The Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest is running every weekend in the mountains through Saturday, November 14, 2026, which is a week longer than some fall calendars list. This is the festival’s 56th year at the Big Bear Lake Convention Center, with oompah bands from Germany, Spaten and Hofbräu on tap, log sawing, and a Halloween costume contest with more than $3,000 in cash and prizes.
October is the busy stretch: Friday nights join the schedule, two touring German bands take the Bier Hall stage, and the Oktoberfest Queen is crowned. Here is what is left on the calendar, what tickets cost, and how to get home safely. Details come from the festival’s official pages and ticketing site as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Weekends through November 14, 2026. Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in October; Saturdays and Sundays in November (November 14 is a Saturday only) |
| Where | Big Bear Lake Convention Center, 42900 Big Bear Blvd., Big Bear Lake, CA 92315 (corner of Division Drive) |
| Highlights | Frankenrebellen Express and Die Sauerkrauts, German beer, stein holding and log sawing, Halloween weekend |
| Ages | All ages. 21+ to buy alcohol. Kids 2 and under free; kids 12 and under free on Sundays |
| Tickets | Online adult Saturday admission $39.33 with fees for October 9 to 11 |
| Re-entry | No |
| Payment | Cash and Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express everywhere. No drink tickets |
| Getting home | Free take-home shuttle anywhere in Big Bear Valley on Friday and Saturday nights |
| Official site | bigbearevents.com |
Weekend by weekend
The German bands play the indoor Bier Hall Main Stage. American bands play the outdoor High Altitude Bier Garten. Here is the posted schedule from October 9 on. The festival says it can change, and a QR code at the gate has each day’s lineup.
| Weekend | Bier Hall (German bands) | Also on the bill |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 9 to 11 | Frankenrebellen Express | Beer tasting Friday. Oktoberfest Queen stein carrying finals Saturday at 6 p.m. Bier Garten: DragonWolfe, Southern Spirit, Better Than Bad |
| Oct. 16 to 18 | Frankenrebellen Express | Bier Garten: Southbound, Doo Wah Riders, Mojave Heat |
| Oct. 23 to 25 | Die Sauerkrauts, plus Ladyhosen on Saturday | Beer tasting Friday. Bier Garten: Mary Dyer Band, Sunglasses At Night |
| Oct. 30 to Nov. 1 | Die Sauerkrauts, plus Ladyhosen on Saturday | Halloween weekend: Spooky Spirits beer tasting Friday, adult costume contest Saturday night, kids’ costume contest Sunday around 3 p.m. |
| Nov. 7 and 8 | Die Sauerkrauts and The Ladyhosen Band | Free admission for America’s Heroes. Bier Garten: B.OK, Sunglasses At Night |
| Nov. 14 | Die Sauerkrauts and Ladyhosen | Closing Saturday, also a Heroes weekend |
Frankenrebellen Express is an 8-piece band from the Franconia region of Bavaria, back for a fourth visit, mixing traditional and modern German music with American top 40. Die Sauerkrauts are a Southern California band in lederhosen, together since 2016. Ladyhosen is an all-woman band featuring Munich-born yodeler Kathrin Jakob.
Hours
- Fridays in October: 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Everything happens indoors, though the Kids Zone is open. The German band starts at 5:30 p.m.
- Saturdays in October: 1 p.m. to midnight. Saturdays in November: 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Sundays: noon to 6 p.m.
Saturday tickets come with an arrival window: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., or the After Dark entry from 7:30 p.m., when the day shifts into what the festival calls an amp’d up German party. Once you are in, you can stay all day.
What’s on the menu
The German Kitchen serves bratwurst, knockwurst, and kielbasa from a German butcher in Los Angeles, piled with sauerkraut made from Oma Erika Bandow’s family recipe, served since the first festival. Sides include warm vinegar-based German potato salad, Bavarian potato dumplings with gravy, and beer cheese soup. There is also a half-roasted chicken, a Brat Burger (a beef patty and a whole bratwurst on pretzel buns), colossal pretzels, and apple strudel with warm vanilla sauce. The pretzels and strudel come from a German bakery in Costa Mesa.
What’s on tap
- German beer: Spaten, Hofbräu, and Warsteiner.
- American beer: pumpkin beer, several IPAs, and Michelob Ultra, plus seltzers, mixed drinks, wine, and Jägermeister.
- Mini kegs of Warsteiner Pilsner, Hofbräu Oktoberfest, or Hofbräu Original Lager pour about ten 16-ounce beers. Good for a table.
- Six bars: two inside the Convention Center, plus the High Altitude Beer Garden, the Sports Garten, the Munich Midway, and the Tiki Bar, which adds tropical cocktails, margaritas, craft beer, and cider.
- Beer Tasting Fridays on October 9, 23, and 30 (the last one is Spooky Spirits) bring West Coast micro beers and seltzers from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Bring your stein if you have one, as long as it comes in empty and leaves empty.
Tickets
Buy through the festival’s Ticketsauce page. Door tickets are always available but cost more and can mean a wait, and capacity is limited. The festival warns it cannot vouch for tickets bought anywhere except its own site, Big Bear Vacations, or Destination Big Bear. Online prices for the October 9 to 11 weekend, including fees, as listed on September 28:
| Day | Adult (13 to 61) | Senior (62+) | Child (3 to 12) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | $28.68 | $19.10 | $10.58 |
| Saturday (1 p.m. or 4 p.m. arrival) | $39.33 | $24.42 | $14.84 |
| Saturday After Dark (7:30 p.m.) | $28.68 | ||
| Sunday | $18.03 | $14.84 | Free |
- Preferred Seating guarantees a family-style seat indoors or outdoors with table service ($91.52 Saturday, $44.66 Sunday, $68.09 Friday indoors, with fees). You cannot switch between indoors and outdoors after buying, so pick the stage you want.
- Family Fun Day package (Sundays, $61.48 with fees): two adults, two kids, two all-day bounce house passes, and two kids’ meals.
- Beer Sampling add-on on tasting Fridays: $18.03 with fees.
- Über Burgermeister package: a 56th-anniversary one-liter stein, first beer, German meal, and preferred seating, good any day. 21+ with photo ID.
- Group seating: four Love Shacks (wooden bungalows for up to 10) and two Munich Patios (up to 20) in the Bier Garten.
- America’s Heroes: free general admission on November 7, 8, and 14 for healthcare workers, military, veterans, forestry, firefighters, law enforcement, and support staff, with discounted family tickets. Call (909) 585-3000 or email info@bigbearevents.com for the access code.
- No refunds, and tickets cannot move to another weekend. Bring photo ID to redeem them. There is no will call, so forward tickets to your group.
Getting there
The Convention Center is at Big Bear Boulevard and Division Drive, about 4 miles east of the Village. The festival puts the drive at about 2 hours from Los Angeles or Orange County and 2.5 hours from San Diego, most commonly via Highway 330 to Highway 18 through Running Springs. The festival notes Highway 38 from Redlands is closed indefinitely.
- Free trolley: Parking is limited, and the festival encourages the Free Big Bear Trolley, which stops at the Convention Center. Routes are at MountainTransit.org.
- Direct shuttle: On Saturdays, a shuttle runs from the Knickerbocker Parking Lot in the Village straight to Oktoberfest, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
- Free ride home: The take-home shuttle picks up at the main entrance and drops you curb to curb anywhere you are staying in Big Bear Valley, on Saturday nights and on Fridays in October (8 p.m. to 11 p.m.). The last shuttle leaves at 11 p.m., no exceptions.
Enter a contest
Sign-ups are free and open about 20 minutes before each contest, inside next to the DJ stand or outside to the left of the Bier Garten stage. Contestants must be 21 or older.
- Stein holding: hold a full stein at arm’s length, chest high. The festival record, 18 minutes 33.9 seconds, has stood since 1995.
- Log sawing: two-person teams with an old-fashioned saw. Wear closed-toe shoes.
- Safe Slam: a chugging race with non-alcoholic beer.
- Queen Stein Carrying: the woman who carries the most full one-liter steins wins the title. The finals are Saturday, October 10.
- Halloween: the adult costume contest is Saturday, October 31, around 9:30 or 9:45 p.m. (the festival lists both), with prizes for the top ten. Masks have to come off after the contest, and no toy weapons.
Family notes
- Kids 12 and under are free on Sundays, which the festival calls Family Day, with kids’ contests (pretzel toss and kiddy mug holding) around 3 p.m.
- The Munich Midway and Kids Zone has bounce houses, arts and crafts, game booths, face painting, and a balloon artist, plus a mechanical bull on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Kids must be supervised at all times. Side-by-side double strollers and wagons are not allowed.
- No pets. Service animals are welcome.
Tips
- Dress for the mountains. There is no re-entry, and the festival specifically says to bring your jacket, camera, and photo ID in with you.
- It is rain or shine, and the festival notes that mountain weather and road conditions can change fast.
- Pace yourself and use the free ride home.
- Leave at home: outside food and drink, ice chests, folding chairs, weapons, pepper spray, marijuana, drones, skateboards, scooters, and bikes. Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, is required.
A little history
The festival traces back to Hans and Erika Bandow, German immigrants who moved from New York and bought a Big Bear lodge in 1969. After their first year they threw an Oktoberfest to thank their guests and new neighbors, modeled on the ones they knew in Munich. 2026 is the 56th edition.
Accessibility
The festival’s pages do not publish accessibility information. The event uses indoor and outdoor spaces at the Convention Center. For questions, call (909) 585-3000 or email info@bigbearevents.com.
Still to come
Several Bier Garten sets on Halloween weekend and on November 14 are listed as TBA, and the Saturday After Dark program says more details are coming. The 824 Journal will update this guide as they are posted.
Sources
- Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest, official site
- Tickets, dates, and times
- Frequently Asked Questions (dates, re-entry, steins, payment, pets, kids, shuttle)
- 2026 Entertainment Schedule
- Bands
- German Feast
- Beers on Tap
- Contests
- Halloween Spooktacular Weekend
- America’s Heroes free admission
- Free shuttle service
- Directions
- Code of Conduct
- History
- Ticketsauce: Weekend 5 tickets and terms (prices, age ranges)
Featured photo: DylanMoz49 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
