Homes, condos and land for sale and rent in Big Bear, CA

Big Bear Lake was inhabited by the indigenous Serrano Indians for over 2,000 years before it was explored by Benjamin Wilson and his party. Once populated by only the natives and the grizzly bears, from which the area received its name, the population of the Big Bear Valley grew rapidly during the Southern California Gold Rush from 1861 to 1912. Grizzly bears were not found in the region after 1908.
Today, there are black bears in the region since their introduction in 1933, and they are sometimes sighted in residential areas.
Many people traveled to enjoy recreation on the lake, however, another major draw was the natural hot spring. Emile Jesserun bought 40 acres (16 ha) of land that included the hot spring and built the first major resort in Big Bear, the Pan Hot Springs Hotel, in 1921.
Since 1970, Big Bear Lake has held its annual Oktoberfest. The Big Bear Lake Oktoberfest also sports the highest Biergarten in the U.S. (in elevation). Big Bear Lake was incorporated as a city on November 28, 1980.
During the 1990s, the city became famous as a training spot for boxing champions. Oscar de la Hoya, Mike Tyson, Fernando Vargas, Gennady Golovkin, and Shane Mosley are among the famous boxers who have trained at Big Bear.

Big Bear Lake is located at 34°14′29″N 116°54′12″W (34.241295, −116.903289).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.5 square miles (17 km2). 6.3 square miles (16 km2) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) of it (2.88%) is water. It is located 25 miles (40 km) northeast of the city of San Bernardino, and immediately west of Big Bear City.

According to the National Weather Service, the warmest month at Big Bear is July, with a daily average temperature of 64.7 °F (18.2 °C). The coolest month is January, with a daily average temperature of 34.1 °F (1.2 °C). There are an average of 1.7 days each year with highs of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher.
Freezing temperatures have occurred in every month and occur on an average of 186 days each year, on average from September 24 to June 4. With a period of record dating back to only 1960, the highest temperature recorded was 94 °F (34 °C), last recorded on July 15, 1998, while lowest was −25 °F (−32 °C) on January 29, 1979.

The 2010 United States Census reported that Big Bear Lake had a population of 5,019. The population density was 768.1 people per square mile (296.6/km2). The racial makeup of Big Bear Lake was 4,204 (83.8%) White, (73.3% Non-Hispanic White),[11] 22 (0.4%) African American, 48 (1.0%) Native American, 78 (1.6%) Asian, 10 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 491 (9.8%) from other races, and 166 (3.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,076 persons (21.4%).

The Census reported that 4,993 people (99.5% of the population) lived in households, 5 (0.1%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 21 (0.4%) were institutionalized.
There were 2,187 households, out of which 563 (25.7%) had children under the age of 18 living in them; 1,007 (46.0%) were opposite-sex married couples living together; 195 (8.9%) had a female householder with no husband present; 119 (5.4%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 159 (7.3%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 24 (1.1%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 675 households (30.9%) were made up of individuals and 298 (13.6%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28. There were 1,321 families (60.4% of all households); the average family size was 2.83.

The population was spread out with 993 people (19.8%) under the age of 18, 417 people (8.3%) aged 18 to 24, 1,021 people (20.3%) aged 25 to 44, 1,563 people (31.1%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,025 people (20.4%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46.1 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.8 males.
There were 9,705 housing units at an average density of 1,485.3 per square mile (573.5/km2), of which 1,271 (58.1%) were owner-occupied, and 916 (41.9%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 14.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 45.2%. 2,708 people (54.0% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 2,285 people (45.5%) lived in rental housing units.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Big Bear Lake had a median household income of $32,869, with 16.9% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Big Bear Lake is Southern California’s largest recreation lake. It is about seven miles long and about one mile at its widest. The primary summer attraction in Big Bear was fishing and it still is one of the most common activities there. The most abundant types of fish are trout, bass and catfish. Hiking, mountain biking and horse riding are also very popular. San Bernardino National Forest offers many trails in varying degrees of difficulty. During winter season Big Bear Lake becomes a skiing and snowboarding destination for Southern California. There are two ski resorts: Snow Summit and Bear Mountain. The town is also home to the Big Bear Lake International Film Festival, in operation since 1999.