Big Bear Lake Facts
Length: 8 miles
Width: 1 mile
Shoreline: 23 miles
Elevation: 6740 feet (approx.) 
Creation date: Manmade lake created from dam built in 1884
Size: 73,000 acre feet - world's largest man-made lake in 1912 when Eastwood Dam was built
Management: Big Bear Municipal Water District

1915 Rim of the World Highway to Big Bear Valley at Grout Bay completed
1924 California 38 to Fawnskin, Big Bear City - 18 to Big Bear Lake constructed over the dam (seen in photo above with 2 white cars on road)

Today the Big Bear Municipal Water District, an independent special district of the State of California, is responsible for the overall management of Big Bear Lake, Southern California's premier recreational Lake. Big Bear did not always enjoy the recreational lake that exists today, however. The lake was initially built to provide water for the thirsty, growing population down the mountain in San Bernardino County. Water sources in a desert region were needed especially for huge orange groves that were the primary agricultural crop of the region during the early 1900s.

 Built to create a reservoir for downstream irrigation uses in Redlands, the first Bear Valley Dam was constructed in 1884 at a cost of $75,000. It was the largest man-made body of water in the world at the time. Engineers claimed that the single arch granite dam would not hold but later reversed their proclamations, calling it "The Eighth Wonder of the World". With a storage capacity of 25,000 acre feet, the first effort was considered an initial success and impetus for another dam that could hold even more water.

After one failed attempt to finance and build a larger dam, Bear Valley Mutual Water Company stepped in, hiring an engineer and successfully building an arch dam 100 yards downstream from the Old Bear Valley Dam. In 1912 the larger structure opened, costing $138,000 to build and now lasting nearly 100 years. Its construction nearly tripled the storage of the reservoir to 73,000 acre feet, creating the world's largest man-made lake.

In 1924, a highway bridge was constructed over the top of the buttresses. This road is now part of State Route 18. Spillway improvements and repairs, seismic retrofit and other improvements have been made to the dam and roads throughout the years.