Built twice — the 1884 dam wasn't big enough.
Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the San Bernardino Mountains, first dammed in 1884 to irrigate Redlands' citrus groves and rebuilt bigger in 1912 — a walkable Village on Pine Knot Avenue anchors the lake's dining, coffee, and marina base.
Big Bear Lake sits in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, created when a 53-foot granite arch dam went up in 1884 to irrigate the citrus groves of Redlands below — that dam proved too small, and a 72-foot multiple-arch replacement built in 1912 more than doubled the lake's capacity to 73,000 acre-feet. The Village, centered on Pine Knot Avenue, is the lake's walkable downtown: The Copper Q covers coffee, Grizzly Manor Cafe and Teddy Bear Restaurant (a staple since 1944) cover the classic breakfast-and-diner scene, and Pine Knot Marina runs the Miss Liberty paddlewheel boat's narrated history tour alongside Big Bear Marina and Captain John's Fawn Harbor & Marina. Big Bear Lake itself covers the grocery run and the hospital.
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