When I was a kid, my dad had a boat. I would climb to the tippy top of the bow, letting the wind pull my hair, savoring the joys of flying on the water. Those moments are seriously some of my best childhood memories. So, while Daddy D and I don’t own any water toys of our own, we do make it a point to get on the water one way or another during our vacations. During our family travels to Big Bear this summer for 4th of July, it was with a sunset cruise filled with stunning view that got us on the water. But learning about the history of this area from a passionate and knowledgeable local was probably my favorite part of the experience.
Have you tried Big Bear in the summer? Here is one of the gems we loved most about our trip…
Big Bear Sunset Cruise
We took the Big Bear Queen Sunset Cruise on our first night in town and it was exceptional for a few reasons. First, you really can’t beat watching the sunset from aboard a boat. Well, except maybe on a plane or helicpoter, but that’s a whole other topic…. the views of the sunset from this pretty vessel were exceptional. The sun set behind a range of mountains, casting gorgeous hues towards the lake.
The Big Bear Queen was built in 1973, replacing the Old Sierra, the original boat tour of the 1930’s. The original hull design has been taking passengers in Big Bear Lake for tours since 1965 and is the longest running tour for the lake. But the real gem is the captain of Big Bear Queen, Captain Chris. He’s been the owner and captain of the boat since 1989, taking over the helm from his father who was the owner and captain for decades prior.
Captain Chris was not only kind with the kids, he was generous with knowledge and love of Big Bear. I love to soak up the nuances of an area by way of an impassioned local, and Captian Chris knew about all the treasure of the area.
Big Bear Lake: Family Travel Adventure
I was fascinated to learn that, while million dollar lakeside homes littered the coastline, there was a large area that was protected as National forest land and, thus, had only small structures that had been grandfathered in almost a century ago. The owners of these homes were leased the land and only allowed to upkeep the property; they could not remodel in any way. So what you have is a coastline of modern mansions alongside modest summer homes. I though that was SO cool!
We also learned about Big Bear’s Solar Observatory (pictured above), which creates images of the sun and sun flares. So so cool! I can’t remember the exact number of solar observatories there are in the world, but Captain Chris said that it was a big deal to have one in Big Bear. The clear, sunny skies make it an excellent place to study the sun.
If you’re in the Big Bear area and looking to spend some time on the water (and are without fun boats or other toys), definitely check out Big Bear Queen sunset cruise for 90 minutes of stunning views and informative bits of history.
*This post isn’t sponsored, nor was any of our trip to Big Bear comped. We just had a great time and I thought I’d share the goodness with my favorite people on the internet!
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