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History · Bear Valley

Half of Bear Valley’s homes were built after 1976

Most of Bear Valley was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Shayan (USA) from San Jose, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0

What stands out about Bear Valley’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Bear Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Bear Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Bear Valley’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Bear Valley, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Bear Valley yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Bear Valley is a census-designated place in Alpine County, California, United States, best known as the location of the Bear Valley ski area. The population was 128 at the 2020 census, up from 121 at the 2010 census.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 121 to 128 (+6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Bear Valley, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Salt Springs Reservoir, California2015Salt Springs Reservoir, CaliforniaBear Lake2008Bear LakeBear Valley lodge 20072007Bear Valley lodge 2007Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway - Mountain Peaks of2004Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway - Mountain Peaks of
On the map

Bear Valley on the map, 1956 to 2001

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Bear Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Bear Valley on the 1956 USGS mapBear Valley on the 1979 USGS mapBear Valley on the 2001 USGS map1956Big Meadow sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bear Valley.

People over time

Bear Valley, census by census

010020002020Peak: 133

Between 121 and 133 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Bear Valley’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Bear Valley’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.