From the Big Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce (MAP):

We have two zipline companies which can take you zipping through the trees, enjoying beautiful views along the way, Call ahead. One takes you to the Johnson Valley, and the other is up at the Cedar Lake Camp area.

We have a company that can take you off-roading in their own vehicle, which will save the wear and tear on yours? Just throw your sandwiches and drinks in the cooler , and they can take you where you want to go. There are set tours, but they can be tailored to suit you, and they are very reasonable. This company takes the studios out to search out movie locations for future films.

If you want to do your own off-roading (MAP for Moonridge to Sugarloaf), pick up a trail map and have fun! And don’t forget to pick up an Adventure Pass, which permits you to stop on Forest roads.

If you brought your own guns, you can try out the Shooting Range at the weekend.

Scenic Flights of the Valley and mountains are available for you to get a bird’s eye view.

Take the family bowling any time! Glow bowling at night, pool table, arcade games and great French fries. There is a full bar and a 105” tv. Don’t worry if you can’t bowl well, just push a button and the bumpers come up on the lanes.

We have a rescue animal park. The zoo (MAP) has been responsible for returning over 8,000 animals back into the wild! They have all kinds of animals you would expect to see in the mountains and desert areas, such as grizzly bear, black bear, wolves, mountain lions, owls & eagles! On the way there, stop at some great shops along Moonridge Rd., and check out the golf course next door. Did you know that your ball goes further because the air is thinner?

There is a petting zoo and horse riding stables at the east end of the valley. Go for a gentle walk, for the time span you choose. Open year round.

Go up to Snow Summit for a ski lift (YouTube Video)  chair ride to the top and hop off and hike around, hop back on to come down. or if you hooked your mountain bike on, on the way up, you can bike down. They have their barbecue going at the top, so it is easy to stick around to enjoy the views.

Stop at the bike rental stores for loads of info. And if you prefer street biking, they can help guide you there also. You can even rent the baby trailers to hook on the back of your bike.

If you like light walking along the shore to vigorous hiking amongst the rocks and trees, we have a trail for you.
The Forest Service runs the Discovery Center over on the North Shore. They run all sorts of activities: canoeing, kayaking, animal tracking, and have a display with animal fur you can touch, a gift shop filled with educational toys and books, and a café that has some outdoor seating with terrific views. People love to go and have their picture taken outside by the huge bronze bear. They run a summer concert series in their outdoor amphitheater and hold stargazing evenings, story-telling, and more……

Water activities include some great charter fishing companies with lake tours, several tour boats (Pine Knot Landing MAP), parasailing, jet skis, jet boat tours, all kinds of boat rentals, from peddle boats, electric fun boats, to kayaks & canoes, fishing boats and pontoon boats. There are six areas around the lake for various watercraft rentals.

Go for a swim at Swim Beach, cleared of weed, lifeguard on duty, inflatable slide and trampoline in the water, or go to the water slide at Alpine Slide and try the toboggan slide, the go carts, mini golf and arcade games. Meadow park also has a large jungle gym to help the kids burn off some energy.

Be sure to check out our Museum. They have real old cabins, a schoolhouse and even a teepee! All are staged so you can see how it really was.

Our restaurants are all pretty top notch. From special occasion dining to steaks, seafood, bbq, ethnic food and fast food, there is sure to be something for every palette. Only one restaurant on the lake, but several with a view of it. Let’s face it, how could there not be a view of something wonderful in Big Bear?

Shop all around our beautiful valley, from west to east, and don’t forget to enjoy Friday Nights in the Village (MAP). Family fun with activities, extra vendors, and free entertainment, and Wyatt’s Saloon at the Convention Center for family fun, really good food, and line dancing.

Pick up our information to see what is going on while you are here, and for when you come back!

More Resources;

• Winter Fishing Big Bear Lake – Contact Us | Terms of Use | Trademarks | Privacy Statement
  Copyright © 2010 Westlake Marina. Powered by WordPress and WordPress Theme created with Artisteer.
• Your Typical Lake Trout Fishing Gear – You need not get a fishing rod made for open sea fishing as that really is unnecessary and a waste of money.Plastic lures are able to swim gracefully alongside the movement of the waves and the trout love them. Don’t worry about finding …
• Big Bear Lake Trout Fishing. – Just another day at Big Bear. Watch other vids. from the same day. Size 18 treble, 1/4 egg sinker, 3′ leader @2 lbs. yellow corn by Berkley and patience ! Don’t “crank- em” inn. Play slow , maintain a constant tension and get them tired …
• Your Typical Lake Trout Fishing Gear « Dont Talk Right Now – Another typical lake trout fishing gear is the fishing reel.Experimenting is a way to discover new methods that are more effective than the last.There are many brands and makers of fishing gears out there and thus an angler has to …

Related Posts:

• January 15, 2010 -- SNOW BIKE RETURNS (0)
  [caption id="attachment_1439" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Snow Bikes Return!"][/caption] Xcorps #46.) SNOWBIKE-2 seg3-HD- ...
• January 15, 2010 -- Events in Big Bear CA (0)
  [caption id="attachment_1434" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Mountain Snow"][/caption] Events Burton Demo Tour at Bear Mount...
• July 1, 2009 -- Top 10 Thing to Do on 4th of July Weekend (0)
  1. Fireworks on the Lake Come attend the biggest 4th of July fireworks display in Southern California. The fireworks are shot off fro...
• April 8, 2009 -- July 4th Big Bear (0)
  [caption id="attachment_689" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Lou Gramm Concert, July 4th, Big Bear, CA"][/caption]     Lou ...

Old Man Winter’s beard brushed over Big Bear again.

3 days of HIGH WIND is getting a little much. The house shakes all the time. Windows and doors whistle. Power goes on and off. This is what makes Big Bear Living the finest!

Needless to say, some of us are looking for Spring. Even the Old Timers are ready for a change.

Here’s a shot of the dusting that blasted through this time. Look at that CLEAR SKY!

Another frigid blast.

Related Posts:

• January 20, 2010 -- Winter Storm Warning (0)
  View of Big Bear Valley ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO MIDNIGHT PST THURSDAY NIGHT ABOVE 6500 FEET... THE NATIONAL...
• January 13, 2009 -- HIGH WIND WARNING (0)
  A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM PST THIS AFTERNOON. SANTA ANA WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS MORNING WITH GUSTS TO AROUN...
• April 22, 2010 -- Snow Storm Again (0)
  Winds blew for a day and a half. Yesterday, the snow joined in. This morning, the roads are very slick and not melting fast. Here are a few...
• February 11, 2010 -- Southern California Superpipe – Big Bear Lake (0)
  Photo Courtesy of Bear Mountain Resort   (Big Bear Lake, CA - February 11, 2010) - Bear Mountain is offering a dose of the Olympic Spiri...

Winds blew for a day and a half. Yesterday, the snow joined in.

This morning, the roads are very slick and not melting fast. Here are a few shots from sunrise.

It is COLD!!!

Bundle up!

[[Show as slideshow]]

Related Posts:

• February 9, 2009 -- Bedtime Update – Roads Closed (0)
  [caption id="attachment_412" align="alignright" width="230" caption="Baldwin Lake front yard at 5:00pm. No one is driving here."][/caption] ...
• February 9, 2009 -- Snow Conditions (0)
  Bear Mountain and Snow Summit have blown snow and received over a half foot of fresh powder last night! It's snowing hard this morning and s...
• April 29, 2010 -- Winter Blast Hits Big Bear. AGAIN! (0)
  Old Man Winter's beard brushed over Big Bear again. 3 days of HIGH WIND is getting a little much. The house shakes all the time. Windows ...
• January 26, 2010 -- Snow Conditions (0)
  Both Bear Mountain and Snow Summit are experiencing epic conditions. The last storm increase the snow base to 48-84 inches of machine groome...

Big Bear Lake High School 1930

The call of the wild!  What pictures the phrase brings to the mind at this season, the spring of the year when the blood is pulsating with renewed life and when the spirit of man hungers for the outdoors.

Visions of pine-encircled lakes, flower sheets on deeded subdivision land, making a total of of hamlet—and tree-gemmed valley, there a jeweled mountain peak piercing the skies, and at the top of the trail great open spaces, where in the moonlight on cottage doorstep one may push away the trifling cares of the valley and get acquainted with oneself as a careless person.

No wonder the wild calls to so many thousands each year.

And where could the wild be more fascinating than in the San Bernardino Mountains, or where its call more clear or more insistent?  For the wild to the up-to-date traveler does not mean inconvenience; it is the call of the open in a land where every possible need of the traveler is catered to; where physical cares are sloughed off and the spirit is left free to drink in the beauty and peace of nature.

Feeling this insistent call o’ the wild then, what more logical thing to do than to start in your automobile or take the bus and bring along your fishing equipment and hiking togs and in the greatest of ease and comfort take a week-end trip over the sun-spangled Rim O’ the World to Big Bear Lake in the Valley of Big bear.

Mountain Auto -Rom of the World Fares

 

Here you will find true hospitality and an ever-pervading spirit of the Old West and many places of historic interest dating back to the days of the Dons.

After leaving San Bernardino, which is sixty-five miles east of Los Angeles, you travel north, out Sierra Way and enter the mountains, traveling over high-gear road which is kept open throughout the year by an ever-watchful and highly efficient state highway crew.

Winding and ever winding, you come upon sights that are thrilling and never to be forgotten, for the San Bernardino Mountains offer you some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.

Words cannot tell of the wondrous beauties that may be seen here,

In the old days it was a week’s journey from Los Angeles to Big Bear Lake, but now the trip can be made in three hours of careful driving.

 Big Bear Lake, forty-five miles east of the city of San Bernardino, in the heart of the San Bernardino mountains, at an elevation of 6,750 feet, spreads 72,000 acre-feet of water behind a multiple-arch dam 72 feet in height, is seven and one-hale miles long and averages one mile wide.

Big Bear Lake Dam

 

The Lake lies in a valley fifteen miles long and three miles wide, with gentle sloping hills, wooded to the shoreline of the Lake with large and small pine and fir trees.

The principal business center is Big Bear Lake Village, located four miles from the dam, on the south shore.  It is a well-developed business center with grocery, meat and vegetable stores, hotel, cafes, curio shops, hardware stores, a theatre, dance pavilions, postoffice, stage depot, super-service stations, garages, real estate offices, cocktail lounges, large department store, ladies’ ready-to-wear shop, barber shops, and beauty parlors, shoe repair shop, ice distribution depot, commercial boat landings, saddle liveries, shooting gallery and amusement center and seventy camps, each having from six to fifty cabins each.

 The population of Big Bear Lake ranges from 1,00 people making their permanent homes to 30,000 people on holidays such as Decoration Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day and New Years with an average population between May 15 and September 15 of 15,000 people.

Big Bear Lake grammar school has three teachers and an attendance of 96 pupils.

It also has a fully accredited high school with three teachers and an attendance of 45 pupils.  There are 708 private mountain homes built on United States Forest service land at Big Bear Lake.

Big Bear Lake has an average increase of 228 new mountain homes per year.  The total assessed valuation of Big Bear Lake and Fawnskin district in 1940 was$2,887,130 making an increase of the total assessed valuation of the two districts of $768,590.

A survey of the United States Forest Service shows that 4,491 acres of private land has been subdivided into 24,379 building sites, and approximately 16,500 building sites have been sold.

 In the same survey they show that 472 acres of government land has been subdivided into 1,096 building sites and 708 of the total have been leased and improved.   

Big Bear Land & Water Company

Big Bear Lake has furnished the setting for many motion pictures, and location scouts have stated that Big Bear Lake can furnish more diversified scenery than any other mountain resort in California.

These companies furnish a large revenue to the merchants of Big Bear Lake and extend the seasons as they prefer the spring and fall of the year because of the better lighting effects.

Following is a partial list of pictures taken at Big Bear Lake and an estimated amount of expenditures for locations, cost of sets, hotel lodging and meals, local labor, garage bills as well as the amount expended by members of the company for individuals.

1. “Trail of the Lonesome Pine” made by the Walter Wanger Company…$200,000.00
2. “In Person” made by RKO…$75,000.00
3. “Having a wonderful time” made by RKO…$110,000.00
4. “Daniel Boone” made by Herlima Productions…$90,000.00
5. “None of Your Business” made by Paramount…$35,000.00
6. “Heart of the North” made by Warner Bros….$75,000.00
7. “Untamed” made by Paramount…$35,000.00
8. “Brigham Young” made by Fox Production…$90,000.00
9. “Shepherd of the Hills” made by Paramount…$175,000.00

The Paramount Company has filmed fifteen Westerns, some of which are Nevada, West of the Pecos, Arizona Mahoney, etc.

 Estimated amount of expenditures$300,000.00 or approximately $20,000.00 per picture,

Many independent companies have also taken pictures at Big Bear Lake with an expenditure of from $3,000.00 to $5,000.00.

Big Bear Lake Location for Movie Shoots

Big Bear Lake also has one specific and highly specialized industry, that of fox raising.  There are twenty silver fox ranches, ranging in size from thirty pair of breeding stock to two hundred and forty.

Approximately twenty-five hundred silver fox pelts are produced annually, and due to the advantages afforded by this district a higher average pelt value is received by the Big Bear Lake ranchers.  It is estimated that the business brings $125,000 annually to Big Bear Lake.

Cattle grazing is another of Big Bear Lake’s industries.  Nearly 2,000 head of cattle are grazed under Forest Service Regulations on this area annually during the summer and early fall seasons.

Very few strangers, even the people who make yearly visits to Big Bear, ever think of anything in these mountains except the lake, which lies in the center of the valley.  For those who are willing to expend the energy, there are many trails leading to some of nature’s most beautiful spots.  The views to be seen are incomparable, and the true appreciation of Big Bear cannot be realized unless several days are spent in wandering through these mountains.

Aside from driving and hiking to the beauty spots of the Valley, there is a variety of other amusements to be enjoyed.  Big bear Lake itself has much to offer to the pleasure-seeker.  Swimming and tennis are open to all.  In the evening dancing is provided with orchestras and glistening dance floors.  In short, life may be one ceaseless round of activity and pleasure in Big Bear.

Big Bear Lake is considered one of the country’s best health resorts for those suffering with asthma and like ailments, and many sufferers after visiting here return to make it their permanent home.

Fox Farming in Big Bear Lake

Fishing season starts on May 1^st, and many thousands come to Big Bear Lake each year to enjoy the sport.  Unlike many other districts, Big Bear Lake’s season is open on all fish at the same time.  There is an abundance of Bass, Crappie and Blue Gill and the women and children spend many enjoyable hour fishing for them.

One hundred seventy-five thousand six-inch trout are planted in Big Bear Lake each year by the State Fish and Game Commission.  One million Rainbow eggs are taken each year for replanting in Big Bear Lake and other waters of Southern California.

Boat rentals rates are comparatively lower than many other places in the state.

Bag limits

Crappie

Blue Gill                                  none under 9 inches

Trout

Bass

Boating on Big Bear Lake

Hunting season finds Big Bear a headquarters for the hunter.  For years the lake has been a stopping place for thousands of ducks of all kinds.  A natural feeding ground is afforded here which is large enough to accommodate flocks of any size.

Duck season is ushered in noisily on the morning of the first day, and thereafter the mornings and evenings are punctuated by a volley of noises suggesting a blitzkrieg of great magnitude.

Many years ago the country surrounding Big Bear Valley was set aside as a game preserve.  Every sportsman appreciates the efforts of the government to preserve the wild life of the state and nation and at the same time to provide areas open to the public for hunting during set seasons.

In providing for the game preserve in Big Bear, the authorities took these elements into consideration.  The edge of the preserve was located a few miles from the Valley, which provided outside its boundaries a great expanse of good deer hunting territory.  It is possible for the hunter to make his daily trip into the game territory.

This preserve provides the protection needed to propagate the wild like and to supply the territory with a quantity of deer and other big game.  In the Valley itself these protective measures have begun to show results among the small animals, for they may be seen now quite numerously.  The protected life has made the squirrels and chip munks friendly and a pleasure to watch.

Deer season starts September 16^th and ends October 15^th.

Duck season date set by Federal Government.   

Mountain quail season starts November 15^th and ends December31st.  Limit 10 per day.

Local Resident

Wild animals in and around Big Bear:

Adorned Shrew                                             Sierra Chipmunk

Amer. Bay Lynx (bobcat)                         Kangaroo Rat

Antelope chipmunk                                     Long Legged Bat

Anthony Gray Squirrel                               Merriman Chipmunk

Badger                                                                Mink

Banning Wood Rat                                         Mojave Desert Gopher

Brown Bear                                                       Mountain Lion

California Bat                                                   Mountain Sheep

California Blacktailed Deer                         Raccoon

California Gray Fox                                       Red Fox

California Meadow Mouse                          San Bernardino Chipmunk

California Mule Deer                                     San Bernardino Flying Squirrel

Civet Cat                                                            San Bernardino Spermophile

Cottontail Rabbit                                           So. California Skunk

Coyote                                                               Wild Goat

Desert Jackrabbit                                         Desert Swift

Fisher Ground Squirrel

Game Birds—

Avoset                                                              Butter Ball

Blue Wing Teal                                              Canvas Back

Bufflehead                                                      Chinese Pheasant

Doves                                                               Redheads

Gadwall                                                           Ruddy Duck

Golden Mantle                                             Spoonbill

Greater Bluebill                                           Sprig

Green Wing Teal                                          Teal (cinnamon)

Jacksnipe                                                       Valley Quail

Lesser Bluebill                                             Widgeon

Mallard                                                          Wild Geese

Mountain Quail                                           Wild Pigeon

Mudhen (coots)                                         Wild Turkey

  You will also find a variety of 65 Beautiful Birds in and around Big Bear, of which some of the more uncommon specimens are here listed.

Allen Humming Bird                                Olive Sided Flycatcher

Bullock Oriole                                             Pacific Nighthawk

California Yellow Warbler                      Red-Shafted Flicker

Green-tailed Towhee                                Say Phoebes

Horned Owl                                                  Tolmie Warbler

Laurence Gold finch                                 Violet Green Swallow

Mountain Chickadee                                 Western Bluebird

Nuttall Woodpecker                                 White-Throated Swift

Here you will also find a variety of 25 trees and a great quantity of flora and fauna which will delight the heart of the naturalist.  The mineralogist will also have a thrill in store for him as fold and other minerals are still being found in these mountains.

Big Bear Lake Ski Club

Big Bear Lake is the coming recreation center of all southern California for Winter sports.

Many thousands of visitors come to Big Bear Lake during the winter months each year to participate in the gala events sponsored by the Big Bear Lake Chamber of Commerce.

Ski equipment, toboggans, sleds, skates, etc., may be obtained in the Village at very nominal rates.  Every need of the winter sportsman is carefully attended to by those who have the visitors’ interest at heart.  The Big Bear ski lifts which are under the supervision of the Big Bear Park Board, are the finest in the country, and the ski jumps are open to all those who are brave enough to indulge in this thrilling sport.  For those who wish to make the first attempt, advice and teaching is provided by the masters of the game.

Another winter sport which comes in for a place of great importance because of the universality of its appeal is ice-skating.  Young and old together may enjoy themselves in this manner.

While many of the cities of southern California may have an indoor skating rink, nothing compares favorably with skating under an open sky and on a Lake surrounded by snow and pine trees.

Come!  Enjoy yourself in the hills and dales of the San Bernardino’s at Big Bear Lake.  Leave all worry and cares behind; relax and enjoy the quiet solitude and listen to the sweetest music ever; the whispering of the pines and the trickling of the streams as they go wandering down the mountainside.

Take a trip to Bartletts Lake where you may still see many of the movie sets left there after the filming of some of the foremost pictures and to Bluff Lake and along skyline drive, which overlooks the Santa Ana with old Greyback in the distance.  Truly a wonderful and awe-inspiring sight.

Let us visit Holcomb Valley just over the hill from Big Bear Lake to the north and relive the days when history was in the making during the gold rush days of the old California, visit all the points of interest.  Go up Marble Canyon and Burnt Flat to the rim where you may look down hundreds of feet to the far-stretching desert below and wonder how it all could be; and then return by way of historic old Doble Mine to a point where you may see mountains, lake and desert at the same time.

There are many of these trips and many more sights to see that are just as wonderful, and so I say again:

When your feet begin to itch

And your mind begins to rove,

Come up to old Bear Valley,

The place you will always love.

Where God is in His heaven

And all is well with Him,

Where health is wealth, my brother,

And friendship never dims.

   Where the sweet songbirds warble

Where beauteous flowers bloom,

And all outdoors is heaven

Clear up to the moon.

So pack your duds and duffle

And come along, I say,

Do not linger longer,

Get on your way today!

Up winding trails, through Forest Glen

And bring along your Sally,

And Mary and Pete and Lucy and John

To dear old Bear Valley.

                                          –MacCallum.

In closing, the American Legion wishes to extend its gratitude to the Big Bear Lake High School for their courtesy in extending to us the privilege of using items in the preceding sketches, from their copyrighted booklet, “Big Bear Panorama.”

Also to the Bear Valley Development Co. for the service they have rendered.

                                                                              W.C. MacCallum, Editor.

Related Posts:

• May 14, 2009 -- Fishing Report -Big Bear Marina (0)
  [caption id="attachment_718" align="aligncenter" width="425" caption="Big Bear Fishing"][/caption] Spring got passed over this week as su...
• April 29, 2010 -- Big Bear Lake Community Rides (0)
  Sponsored by the Big Bear Chamber of Commerce Do you have a bike in your garage that is covered with dust and cobwebs? If so, dust it off a...
• February 11, 2010 -- Big Bear Lake – Amgen Tour of California Stage 6 (0)
  BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. February 11, 2010 – Today officials of the Amgen Tour of California announced the Stage 6 route from Pasadena to Big...
• January 30, 2010 -- Old Miner’s Days -Big Bear Lake (0)
  Old Miner's Days has been a long tradition in Big Bear Lake. We went into our collection of Big Bear Lake ephemera and found these advertise...

Our local radio station announce that Big Bear Lake received 57 inches of snow over the last week. Snow removal crews have been working overtime getting our roads cleared. Jeff over at the City of Big Bear Lake, put in a termendous effort and our mountain roads are open.

Yesterday we went around town and took photos of the snow berm, backhoes and snow plows. The main roads are in good condition. The Big Bear City Post Office’s road is much better. Shay Meadow and Baldwin Lake Road are also clear. Side roads are another story. If you are coming to your cabin in Big Bear Lake, bring a shovel!

Here is a quick video,

Connect to another local blog and read about the storm; http://spiralj2.blogspot.com/2010/01/clearing-snow.html

Related Posts:

• March 11, 2010 -- 4th of July Fireworks Fundraising (0)
  Chamber to Start “4th of July” Fireworks Fundraising  Each year over 100,000+ visitors come to the Big Bear mountain community to celebrate...
• January 26, 2010 -- Big Bear Lake (0)
  Emergency Workers -Big Bear Lake  This picture was just sent to us from a friend's cell phone. Lower Moonridge is clear as is Moonridge Rd ...
• January 20, 2010 -- Winter Storm Warning (0)
  View of Big Bear Valley ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO MIDNIGHT PST THURSDAY NIGHT ABOVE 6500 FEET... THE NATIONAL...
• April 9, 2009 -- STIMULUS PACKAGE FOR VACATIONERS (0)
  [caption id="attachment_703" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Free Visa Gift Card"][/caption]   Up to $100 in Free Visa Gift C...