Big Bear Lake, California

Big Bear Lake is a city in San Bernardino County, California, in the United States, set in the San Bernardino Mountains on the south shore of the lake of the same name and surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest. It lies about 25 miles northeast of the city of San Bernardino and immediately west of the unincorporated town of Big Bear City. The 2020 census counted about 5,046 residents, but as a year-round resort destination the number of people staying in the wider Big Bear Valley can surge past 100,000 on busy weekends. The Serrano people lived here for more than 2,000 years before the area was explored, and the valley grew quickly during the Southern California gold rush. Resorts such as the Pan Hot Springs Hotel, built in 1921, drew vacationers, and filmmakers have shot on location here since the silent era. The city was incorporated on November 28, 1980, and is the highest and coldest incorporated city in southern California.