SEASONAL RESERVE CLOSURE
Bluff Lake Reserve is closed for the 2024 season. The reserve will re-open in late spring 2025.
BLUFF LAKE RESERVE
Located at 7,600 feet, Bluff Lake Reserve has towering pines, a 20-acre lake, a meadow, and majestic outcrops of quartz monzonite. The Reserve includes Southern California’s finest intact mountain marsh and meadow complex that contains the federally threatened Bear Valley bluegrass (Poa atropurpurea), the federally endangered Big Bear checkerbloom (Sidalcea pedata) and California dandelion (Taraxacum californicum). Botanically the meadow is remarkable with 16 species of sedges (Carex), eight species of wire grass (Juncus) and 14 species of native grasses. Mature forests of lodgepole pine, Jeffrey pine, and white fir surround the meadow. You may recognize the scenery as the location of the original 1961 Disney film The Parent Trap, and the 2001 20th Century Fox movie Dr. Dolittle 2.
PLAN YOUR VISIT
RESERVE HOURS
9 am to 6 pm
Open seasonally, typically May 1 to November 1.
ADMISSION
FREE
CONTACT US
(909) 790-3698
sbmountains@wildlandsconservancy.org
GETTING HERE
Bluff Lake Road
Big Bear Lake, CA 92315
Get Directions
Access to the main parking area via FS Road 2N10 may be temporarily unavailable at any time, and without notice, for adverse weather conditions or safety precautions.
THINGS TO DO
AMENITIES
PROHIBITIONS
SAFETY
LEAVE NO TRACE
Pack it in, Pack it out.
Take any trash you make with you.
Leave What You Find.
Allow others a sense of discovery by leaving rocks, plants, archaeological artifacts and other objects of interest as you find them.
Respect Wildlife.
Learn about wildlife through quiet observation. Do not disturb wildlife or plants just for a “better look.” Observe wildlife from a distance so they are not scared or forced to flee.
Be Considerate of Others.
One of the most important components of outdoor ethics is to maintain courtesy toward other visitors. It helps everyone enjoy their outdoor experience.
Principles courtesy of Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics.
RESOURCES
CONSERVATION OUTCOMES
After acquiring this Reserve in 2000, Wildlands drained the lake to kill non-native catfish to restore the native aquatic systems that had been decimated by artificially stocked lakes in Southern California. In summer, the lake now takes on a richer shade of blue from tens of thousands of damsel flies hovering on the water. Western toads, their pollywogs uneaten by fish, are sometimes seen in masses four inches deep numbering in the thousands. Wildlands also restored the meadow, removing buildings and horse fencing. Currently, the lake and marshland are being evaluated by several state and federal conservation agencies for the release of the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog and the endangered Santa Ana River stickleback. In 2018, the Reserve’s forests of white firs, lodgepole and Jeffery pine were enrolled in the Old-Growth Forest Network.
