Looking Back

Through the Years

Over the centuries, Big Bear has seen its share of adventures — from the Gold Rush to the opening of the ski resorts.

“I like the west end of the lake, where the dam is. If the water level is low enough, you can see the original 1884 rock dam. Without these two dams, Big Bear history as we know it wouldn’t exist. It’s also a pretty spot, where I like to hike and shoot photos.”

—Rick Keppler, Local Historian

What’s in a Name?

Back in 1845, Benjamin Wilson led a posse into the San Bernadinos in pursuit of ranch-raiding outlaws. Once they reached the mountains’ apex, Wilson and his team found a valley swarming with grizzlies— inspiring the moniker “Big Bear.”

1855–1879: THE GOLD RUSH

Early settlers discover gold in the Valley in 1855, the first mining operation begins a few years later, and in 1860, a bear hunter tracks a trail to a creek filled with flakes of gold. Suddenly, Southern California’s largest gold rush is on.

1883: BIG BEAR LAKE IS BORN Work begins on a dam across the Valley, creating the reservoir that will become Big Bear Lake.

1888–1911: The Beginning of a Resort Town

The Valley’s first resort, the Bear Valley Hotel, opens its doors. New roads increase access to the Valley; in 1908, the first round-trip drive through the mountains is completed in 13 hours and 17 minutes.

1911–1925:

BIG BEAR GOES HOLLYWOOD With its majestic scenery, the Valley becomes an attractive backlot for the burgeoning film industry in nearby LA. Big Bear will go on to cameo in Heidi, Grey’s Anatomy, and other films and shows.

1988–1997: X-TREME SPORTS

In the late 1980s, Big Bear’s resorts become early adopters of the newest craze in snowsports: snowboarding. Snow Summit and Bear Mountain later serve as training grounds for some of snowboarding’s biggest stars, including Olympic gold medalist Shaun White. In 1997, Big Bear hosts the first ever Winter X Games, a popular extreme sports competition that continues to this day.

1928–1949:

THE (WINTER) FUN BEGINS In 1928, the first winter facilities are built in Big Bear Valley for a ski jump competition. A toboggan run and sling lift follow in 1938, and in 1949, the Valley’s first ski resort opens on Lynn Hill.

2002:

SNOWY PARADISE

Snow Summit acquires Bear Mountain, and together they become Big Bear Mountain Resorts, vastly increasing the amount of terrain available to skiers and snowboarders.

2020:

TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE Care For Big Bear is born out of a love for the area’s natural beauty and a desire to preserve this natural playground for future generations.

The Six Seasons of Yuhaaviat

Big Bear’s original residents, the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, share knowledge about their ancestral home.

The Indigenous people of Yuhaaviat, a forested area near present-day Big Bear Lake, were known as the Yuhaaviatam, or People of the Pines, and they were a clan of Maara’yam people (a group later called the Serrano, or “highlanders,” by Spanish explorers). Today, the Tribe is known as the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. The name references their revered late 19th- and early 20th-century leader, Santos Manuel, for whom the Tribe’s Reservation, in Highland, California, is also named.

The Tribe has long distinguished six seasons in Big Bear Valley: • spring (spring season) • late spring (blossom season) • summer (poor season) • fall (freeze season) • early winter (descending season) • the year end (exhausted season)

Traditionally, the Tribe followed the plant life seasonally, which drew them upward in elevation to the mountaintops when food was scarce in the valley below. Various native plants have helped sustain the Tribe, which to this day preserves native flora on its Reservation by managing non-native species and replanting from a native seed bank whenever possible. The Tribe particularly reveres five native plants.

ACORN: A longtime staple of the Serrano diet, black oak acorns were especially prized for their sweet taste. Acorns were ground into flour, then soaked in water to leach out tannic acid and remove bitterness. The flour was then used to make a porridge.

CHIA: Found along dry areas of the valley floor and in the hot, dry chaparral zone, chia was harvested June through August. High in protein, chia seed was chewed continuously during long journeys in order to provide stamina.

PINE NUTS: The Serrano harvested these small nuts in late summer from the pinyon pines in the upper elevations of the San Bernardino Mountains. The trees’ cones take two years to mature, so Tribe members need to monitor the pinyons to determine whether there will be a crop in any given year.

YERBA SANTA: Thick, leafy yerba santa is found on slopes, in fields, and in leafy chaparral zones of southwestern California. Yerba santa can be used to bandage cuts, as well as to treat asthma, bronchitis, chest colds, and hay fever.

YUCCA: This hearty desert plant can be used as a food source, and it can provide the raw materials necessary to make an arrow quiver, cordage, sandals, and baskets.

Source: The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (sanmanuel-nsn.gov)

Family Fun Year Round

Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain is your Big Bear playground and home to SoCal’s most authentic bobsled ride, the Alpine Slide. Take a scenic chairlift to the top, then zip down a quarter-mile long track — you control the speed the whole time. Take flight on the Soaring Eagle and catch thrills on California’s first and only mountain coaster, the Mineshaft Coaster. Cool off on the double water slide in the summer, and enjoy plenty of Snow Play fun in the winter.

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