and better grip. The most important rule is this: Don’t drop the saw, don’t drop the saw, and finally, don’t drop the saw! This will cause immediate disqualification, even if you had the best log sawing time. 

And we’re off on on eins, zwei, drei! Everyone did an amazing job. It looked really hard! 

Next up were the men what compete on eins, zwei, drei!

And finally, we had the Hanzel and Gretel teams (men and women teams) who competed.

Honestly, they were all winners in my book! 

Oktoberfest | Kid’s Games & Contests

By the way, there are kids contests and games as well. On this Sunday, they have a bouncy house, giant connect four and other games, balloon animals, face painting, and contests just for the kiddies, divided by age groups. 

It starts with ages 4-6 competing in the pretzel toss. The kiddie who throws the most tiny pretzels through the giant pretzels wins. 

Then we move onto the 7-10 year olds, who have their own mug holding contest. They have these adorable  smaller plastic boots filled with water. Same rules apply as for the adults. 

Then the 11-14 year olds also hold a mug, only this one is glass and filled with 1/2 liter of water.

Then the 15-17 year olds hold the same mugs as the 11-14 year olds.

By the way, the winners get prizes. I didn’t see what was in the prize bag, but the kids looked happy!

Every one of these kids is a winner in my book! What fun everyone had!

And this of course is followed up by more chicken dance! 

Oktoberfest | Traditional German Meals

After witnessing all the feats of strength from the adults and the kiddies, I’m ready for dinner! We order inside and get two German meals. I order Grilled Bratwurst served with German potato salad, sauerkraut and a pretzel dinner roll.

Chris orders a Kessler Smoked German Pork Chop, slow cooked and topped with grilled onions, served with a side of Bavarian dumplings and a pretzel dinner roll. 

Let’s try the bratwurst first. That is perfection. So good. Next I’ll try the German potato salad. 

It’s warm and really wonderful, with a mustard based sauce. Now for the German sauerkraut. It’s lovely and has a kick to it, which tastes mustard based to me. I love it. Now for the pretzel bun. It’s great. No notes. 

Chris loves his dinner too. He offer me a taste of his pork chop. It has a wonderful smokey flavor and combined with the grilled onions on top, there’s a subtle kick of beer that is absolutely delicious. 

He also lets me try the Bavarian Dumplings, which are smothered in gravy. These are very good. But I’m going back to my favorite sides, the German potato salad and the German sauerkraut. They are both a little warmed and so refreshing and delicious. Now for more Bratwurst. It’s so good, what more to you want? 

Now they’re singing the traditional Toast Song “Ein Prosit”, which translates to “A toast”.

Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest | Final Review

Overall, I feel the atmosphere is so charming and the people are so friendly. Everyone is having a ball. My husband and I danced and had such a fun time!

Like I said, Sundays are more laid back but I will let you know, my Apple Watch still notified me multiple times about how loud it was! Even on a Sunday.

As promised, here’s some information about the late night crowds. It’s definitely a lot less kid friendly and much more raucous fun. There are also usually longer lines and a lot more people. Which could be exactly what you’re looking for.

As of now, parking is free in the Convention Center lot, if you can find a space.

They also give “designated driver” wristbands to anyone who is of age and not drinking. You might even be able to get free sodas with this privilege.

There is also a shuttle pick-up on Saturdays, which runs from the Village back and forth to Oktoberfest. Uber and Lyft also service the area. And there is a free shuttle service through Big Bear Trolley, which has over 100 stops throughout the Big Bear Valley. All this is to say, Oktoberfest wants to make sure you drink responsibly. They are great that way. 

Here is the link to Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest website, which has all the specifics about shuttles, ticketing and their upcoming Halloween Spooktacular weekend:

Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest

Big Bear Lake’s Oktoberfest really is the place where the Party Lasts!

Here’s a fun and easy recipe to get you in the mood for Oktoberfest:

Easy SauerKraut & Sausage Recipe

For more travel and food tours, like my review of the Danish Capital of America, click here:

Simple Fantastic Kitchen | Travel + Food

I’ll see you on the next one!