Lake Arrowhead
Lake Arrowhead, California is situated in the San Bernardino Mountains of Southern California. It is a four seasons resort and has mild winters, which make living here a true gift. Take a step back in to time with any of our mountain communities. Friendly faces and friendly hello's is what you will encounter.
Population ~ Nearly 13,000
Full time residents ~ 53%
School District is Rim Unified School District
Lake Arrowhead is a private lake for the use by Lake Arrowhead property owners only. It is governed by the Arrowhead Lake Association.
There are two private beach clubs on the lake to enjoy for swimming. The lake is 14 miles of shore line. Ski boats, sail boats, kayaks, and canoes are some of the fun things to enjoy on the lake.
The Lake Arrowhead Village is the hub of our little town. Factory outlet stores, restuarants, local merchants, banking and grocery store are all located in the Lake Arrowhead Village. The one great thing about having everything located in the Village is that you can do absolutely all of your shopping in one trip.
The History of Lake Arrowhead is an interesting one. Originally it was used by native Americans as a good place to escape the heat and collect food and water. Later this area was used by lumberjacks for the wild expansion that was occurring in California.
In 1891, 3 businessmen from Ohio wanted to build a lake in the Little Bear Valley to supply water to the San Bernardino Valley. After the purchase they obtained water rights and formed the Arrowhead Reservoir Company. In 1893 they began building the dam. The water project would include 60 miles of tunnels to carry the water. This proved to be a difficult task. Bringing equipment up the mountain was a tough job. They ended up using two narrow gauge locomotives to build the dam.
The reservoir slowly began to fill up with water and make it's way down to the creeks and little canyons around the valley. By 1905 the Arrowhead Reservoir Company decided that the lake should be used for power as well.
Do to the lack of water heading down to the farm land below the valley farmers sued the company. They stated that they depended on the water. They won their case. In 1912, the State passed laws preventing the company from selling the water, except for domestic use, or using it to make electricity. The reservoir project was scraped by the company.
On goes history... in 1920, a group from Los Angeles, the Arrowhead Lake Company, bought the lake and surrounding land. They name the lake, Lake Arrowhead. This was a great direction for the future of Lake Arrowhead. They improved the roads, built hotels, a golf course, and the Village, also in that mix was a theater. The remainder of the land was subdivided for homes and the area was ready for growth.
In 1946 the lake and surrounding land was sold to the Los Angeles Turf Club. They donated large tracts of land to a variety of churches and organizations; including giving the North Shore Tavern to the University of California, and land and money to the Sisters of St. Joseph for building a hospital. The remaining land became what is now known as ~Arrowhead Woods~.
Once again change came to Lake Arrowhead. In 1960 the lake was sold to the Lake Arrowhead Development Company, which later became part of the Boise Cascade Company. More subdivisions and improvements were done and the golf course was renovated and enlarged to 18 holes.
A new dam was constructed in 1974 to pass the new California laws requiring Earthquake safety on dam construction. The elevation of the lake is 5104.6.
The lake was purchased in 1974 by the property owners of Arrowhead Woods and established the Arrowhead Lake Association from the Boise Cascade company. The lake was now the ownership of the property owners of Arrowhead Woods.
