{"id":5274,"date":"2016-07-25T14:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T21:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=5274"},"modified":"2016-07-24T13:59:27","modified_gmt":"2016-07-24T20:59:27","slug":"lake-arrowhead-or-big-bear-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/?p=5274","title":{"rendered":"Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear Lake?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/strong>by Bob Sparrow<\/p>\n

\"arrowhead<\/a>

The Arrowhead Queen<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

There are two major mountain lakes in southern California, Lake Arrowhead<\/strong> and Big Bear Lake,<\/strong>\u00a0they are both in the San Bernardino National Forest<\/strong> about 25 miles apart. They\u2019ve been sibling rivals since 1922<\/strong>, when a dam was built to form Lake Arrowhead. They are both man-made lakes, with the dam that formed Big Bear Lake constructed back in 1884<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Having grown up around Lake Tahoe<\/strong>, I have a deep appreciation for scenic mountain lakes, so have visited both of these local resorts on numerous occasions, Arrowhead<\/strong> more than Big Bear<\/strong>, primarily because it\u2019s a little closer and esthetically more appealing to me. In fact I had not been to Big Bear<\/strong> in several years, until a few weeks ago, when I \u00a0visited my daughter, Dana\u2019s mother-in-law\u2019s place to check out the \u2018new\u2019 Big Bear<\/strong>. I say \u2018new\u2019 because over the last several years, Big Bear has made a concerted effort to up-grade its redheaded stepchild image, with considerable success I might add.<\/p>\n

\"BigBearVillageWinter\"<\/a>

The Village at Big Bear Lake in Winter<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

As I explored Big Bear<\/strong>, I imagined a discussion between these two alpine lakes going something like this . . .<\/p>\n

Lake Arrowhead (LA)<\/strong>: \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see that you\u2019re finally cleaning up your act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big Bear (BB)<\/strong>: \u201cYeah, well let\u2019s see what you look like when you get to be 132 years old!\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cWhy do they even call you Big Bear anyway, there are no big bears around?\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cThere used to be lots of\u00a0Grizzlies<\/strong> here until man hunted them into extinction; and by the way, they used to call you \u2018Little<\/span> Bear Lake\u2019<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cBut I still have 14 miles of beautiful shoreline.\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cI have 22, which is why you were called Little Bear!\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cYou used to have 22 not-as-beautiful-shoreline-as-mine, but it\u2019s shrunk considerably with the drought.\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cSame shoreline, just much more beach now for a population of just over 5,000<\/strong> to enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cThat\u2019s nothing; I have a population of over 12,000<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cSo you\u2019re saying that it\u2019s more crowded there than it is here?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Celebrity-Homes1\"<\/a>

Celebrity homes on Lake Arrowhead<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cIf crowded means we\u2019ve had more star\u2019s homes here like Tom Selleck, Shirley Temple Black, Priscilla Presley, Brian Wilson, Patrick Swayze<\/strong> and Michael Jackson<\/strong>, then yes, I guess we\u2019re more crowded.\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cYeah, well we have the homes of Britney Spears<\/strong>, Mike Judge<\/strong>, who did the voices for Beavis and Butthead<\/strong>, <\/em>Michael Richards<\/strong>, Krammer<\/strong> on Seinfeld<\/em><\/strong>, the metal band, Korn<\/strong>, and\u00a0Richard Karn<\/strong>, who was the sidekick to Tim Allen<\/strong> in Home Improvement<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cSee, you have to explain who your \u2018stars\u2019 are; Michael Jackson<\/strong> needs no explanation.\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cMichael Jackson<\/strong> needs a lot of explanation, but that\u2019s besides the point. So let\u2019s stay in the show business genre, what movies have been shot there?\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201c<\/strong>The Courtship of Miles Standish, The American President<\/strong> <\/em>and Space Jam <\/em><\/strong>to name a few.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gone\"<\/a>

“Frankly Scarlet . . .<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cYeah, a few that are not very well known. Here\u2019s some of mine you might remember:\u00a0Heidi, Shane, Old Yeller <\/em><\/strong>and you may recall this one, Gone With the Wind<\/strong>. <\/em> Case closed, let\u2019s move on the skiing.\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cWe have great water skiing.\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cYou are a \u2018private<\/strong>‘ lake and many activities are restricted to residents only. I have two marinas<\/strong> where the public<\/strong> can rent pontoon boats, go fishing, rent fishing equipment, take wakeboard or waterski rides, rent kayaks and canoes and ride a pirate ship.\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cWell, the public can take a ride on my Arrowhead Queen<\/strong> and see all the spectacular celebrity homes around the lake.\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cSo what happens in the winter? How\u2019s snow skiing at your elevation of 5,174<\/strong>?\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cWell, we have Snow Valley<\/strong> fairly close by\u201d<\/p>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cBut it\u2019s actually closer to me and I’m at 6,750<\/strong> feet elevation; we also have Bear Mountain<\/strong> and Snow Summit <\/strong>at\u00a08,200<\/strong> feet elevation; so we are clearly the winter destination. Let\u2019s move on, how\u2019s your summer hiking trails?\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cThey\u2019re awesome; I have Goat Trail, Little Bear Creek, Heaps Peak, Crab Creek, Little Green Valley<\/strong> and many more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"pct\"<\/a>

View of Big Bear Lake from Pacific Crest Trail<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

BB:<\/strong> \u201cNot bad I guess, but I have Heart Rock, Vivian Creek, Castle Rock, Deep Creek Hot Springs, Big Falls, Cougar Crest<\/strong> and, oh yeah the famous Pacific Crest Trail<\/strong>, which goes from Mexico<\/strong> to Canada<\/strong>, runs right by me.\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cFine! Let\u2019s talk about golf<\/strong>; do you have anything to compare to Arrowhead Golf and Country Club<\/strong>?\u201d<\/p>\n

BB: \u201cNo, not really, I\u2019ll leave the country club set to you. I’ll admit you\u2019re prettier than I am, but your \u2018Village\u2019<\/strong> is looking fairly tired and my \u2018Village\u2019<\/strong> is buzzing with new shops, restaurants and bars; summer or winter this is the place to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

LA:<\/strong> \u201cBut you said I\u2019m still prettier right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Okay kids, enough! The fact is that neither one is a Lake Tahoe<\/strong>, but for my money, if you\u2019re an adventurer, Big Bear Lake<\/strong> is probably your best destination in the summer and for sure in the winter, but if you just want to get to the mountains to enjoy some clean air and the scenery of a beautiful mountain lake, rent a home on Lake\u00a0Arrowhead<\/strong> or stay lake-side at the luxurious Lake Arrowhead Resort & Spa\u00a0<\/strong>and take a cruise on the\u00a0Arrowhead Queen<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0by Bob Sparrow There are two major mountain lakes in southern California, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake,\u00a0they are both in the San Bernardino National Forest about 25 miles apart. They\u2019ve been sibling rivals since 1922, when a dam was … read more<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6,813],"tags":[2272,2270,2268,2267,1779,409,457,2271,2269,2266,1778,2265],"class_list":["post-5274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opinion","category-travel","tag-arrowhead-golf-and-country-club","tag-bear-mountain","tag-big-bear-lake","tag-gone-with-the-wind","tag-lake-arrowhead","tag-lake-tahoe","tag-michael-jackson","tag-pacific-crest-trail","tag-snow-summit","tag-snow-summit-ski-resort","tag-snow-valley","tag-the-arrowhead-queen"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Celebrity-Homes1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p31aN0-1n4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5274"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5292,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5274\/revisions\/5292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromabirdseyeview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}