pct · resupply · big-bear
Big Bear Lake Plant Based Food Guide for PCT Hikers
Big Bear Lake is an easy town for a vegan resupply. Vons, Stater Bros and Grocery Outlet are on the same stretch of Big Bear Boulevard, Himalayan Restaurant lists vegetable and tofu dishes, Masala Craft has made a vegan thali on request, and Stella Luna is reported closed. Ben and Jerry's has closed and the old UPS Store no longer takes hiker boxes. The trail meets Highway 18 at mile 266.
The short version
Big Bear sits at PCT mile 266 and is one of the easiest vegan towns in Southern California. Vons, Stater Bros and Grocery Outlet are all on the same stretch of Big Bear Boulevard, so buy your food here instead of mailing it. For a sit-down meal, Himalayan Restaurant lists vegetable and tofu dishes to ask about, and hikers report Masala Craft will make a vegan thali if you ask.
Several things have changed recently. Stella Luna is reported closed; its website opens with a farewell to Big Bear. Ben and Jerry’s, which hikers praised in 2025 for non-dairy shakes, was reported permanently closed in April 2026. The UPS Store changed owners in 2025 and stopped holding hiker packages.
Stores and restaurants
| Business | What a vegan can get | Status, with evidence date |
|---|---|---|
| Vons | Full supermarket on Big Bear Boulevard | Listed with address in a July 2026 Big Bear grocery guide; still drawing hiker comments April 2026 |
| Stater Bros | Full supermarket across Big Bear Boulevard from Vons | Listed July 2026; hiker comments through April 2026 |
| Grocery Outlet | Discount grocery on the same stretch of Big Bear Boulevard; a June 2026 hiker called it the best value in town | Opened October 2024 at 42126 Big Bear Boulevard (store listing); hiker comment June 2026 |
| Himalayan Restaurant | Nepali and Indian. Its menu lists aloo gobi, tofu saag and a vegetable thali. The thali comes with naan and a choice of salad or yogurt raita; ask for a vegan order. Hikers in 2019 found plenty of vegan options but noted entrees came without rice. Ask about ghee and dairy in the naan before you count the thali as vegan | Vegan menu listed July 2025 (Big Bear Vacations); 672 Pine Knot Ave; FarOut comments through June 2026 |
| Masala Craft | A big thali, which a hiker said they will make vegan if you ask | Hiker comment May 2023; still listed on Village Drive in 2026 with current hours, so ask in person |
| Stella Luna | Reported closed. Older vegan brunch recommendations are out of date | Restaurant website carries a farewell; HappyCow reports closure in April 2026, listing updated July 28. Checked October 8, 2026 |
| Royal Thai Cafe | Tofu dishes, curries and soups on a local vegan list | Listed July 2025 (Big Bear Vacations); no hiker report found |
| Sweet Basil Bistro | A quinoa bowl and salads on the same vegan list | Listed July 2025; no hiker report found |
| La Bamba Mexican | Vegetarian burritos. Ask them to leave off cheese and sour cream and check the beans | Hiker comment May 2025; vegetarian, not confirmed vegan |
| Amangela’s | A hiker had vegan chili and a veggie sandwich | Hiker comment May 2021; last FarOut comment of any kind April 2023, so check before you go |
| Ben and Jerry’s | Nothing now. In 2025 it had non-dairy flavors and a hiker discount | Reported permanently closed April 2026 (FarOut) |
What I ate here
My records for Big Bear are thin. I took a short day into town on day 18, May 17, 2021, and photographed a cafe menu board with acai bowls topped with vegan coconut cream, smoothies marked vegan friendly, cold pressed juices and almond, coconut and oat milk. I didn’t record the cafe’s name. My next photo is a green juice in my hand on the sidewalk. At the grocery checkout that afternoon I bought flour tortillas, dried pineapple, a Larabar, other bars, a vegan cookie and taco seasoning. I didn’t record which store it was either. Before that, Fly, one of the crew I walked with early on, went to a store and I think picked up some food for me. He sent me a request for $21 “for resupply to Big Bear” on May 13, and I paid him back the next day. That kind of thing happened a lot. People would pick up vegan bars for me, or tell me when they found good vegan stuff in a store and grab it for me. I was back on trail the day after town.
We got a ride into town with a local driver, and I stayed one night at the hostel. Big Bear Sporting Goods was right next to it, and Vons was a bit of a trek from there.
Getting to town from the trail
The PCT crosses Highway 18 near mile 266, and that crossing is where most hikers hitch or catch a ride into Big Bear City and on to Big Bear Lake. The stores and restaurants are almost all in Big Bear Lake, so get yourself there. A southbound hiker in October 2022 suggested the Cougar Crest Trail instead: about two miles downhill from the PCT to North Shore Drive, then a bike path of about 1.7 miles to Vons and Dollar Tree. Hikers going north reach Highway 38 at Onyx Summit first, but Highway 18 is the usual way in.
Mail drops
You don’t need one for food. If you want a box for gear or specialty items, the Big Bear Ski Haus held USPS, UPS and FedEx packages for hikers free in 2025, and the Vintage Lakeside Inn took packages for guests in 2024. Skip the old UPS Store, which stopped accepting hiker packages under new owners in April 2025. Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake have separate post offices. Read the receiving office’s current General Delivery instructions before you ship, and confirm the Ski Haus pickup fee; January and February 2026 reports differ, with one saying pickup is free with a purchase. The Big Bear City post office posted new hours in March 2026, 10 am to 4 pm with a lunch break, and a hiker believed it was closed on weekends.
Related pages
The full trail order table is in the vegan PCT resupply guide, and the rest of the section is on the Southern California desert page.
Checked October 8, 2026: FarOut hiker comments through September 2026, web listings (Big Bear Vacations vegan list, Destination Big Bear grocery and Stella Luna pages, current restaurant listings), and my own 2021 photos and Strava log.
From my 2021 stop
