Starting Saturday, Big Bear Alpine Zoo is adding something rarer to its usual daytime hours: a guided after-dark walk through the sanctuary, where bobcats, mountain lions and bald eagles get active just as the stars come out. The seasonal event, called Twilight Safari, runs across three October Saturday evenings, with tickets priced at $30 and start times of 5 o'clock and later each night.
The event was first detailed by NBC Los Angeles, which described Twilight Safari as an opportunity to see the zoo's residents when they are naturally more active, as the stars begin their nightly twinkle. Tickets must be purchased online in advance, matching the zoo's online-only admissions policy, and the tour is guided throughout to give visitors a deeper understanding of the animals they encounter, according to the same report. Among the residents guests may spot are bobcats, bald eagles, raccoons, mountain lions, black bears, coyotes and turkey vultures, many of which are far livelier after sundown than during standard visiting hours.
A Sanctuary Built Into the Mountain
Perched at roughly 7,000 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains, Big Bear Alpine Zoo is recognized as the highest-elevation zoo in the country and one of only two alpine zoos nationwide, according to the Big Bear Visitors Bureau. The zoo's high-elevation location forms part of its mountain setting for Twilight Safari visitors. The zoo's primary mission, however, isn't spectacle: it functions as a rehabilitation center for injured, orphaned and imprinted wild animals, a role that traces back to its origins.
The facility began in 1959, after a destructive wildfire displaced animals in the San Bernardino National Forest. That emergency response eventually grew into a permanent operation now owned by the Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park District, a Special District of San Bernardino County, as noted by the California Special Districts Association. County employees handle the day-to-day animal care, maintenance, education and administrative work.
From Goldmine Drive to a Modern Campus
In November 2020, after two decades of planning, the zoo opened its new $18.2 million campus at 747 Clubview Drive, the California Special Districts Association reports. The move expanded animal habitats and significantly improved visitor accessibility, giving today's Twilight Safari guests a relatively new, modern layout to explore after dark.
That modern campus provides permanent housing for more than 150 animals across 40 species, including grizzly bears, snow leopards, gray wolves and mountain lions, according to Victor Valley News. Most of these animals are non-releasable due to severe physical injuries or human imprinting — a distinction that matters, since the zoo successfully rehabilitates and releases approximately 90% of all injured or orphaned wild animals brought into its care back into their native mountain habitats, per reporting from The Guardian.
Big Bear Alpine Zoo's conservation work also extends beyond its own grounds. The zoo is an active regional partner in the Southern Mountain Yellow-Legged Frog Recovery Program, led by the U.S. Geological Survey and the L.A. Zoo, helping reintroduce the endangered amphibians to Southern California streams, CBS News reports. Hoodline previously reported that the L.A. Zoo released 653 of the frogs into the San Gabriel Mountains, naming Big Bear Alpine Zoo among the program's partners.
Funding the Mission After Dark
Twilight Safari isn't the zoo's only after-hours offering. Beside the October event, the zoo also hosts a 2026 Wild Lights event, per the Big Bear Visitors Bureau.
That funding model is bolstered by community support. The Friends of the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established in 1989, raises money and coordinates volunteers to support the animals. Its fundraising supports medical and dental care, according to Victor Valley News.
