Snow Play : Weekend Escape: Big Bear : One child’s curiosity impels two families to head to the hills for a wintry getaway; between tobogganing and soaking in a spa, everyone gets a lift

It all began with a Christmas carol and a question.

The carol’s refrain was “Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.”

My 2-year-old’s question was, “Daddy, what’s snow?”

“Well, Sophia, it’s like ice that falls from the sky. Very cold. Some unfortunate little girls and boys have to live in the stuff.”

“I want to see snow.”

“It’s far away, Sophia, and besides . . .”

“Of course Daddy will take us to the snow,” my wife interrupted. “We’ll have so much fun!”

I glared at Cheri, a ski bum in her single days. Me, I hate snow. It’s an inconvenience that closes roads and hides hiking trails.

But my daughter’s persistence and my wife’s insistence (“You don’t want to deprive your daughter of this precious learning experience, do you?”) melted my objections.

Sophia wanted a companion, so we invited our 2-year-old godson Nicholas, who then invited his 3-year-old brother Steven, who then invited his parents. Before you could say snow play, we were four adults, three kids and two heavily loaded station wagons heading for Big Bear on a Friday afternoon.

Big Bear was both a practical choice (only a two-hour drive from the metropolis) and a nostalgic one (where my parents took me and Cheri’s took her when we were kids growing up in Downey and Orange, respectively).

As we drove higher and higher into the San Bernardino Mountains, we saw our first patches of ice, and by the time we climbed California 18 to 6,500 feet, we spotted plenty of nice snow. We stopped at the Snowdrift Winter Playground near the Snow Valley Ski Resort. After an attendant’s quick lecture about how to safely slide on an inner tube, demonstrated with the help of a parka-clad crash test dummy, we hit the slopes. Snowdrift’s slopes are beginner, intermediate and advanced runs, accessed by flights of stairs.

Here’s the drill: You, the adult, grip a “tube-boggan” (an inner tube with a belly band across it to support the rider and a rope handle in front to grip) in one hand and a child’s hand in the other and climb two flights of stairs. Position child on tube-boggan, then shove downhill. Child coasts effortlessly and gleefully over snow. Adult descends two flights of stairs, retrieves child and tube-boggan. Repeat process until adult is exhausted.

Snowdrift Winter Playground charges each adult $5 per hour. Children under 36 inches tall are free with a paid adult. This charge- the- big- people- big- time- let- the- little- ones- in- for- free fee schedule is popular in the mountains, as we would soon see.

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Near nightfall we reach the Grey Squirrel Resort located on the far outskirts of Big Bear Village. After much phone research, the Grey Squirrel had risen to the top of our family-oriented Big Bear lodging list by meeting the following criteria:

* A well-equipped kitchen.

* A fireplace.

* Away from California 18. Several Big Bear-area hostelries hug the highway and can be recommended only for the hard of hearing. We have had several midsummer nights’ dreams disturbed by traffic noise in the Arrowhead-Big Bear area.

* Rustic. We wanted a knotty pine cabin, not a concrete condo.

After a quick check-in, we rolled past cabins named Gopher, Mole, Chipmunk and Possum before spotting our own rodent-named home away from home. From a distance, we feared our Woodchuck cabin was more marmot-sized than man-sized, but once inside our fears were allayed.

Downstairs was a well-equipped kitchen complete with microwave, a living room and a fireplace, a bathroom, and a bedroom with a queen bed. Upstairs was a good-sized loft with two king beds. Should we want to stay in touch with civilization, the cabin came with a telephone and two TVs.

Bundling up the kids again, we set off to Santa’s Village, a half-hour drive down California 18. “Frozen in time” is the phrase that comes to mind when I stare at the St. Nick-inspired amusement park. Has this place changed at all since 1959?

Here again, it was the adults who had to pay: $10 each for admission, while the 2-year-olds (absolutely the most age-appropriate people for this place) were free.

The kids gave thumbs up to the village’s more traditional activities--a thoroughly enjoyable puppet show, the pony ride and a carousel. Santa’s petting zoo and a better-than-your-basic-department-store Santa Claus also got good reviews.

Thumbs down went to more mechanical contrivances such as the Dragons and Elephants ride, whose hydraulic system wheezed and groaned. We were passengers on the Magic Train when it derailed (no one hurt) and on the Ferris wheel when it got stuck. Big people and little people alike agreed that the Pixie Pantry serves the worst grilled cheese sandwiches and hot chocolate on the planet.

On our way back to Big Bear, a half-mile east of Santa’s Village, just off California 18, we chanced by a wonderful natural attraction: Heap’s Peak Arboretum. A U.S. Forest Service volunteer is on duty during the weekends to answer nature and travel questions.

A kid-friendly three-quarter mile nature trail loops through a pine and fir forest. The children were impressed by the huge eight-pound Coulter pine cones (the world’s largest) than anything they saw at Santa’s Village.

Back at the Grey Squirrel, we took a dip in the enclosed, heated swimming pool, then trooped into an adjacent building where the resort’s Jacuzzi beckoned.

Ah, this is the mountain life, we agreed. Twenty-four degrees outside in the snow, 104 degrees inside the spa. The soothing waters mellowed the kids into Jell-O.

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Budget for Four

Two nights, Grey Squirrel:271.25

Groceries, meals: 130.00

Gas: 28.00

Firewood: 36.00

Snowdrift Winter Playground: 10.00

Santa’s Village: 20.00

Photo with Santa: 8.00

FINAL TAB: $503.25

The Grey Squirrel Resort, tel. (909) 866-4335 . Snowdrift Winter Playground (909) 867-2640 .