STAKE YOUR CLAIM
. . .to your share of FUN at this year’s
OLD MINERS’ DAYS !

Big Bear Valley has a rich history of logging, ranching, and mining that has made the mountain Valley a historical treasure for California. With its numerous abandoned mines, ghost towns, romantic and notorious legends, heroes and villains, Big Bear takes to heart its past by celebrating it every summer through Old Miners’ Days. Events begin May 26th and run through September. These events strive to bring history alive as residents and visitors take part in time honored and sometimes comical Big Bear Valley traditions and antics.

2013 Events

• May 25 –  Brent Payne Concert
• May 26 - Miss Clementine Scholarship Pageant,
• June 15 – Big Bear Heritage Parade
• July 12 – Calcutta Dinner
• July 12 – 14 – Bluegrass Festival
• July 13 – Chili Cookoff, Chuck Wagon Dinner
• July 13 – Outhouse Races
• July 20 – History Chataqua
• July 20 – Horseshoe Contest
• July 28 – Doo Dah Parade
• November – Spaghetti Western

Brief History

ESTABLISHED August 4, 1949

It all started about 150 years ago, when, “There’s gold in them thar Hills!” was the cry that sparked thousands to leave their homes, jobs, and sometimes even their families and race across an untamed continent in hopes of striking it rich in the California gold fields. And nowhere did that clamorous hue ring more true then right here in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Once large amounts of the priceless substance began being unearthed, news of the rich find spread across the land like a windblown prairie fire. Soon, thousands of gold-hungry prospectors were fighting their way into the San Bernardinos.

William Holcomb, a youngster who walked to the West from his home in Indiana, discovered a small valley full of gold just to the north of the present Big Bear Valley. Soon nearly 1300 miners were hard at work, and some took as much as $1 from every bucket of dirt. The Valley was named for its discoverer. Read more about Old Miners Days.