Are there any OWS options available in Big Bear Lake?
TIA
Since I’m probably the closest st member to bb I feel obligated to chime in. I dont know, but its a large lake and large portions are empty. I personally would have no issue just jumping in and swimming on the fawnskin side.
Swim Beach is $5 and has an area for lap swimming…right next to all the kids playing on the slide thingy. This is your best legal option.
In the rest of the lake you are not allowed to swim more than 50 ft from shore. The issue with that is 50 ft from shore tends to have a ton of weeds and lots of docks. Out past the weeds the swimming is great but they’ll get you. I’ve been “pulled over” by lake patrol while swimming quite a few times. They don’t like it.
Mallard Lagoon is a decent spot to get in some mileage without actually getting out into the main body of the lake and will give you less of a chance of being stopped.
What he said. BBL is great for swimming…until it actually gets warm enough to swim in sans wetsuit and then it is weeds city. Week days in the early am you can usually swim wherever you want with little grief (esp if you are swimming with a friend and both have dayglo caps on) but weekends are a nono. Fawnskin side, esp from the rv campgrounds, is a better bet (and safer too). A community pool has been on the drawing board for years but no idea if it will ever materialize. Go ride your bike instead–onyx summit down to barton flats and back is a great ride. If you want to suffer go down the backside (18) and then flip it at the gas station and climb back up…but you better have a 34-25 at least.