Big Bear Valley
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Big Bear Lake is a city in San Bernardino County, California along the south shore of Big Bear Lake, just 25 miles north east of the city of San Bernardino. The population was 5,438 at the 2000 census. Surrounded by the San Bernardino National Forest, Big Bear Lake, is a year-around resort destination for Southern California.
There were 2,343 households out of which 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.3% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 107.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,447, and the median income for a family was $41,848. Males had a median income of $36,316 versus $21,404 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,517. About 11.1% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.9% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Attractions and Activities
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 activity 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 skiing and snowboarding destination for Southern California. There are two major ski resorts: Snow Summit and Bear Mountain.