Big Bear Lake is a city in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is locat ...

, located in the San Bernardino Mountains along the south shore of

Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the Western United States, western United States, located in the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, California. It is a snow and rain-fed lake, having no other m ...

, and surrounded by the

San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernar ...

. The city is about northeast of the city of San Bernardino, and immediately west of the unincorporated town of Big Bear City. The population was approximately 5,046 at the 2020 census. However, as a popular year-round resort destination, the actual number of people staying in or visiting the greater Big Bear Valley area regularly surges to over 100,000 during many weekends of the year.

History

was inhabited by the indigenous

Serrano people The Serrano are an Indigenous people of California. Their autonyms are Taaqtam meaning "people", Maarrênga'yam meaning "people from Morongo", and Yuhaaviatam meaning "people of the pines." Today the Maarrênga'yam are enrolled in the Moron ...

for over 2,000 years before it was explored by Benjamin Wilson and his party. Once populated by only the natives and the grizzly bears, from which the area received its name, the population of the Big Bear Valley grew rapidly during the Southern California

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

from 1861 to 1912. Grizzly bears were not found in the region after 1908. Black bears have been in the region since their introduction in 1933, and they are sometimes sighted in residential areas. A trip to Big Bear Lake from San Bernardino took two days on horse-drawn coaches. Kirk Phillips was a local who took a trip to New York City and saw the world's first bus line. This inspired him to create the world's second bus line from San Bernardino to Big Bear Valley using white trucks with several rows of seats. This made it possible for the villages to grow and for Big Bear Lake to become the first mountain recreation area in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

. Many people traveled to enjoy recreation on the lake. However, another major draw was the natural hot spring. Emile Jesserun bought of land that included the hot spring and built the first major resort in Big Bear, the Pan Hot Springs Hotel, in 1921. This resort was followed with others that strove to be the best by creating a country club atmosphere, complete with the amenities required to lure the Hollywood celebrities of the time including

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

, and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

. By 1924, Big Bear was populated with 44 resorts and a constant stream of vacationers. The Pan Hot Springs Hotel, like many of the other resorts and hotels in Big Bear, was extensively damaged by fire in 1933. In 1933, the California Fish and Game Commission transported around 27 black bears from

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

to Southern California, releasing them near Big Bear. Sightings of the newly released bears in cities stoked fear among residents. J. Dale Gentry, chairman of the Fish and Game Commission, resigned shortly after. For Hollywood's film industry, the area has been a popular place for shooting on location since the silent era. In late November 1915,

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

filmed there for its three-reel production of ''John o' the Mountains'' starring Sydney Ayres and Louella Maxam. The 1920 version of '' Last of the Mohicans'' was filmed there as well, as were some scenes for the 1936 film ''

Daniel Boone Daniel Boone (, 1734September 26, 1820) was an American pioneer and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the United States. He became famous for his exploration and settlement of Kentucky, which was then beyo ...

'', ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'', 20th Century Fox's 1960 film '' North to Alaska'', Disney's '' Old Yeller'', the 1969 musical film '' Paint Your Wagon'', the 1983 movie '' War Games'', and the 1985 "dark comedy" '' Better Off Dead''. Many television series have filmed sequences there too, including opening sequences in 1969 for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

children's program '' H.R. Pufnstuf''. Winter activities are also popular in Big Bear. The first ski jump in Big Bear was erected in 1929 and quickly claimed a world ski jump record. More jumps were built in Big Bear Lake and the Viking Ski Club of Los Angeles began to use them for competition and events. The move to a winter resort town was solidified in 1952 when Tommy Tyndall opened a resort in Big Bear Lake, now known as Snow Summit. In some winters the area gets little snow, but snow machines keep the resorts in business. In the summer of 1968,

Caltech The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private university, private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small g ...

began construction of Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) located on the north shore of Big Bear Lake. Due to extensive rain and snow, the lake rose several feet and BBSO was surrounded by water at the time construction was completed using makeshift barges in May 1970. BBSO, now operated by the

New Jersey Institute of Technology New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is a Public university, public research university in Newark, New Jersey, United States, with a graduate-degree-granting satellite campus in Jersey City. Founded in 1881 with the support of local indust ...

, is still a major Big Bear Lake landmark connected to the north shore by a dirt and rock causeway. Since 1970, Big Bear Lake has held an annual

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

. The Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest sports the highest

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

, by elevation, in the United States. Big Bear Lake was incorporated as a city on November 28, 1980. During the 1990s, the city became famous as a training spot for

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

champions.

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born February 4, 1973) is an American Promoter (entertainment), boxing promoter and former professional boxing, professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 list of boxing sextuple ch ...

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

, Fernando Vargas, Gennady Golovkin, and Shane Mosley are among the famous boxers who have trained at Big Bear. In February 2013, a major manhunt occurred in the Big Bear Lake area to find Christopher Dorner, who by that point had killed three people. A standoff ended in nearby Angelus Oaks.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and of which (2.88%) is water. It is located northeast of the city of San Bernardino, and immediately west of Big Bear City. Big Bear Lake is at an official elevation of 6,752 ft (2,058 m) above sea level. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safety advisory for any fish caught in Big Bear Lake due to elevated levels of mercury and PCBs.

Climate

According to the National Weather Service, the warmest month at Big Bear is July, with a daily average temperature of . The coolest month is February, with a daily average temperature of . (January and December are nearly tied, at .) There are an average of 1.3 days each year with highs of or higher. Freezing temperatures have occurred in every month and occur on an average of 176.2 days each year, on average from September 24 to June 4. With a period of record dating back to only 1960, the highest temperature recorded was , recorded on June 30, 1994, while the lowest was on November 19, 1964. Due to the elevation of the weather station, precipitation is greater than in the lowlands of southern California, averaging a year. The maximum 24-hour precipitation was on December 6, 1966. Measurable precipitation normally occurs 43.3 days a year. Mountain thunderstorms can produce heavy rainfall, even in midsummer (when most southern California lowland locations are quite dry). Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Big Bear Lake has a warm-summer

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csb'') bordering a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dsb''); it lies within USDA plant

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

7a. Big Bear Lake is the highest and coldest incorporated city in southern California. In contrast to most of southern California, the Big Bear Lake region normally receives significant winter snow because of its high elevation. Snowfall, as measured at lake level, averages per season; upwards of can accumulate on the forested ridges bordering the lake, at elevations above . In February 1990, of snow were recorded. The most snow in 24 hours was on March 27, 1991. The greatest snow depth was on February 3, 1979. Snow has fallen in every month except July and August. There are normally 16 days each year with measurable snow of or more.

Demographics

The 2020 United States census reported that Big Bear Lake had a population of 5,046. The population density was . The racial makeup of Big Bear Lake was 72.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.0%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.8% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 11.3% from other races, and 12.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 23.9% of the population. The census reported that 99.3% of the population lived in households, 0.5% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.2% were institutionalized. There were 2,341 households, out of which 21.0% included children under the age of 18, 39.4% were married-couple households, 6.2% were cohabiting couple households, 25.5% had a female householder with no partner present, and 28.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 35.6% of households were one person, and 17.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.14. There were 1,326

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(56.6% of all households). The age distribution was 16.5% under the age of 18, 5.3% aged 18 to 24, 21.1% aged 25 to 44, 30.2% aged 45 to 64, and 27.0% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 51.5years. For every 100 females, there were 105.9 males. There were 9,452 housing units at an average density of , of which 2,341 (24.8%) were occupied. Of these, 58.0% were owner-occupied, and 42.0% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that 64.1% of the population were born in California, 21.6% were born in a different state, 1.2% were born in a US territory or abroad to an American parent, and 13.1% were born outside US jurisdiction. Of those aged 5 or older, 82.4% spoke only English at home, 10.5% spoke Spanish, 2.1% spoke other

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

, 1.5% spoke Asian or Pacific Islander languages, and 3.6% spoke other languages. Of those aged 25 or older, 91.3% were high school graduates and 34.9% had a bachelor's degree. The median household income was $74,728, and the

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $50,506. About 8.0% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line.

Attractions and activities

Big Bear Lake is

's largest recreational lake. It is about long with a width of about at its widest point. The primary summer attraction in Big Bear has been fishing, which remains one of the most common activities. The most abundant types of fish are

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

. Hiking,

mountain biking Mountain biking (MTB) is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability ...

and

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

are also very popular.

offers many trails in varying degrees of difficulty. During winter season Big Bear Lake becomes a

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

and

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

destination for

. There are two ski resorts: Snow Summit and Bear Mountain. The first Winter X Games were held in Big Bear Lake in 1997. The town was also home to the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival from 2000 to 2014. The Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain, an amusement park, is located in the city. In addition to these events, Big Bear Lake is known for its resident bald eagle couple, Jackie and Shadow. There is a YouTube channel dedicated to a live feed of their nest which allows viewers to watch their daily activities and observe their nestbuilding and feeding behaviors. The channel is operated by Friends of Big Bear Valley.

Library

The community is served by the Big Bear Lake Branch of the San Bernardino County Library. The library is located on Garstin Drive near the southern shore of Big Bear Lake and offers books, videos, CDs, DVDs, audio books, e-books, computers, and internet access for patrons. The library was remodeled in 2009, with improvements that included additional public computers and a new circulation desk that allows for self check-out. Story times for younger children, teen programs, donated book sales, and special events are also held at the library.

Government

Big Bear Lake is a

charter city Home rule in the United States relates to the authority of a constituent part of a U.S. state to exercise powers of governance (i.e., whether such powers must be specifically delegated to it by the state—typically by legislative action—or a ...

under the laws of the state of California. It operates under the council-manager form of government. The city manager is Erik Sund. The city council includes five members elected at-large. The mayor is selected annually from among the city council members. The current mayor is Randall Putz. In the state legislature, Big Bear Lake is in the 23rd Senate District, represented by Republican Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, and in the 34th Assembly District, represented by Republican Assembly Member Tom Lackey. Federally, Big Bear Lake is in .

Transportation

Big Bear City Airport, a

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

airport in the Big Bear City section of unincorporated

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County ( ), officially the County of San Bernardino and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, 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 th ...

, serves Big Bear Lake. Free local bus service is provided by Mountain Transit, formerly known as

Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority Mountain Transit (legally the Mountain Area Regional Transit Authority) is the third largest regional transit agency in San Bernardino County, California. Mountain Transit serves the San Bernardino Mountain communities of Crestline, Lake Arrowhe ...

(MARTA), operates several fixed routes in the Big Bear Valley. Mountain Transit also provides service from downtown San Bernardino to Big Bear Lake. The Big Bear Valley is accessible by four California state highways: SR 18 from

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

, SR 330 from San Bernardino, SR 38 from Redlands, and SR 18 from Lucerne Valley.

''Big Bear Grizzly''

The ''Big Bear Grizzly'', the "Media of the Mountain", is a local weekly newspaper serving Big Bear Lake, California and surrounding communities. The ''Big Bear Grizzly'' is owned by Gold Mountain California News Media Inc. The principal edition of ''Big Bear Grizzly'' is published weekly on Wednesdays. A free edition, entitled the ''Grizzly Weekender'', is delivered to most areas of the Big Bear Valley each Saturday. The newspaper also produces a weekly shopper's guide called the ''Big Bear Shopper''. This paper covers local council meetings, festivals, fundraisers, recreation opportunities on Big Bear Lake and nearby, and other events in the area.

Education

It is in the Bear Valley Unified School District.
Text list
/ref>

Notable people

* Ryan Hall (born 1983 in Big Bear Lake), long-distance runner who won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials and placed 10th in the Olympic marathon in Beijing; holds the U.S. record in the half marathon with a time of 0:59:43, becoming the first U.S. runner to break the one-hour barrier in the event * Taran Killam (born 1982), actor and comedian best known for his television work on shows such as '' The Amanda Show'', '' Scrubs'', '' Wild 'N Out'', ''

MADtv ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series created by David Salzman, Fax Bahr, and Adam Small. Loosely based on the humor magazine '' Mad'', ''Mad TVs pre-taped satirical sketches were primarily parodie ...

'', '' Stuck in the Suburbs''; previously a cast member on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' * Ed Masuga (born 1978), singer/songwriter based in the San Francisco Bay Area *

Jay Obernolte Jay Phillip Obernolte ( ; born August 18, 1970) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021, when it was numbered as the 8th district. A Republican, he was previously a member of the California St ...

, current representative for California's 23rd Congressional District * Heather O'Rourke, of ''

Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...

'' (1982) fame; lived at Big Bear Lake in the mid-1980s * Max Rafferty, former California Superintendent of Public Instruction and Republican U.S. Senate nominee in 1968; school administrator at Big Bear Lake High School in the late 1940s * Jordan Romero, climber of the

Seven Summits The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven. In January 2023, ''Climbing (magazine), Climbing'' said "Today, t ...

at the age of 15, breaking the past record set by George Atkinson

Sister cities

* Abtenau, Austria

References

External links

City of Big Bear Lake
{{Authority control Big Bear Valley Cities in San Bernardino County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California San Bernardino Mountains