Big Bear Valley is a valley in

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. The valley, in the

San Bernardino Mountains The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...

, includes

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is a snow and rain fed lake, having no other means of tributaries or mechanical replenishment. At a surface elevation of , it ...

Big Bear City Big Bear City is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States along the east shore of Big Bear Lake and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. It is northeast of the city of San Bernardino, and imme ...

Fawnskin Fawnskin is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California, United States. Its altitude is 6,827 feet (2,081 m). The community has a post office, which was established on May 18, 1918. History The small township was ...

Holcomb Valley Holcomb Valley, located in the San Bernardino Mountains about five miles north of Big Bear Lake, was the site of the most gold mines in Southern California. It was named after William F. Holcomb, who found gold there in 1860. That year started th ...

Sugarloaf A sugarloaf was the usual form in which refined sugar was produced and sold until the late 19th century, when granulated and cube sugars were introduced. A tall cone with a rounded top was the end product of a process in which dark molasses, a ri ...

, Erwin Lake, Baldwin Lake, Bluff Lake and Lake Williams.

History

The Spanish colonizers arrived to the valley in the eighteenth century and encountered people who they referred to as " Serranos" in the valley. The Serranos had established a few permanent settlements in the mountains, and also lived in the area during the summer months of the year. They may have moved into the area some 3,000 years prior.

References

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