Big Bear Lake, CA

Yesterday we went to Big Bear Lake, CA.  It is a city in San Bernardino County and sits on the south shore of Big Bear Lake.  The Population of Bike Bear Lake is 5019 but since it is a four season resort city if you include the people staying in Big Bear Lake, especially over the week ends, the population can reach over 100,000.  The median income is $34,500, the median age is 46 and the city sits at 6717 ft above sea level.  Once populated with natives and grizzly bears, where the area got it's name from, it rapidly grew during the Gold Rush from 1816-1912.  Grizzly Bears have not been in the area since 1908  but Black Bears still inhabit the area since their introduction to the valley in 1933.  At one time it use to take two days to get to Big Bear from the city of San Bernardino, 25 miles away, by horse drawn coaches.  Kirk Philips, a local, made the trip a little easier.  He had taken a trip to New York City and when he was there he saw the world's first bus line.  This inspired him to create the world's second bus line from San Bernardino to Big Bear Lake.  He took white trucks and placed rows of seats on the truck that created a"bus" that brought people to Big Bear faster.  This also allowed the villages to gruw and made Big Bear lake the first mountain recreational area in southern California.  A hot spring was also discovered near the lake which became another draw to the area.  Pan Hot Springs Hotel was built in 1921 and became the first major resort with all the amenities you could possibly want.  This resort inspired many more resorts to be built which attracted Hollywood celebrities and men of industries to make Big Bear their recreational resorts. By 1924 Big Bear had over 44 resorts and a constant stream of vacationers,  It also became a popular place for shooting on location for movies and television.  The original "The Last of the Mohicans", 1920s version, was the first movie to be shot there.  TV's "Bonanza" shot several episodes in the area during the 1960s.  Some of the other movies that was shot in the area are; Old Yeller, Paint Your Wagon, Better Off Dead and War Games.  Big Bear Lake was incorporated in Nov. 1980. 
Big Bear Lake is a reservoir.  At its surface it is 6750 ft. above sea level.   The length of the lake runs east to west and is 7 miles long.  The north and south shores vary between 1 mile to 2 1/2 miles in width.  Its deepest point is near the dam end of the lake and is 72 ft deep.  It is a completely snow fed lake having no other means of tributory or mechnical replenishment,
Big Bear City is an unincorported area east of the lake.  It's population is 12,304 with a median income of
$35,600 and a median age of 42.  Big Bear City is mostly residential with smaller homes and cabins.  Where Big Bear Lake is more of a tourist attraction Big Bear City is where the locals live and shop. 
The lake is absolutely beautiful and so blue.  It is also very cold.  The warm summers did not help heat up the water.  I understand the attraction of the Big Bear area.  A beautiful lake for boating in the summer and a great place for snow skiing in the winter I could be tempted to live here.  For now, I will have to settle for visiting which is a lot of fun.  We had lunch at Jaspar's Smokehouse and Steaks.  It had a nice patio that was dog friendly.  It was a beautiful day, about 75 degrees, so we enjoyed out lunch outside on the patio.  The food server ever brought Shadow a bowl of water.  The Village in Big Bear Lake is an area of small shops and lots of restaurants.  It has an Alpine atmosphere and it's a nice area to stroll around.  Our timing was right to see the fall foliage.  The trees that could change was in full color and beautiful  I have not been able to experience Fall for a few years and I loved seeing the fall colors.  I highly reccommend the Big Bear area for a vacation. 
Tonight I am going to a sleepover.  My sister and I are going to meet up with our BFF's and have a "girls night in" together.  The past two years we have gotten together for a week end and have rented cabins in Big Bear and Julian but this year we decided to have an impromtu sleepover at one of the girl's house.   I am looking forward to relaxing with good food, drink, movies and the girls.