Welcome to Green Valley Lake Cabins

Green Valley Lake is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, California.

Located only 90 minutes away from Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego Counties, in the San Bernardino Mountains, Green Valley Lake attracts visitors seeking clean air, blue skies, crystal-clear water, and the serenity and calm beauty of a quiet forested community. Our two closest neighbors are Arrowbear and Running Springs. There are hiking trails galore and plenty of opportunities for bird watching, mountain biking, horseback riding, and in the winter, cross-country skiing. The 9-acre (36,000 m2) lake is regularly stocked for fishing, plus there are boating and swimming as well.

The community is set at an elevation of 7,200 feet (2,195 m), and is the highest subdivision in the San Bernardino National Forest. There are 1,100 properties in the community and 800 full-time residents (according to post office records). Properties in the community tend to be smaller, and much less expensive than the surrounding areas, because there is little employment in the local area.

The lake was artificially created in 1926 with the construction of the Green Valley Dam and makes the lake approximately 9 acres (36,000 m2) in size. The lake is not connected to any stream or river and is only fed by rain and snow. Fish are regularly stocked from May - August and freezes over the winter.

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Green Valley Lake Attractions and Activities

The "Hidden Gem" of the San Bernardino Mountains, Green Valley Lake is, at 7200 feet, a higher resort community than either Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear. This "best kept secret on the mountain" is secluded (nearly four miles away from State Highway 18), and surrounded by National Forest. For all these reasons it has remained small, picturesque, and uncrowded.

Green Valley Lake has something going on all the time. For a little town, its really busy. The town boasts of a pretty little lake that is stocked often with plentiful fish, and a small beach for swimming. A supervised beach and swimming area are operated all summer and paddle boats and row boats are available for rent. You have abundant opportunities for hiking, rock climbing, camping, mountain biking, fishing, winter sports, restaurants, artisan tour and music jams.

Explore some of the most spectacular trails anywhere in Green Valley Lake. The clear, clean Green Valley Lake is stocked regularly with trout. A nominal lake use fee for fishermen is charged and a state fishing license is required for persons 16 or older. There are many different water crafts available for rent as well. Try the canoes, kayaks, pedal boats, or paddle boats to explore the quaint shoreline. A leisurely trip in our row boats provides the opportunity to troll for fish, or to just enjoy a nice, relaxing row on the lake. We also have facilities to satisfy an all-day picnic on our beach such as barbecues, volleyball courts, basketball courts, and an assortment of playground equipment.

In the winter, enjoy the quiet coziness of the cabins as the snow falls, Cross Country Ski at Green Valley Nordic or hit the local slopes of Green Valley Lake Winter Sports Park or nearby Snow Valley.

Some major attractions in Green Valley Lake are:

Holcomb Valley (Big Bear City, CA) (1.6 miles from Green Valley Lake): William (Billy) Francis Holcomb discovered Holcomb Valley in 1860 while hunting a grizzly bear. Billy Holcomb and his friend Jack Martin arrived in Bear Valley (Now Big Bear Valley) in 1859.

Lola Montez House.

Shelter Cove (6.2 miles from Green Valley Lake): Where the gently sloping land touches the great Pacific Ocean, surrounded by the magnificent King Mountain Range.

Deep Creek Hot Springs (Apple Valley, CA) (9.5 miles from Green Valley Lake): Deep Creek Hot Springs may be heaven on earth. The soothing water, the bronzed bodies frolicking in the adjacent swimming hole, and the sheer beauty of the location combine to create a place unlike any other on Earth. This hot spring is typical of other "natural" or undeveloped hot springs in that the bathers are typically naked, overweight elderly people with a healthy dose of hippies thrown in for good measure, and are mostly men. The difference is what was described above. They're fairly extensive with 6-7 pools to choose from depending on the creek level, as a few of the pools can get washed out in the spring floods.

Stoddard-Waite Monument (Verdemont, CA) (9.0 miles from Green Valley Lake): This monument marks the western extension of the Santa Fe Trail traveled by Sheldon Stoddard and Sydney P. Waite in 1849.

Old Bear Valley Dam (Big Bear Lake, CA) (9.6 miles from Green Valley Lake): The first Bear Valley Dam was constructed in 1884 at a cost of $75,000. It was built to create a reservoir for downstream irrigation uses in Redlands.