Playing on Big Bear Lake is one of the best activities in Big Bear!

There are so many different ways to enjoy our beautiful lake. You can go fishing, canoeing, kayaking, pontooning, jet skiing, windsurfing, sailing, paddle boating, wake boarding and water skiing. Here are some details.

Fishing in Big Bear---- This is the best! Our lake is stocked with trout, blue gill, crappie, and small mouth bass. If you don’t have you’re own fishing gear, you can charter a friendly experienced guide with a fully loaded 22’ boat. All kinds of boats are for rent and you can also rent fishing gear. It is possible to fish from the shore as Big Bear’s lake is accessible to the public. Listen to our local radio station, KBHR 93.3 for the latest fishing information. You can check one of our on line news sources, www.bigbearnews.com for fishing info too.

Touring the Lake---- If you’d like a fun and information filled tour of the lake, you can go out on the Pirate Ship, the Big Bear Queen or go out in a small boat with Captain John. These excursions are lots of fun and you’ll find out where the celebrity homes are, where we have our local ghosts and local history plus much much more. Dinner cruises are also available.

Personal Water Craft Sports---- Parasailing, tube towing, wind surfing, jet skiing, wakeboarding and water skiing are all available for rent. It is colorful and beautiful to see the parasailing over the lake. I’m sure that the view is spectacular from the sky.

Boating on the Lake--- Fishing boats, canoes, kayaks, pontoon boats, sailboats and paddleboats are all available for rent on the lake. The best views of the lake are from the water. It is awesome to sit quietly on the lake and watch the sun set or feed the ducks that are always hungry. There are also public launches so you can launch your own boat should you have one. For your comfort, there are also “S. S. Relief” stations on the lake.

Big Bear Lake has always been a great place to relax and have fun. But, our lake was not always here because it is a man made lake. A rock dam was built in 1884. In 1911 construction of the Eastwood Dam, our current dam, was begun. It is recognized through out the state as an engineering marvel. The design was a reinforced concrete multiple arch dam. The construction of this dam cut costs 30%-40% less than other designs at the time, which brought the cost down to $138,000. Eastwood developed a less expensive and safer way to store water. It was also very important to the economic growth for our valley.

We in Big Bear Valley, visitors and guests alike, appreciate the forward thinking people who had the dam constructed. Oh, by the way, the dam was constructed to provide irrigation for the citrus orchards in Redlands and Highland years ago, not to provide us with recreation. Our recreational benefits are a strictly a byproduct of the need to provide water to the valley below. Aren’t we fortunate to have this wonderful lake to play on as a bonus?

NOTE:
The historical facts regarding the dam were taken from Big Bear The First 100 Years written by Tom Core, printed in 2002. It is recommended reading for those who are interested in Big Bear history.