I go to nature to be soothed and healed, 
and to have my senses put in order.
~ John Burroughs

With your eyes, drink in that blue expanse of water with its pine-rimmed shoreline, high above the madding crowd, and just below the great mass of Mount San Gorgonio. 

Once more, breathe in that fresh mountain air. Draw in the fragrance of the vanilla-scented pine. Caress the shaggy bark of the Juniper Pine; finger its intricate pattern. Hear the wind.  Listen to Nature's whispers.

Take in this panorama of serene and beautiful Big Bear Lake.

To think it was once an alpine meadow, once the bucolic home to deer, mountain lions, beavers and bears. The thirsty citrus orchards in Redlands prompted the building of the first dam in 1883-85 and the second in 1911-12, in order to reservoir the water to be released during dry periods.

>> Brian Adams: Big Bear gets a lake and a dam

Yes, our lake is man-made. And beautiful.

>> BB Chamber: Yesterday: Big Bear History Tour
>> BB Chamber: Today: Big Bear Photo Album
>> BB Resort Association: Big Bear History

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I  Big Bear Lake