cary@californiaweekend.com.
Best regards
Cary Ordway
http://www.californiaweekend.com
Lake Arrowhead -- fun for movie stars and families
It's not hard to see why Lake Arrowhead has always been
popular with the movie stars ? it's close to Los Angeles,
yet light years away in attitude. The people with money are
here, all right, but there is also an element of small-town
America, complete with families and, yes, even family
values.
We were walking the waterfront trail in front of the Lake
Arrowhead Resort and ran into one of the town fathers ? a
guy whose job it was to walk some 20 miles around the lake,
checking to make sure the trails were not only passable,
but pristine as any semi-exclusive enclave ought to be. He
talked about the movie stars who live in Arrowhead as
everyday, good people. He talked about his daughter winning
the national water-ski championship, and how water-skiing
was followed just as closely here as football or basketball
might be followed in the Heartland.
Well, okay, Lake Arrowhead is not exactly Des Moines, Iowa.
But it does have a small-town feel ? in a Southern
California kind of way.
We went to Lake Arrowhead to spend a weekend at the newly
renovated Lake Arrowhead Resort, the biggest and
best-located resort in the area that has just taken a
quantum leap in its overall appeal to getaway travelers.
Prior to the recent renovation, the resort was getting a
little tired and starting to show its age. But it's amazing
the things you can do with $17 million -- the resort's
undergone a total transformation.
All of the 173 guest rooms were re-done, along with the
restaurant, bar and spa. New swiveling plasma TV's, walk-in
showers and just an overall sense of luxury and class are
evident in the guest rooms. Some of the rooms have gorgeous
views of the lake; others look out on the alpine forests.
The new restaurant, BIN189, also is at least a notch or two
better than its predecessor, partially due to the efforts
of Stewart Redhead, the new executive chef who was trained
in New Orleans before serving in the same city as Executive
Chef of the W Hotel.
It's no wonder that June Lockhart makes the Lake Arrowhead
Resort her home when she visits her childhood haunt of Lake
Arrowhead. Her friend Peter Henry is General Manager at the
resort, the latest in a series of upscale lodgings where he
has presided.
Aside from the obvious charms that come with a mountain
lake plopped in the middle of a scenic forest, Lake
Arrowhead has a fun business district called the Lake
Arrowhead Village. Not your typical shopping center, the
village somehow combines high-end boutiques with tourist
shops and carnival rides to appeal to just about any type
of person who may visit. It's a five-minute walk from Lake
Arrowhead Resort to the village, where you can also find
several different eateries and, in the warmer months,
listen to live music in a fairly elaborate concert area.
While we were there, the Rockit Scientists kept the crowd
rocking as they swigged micro-brews just footsteps from the
dance floor.
To get an even better view of the lake, visitors can board
the Arrowhead Queen, a Louisiana-style paddle-wheeler that
takes guests on a 50-minute tour of the lake. On a busy
summer day, you'll see lots of small boats, many of them
towing water skiers. And, it's fun to look at the expensive
waterfront homes and imagine what it would be like to have
a lake in your backyard.
There also are plenty of hiking trails in the Lake
Arrowhead area ? trips of various lengths and degrees of
difficulty. The lake is at 5,100 feet elevation and is
nestled in a forest of pine, cedar and dogwood that give
way occasionally to excellent views of the San Bernardino
Mountains. A very easy trail to start with is at the Heap's
Peak Arboretum, easily accessed on Highway 18. This
half-mile interpretive trail identifies some of the 2,000
species of flora and nearly 400 species of fauna found in
these picturesque mountains. You'll enjoy views that offer
a reminder of why the Lake Arrowhead area has been chosen
as a backdrop for so many motion pictures. There also is a
special kids trail that shows what various animal paw
prints look like.
Of course there are still more trails just a few miles
further into the mountains where the Big Bear Lake resort
community offers many recreational activities of its own.
There are dozens of lodging facilities in the area as well
? many more than Lake Arrowhead ? creating a different
atmosphere and experience altogether. Big Bear has more
activities and lodgings; Arrowhead is quieter, more
residential and quite a bit easier to reach from Los
Angeles.
While looking through the local magazines, we noticed an ad
for a place called Wildhaven, a ranch devoted to the
rehabilitation of sick or injured animals. It's not the
kind of place you can just drop in, pay your admission and
see the animals. You have to call ahead of time and find
out when they are scheduling their presentations and tours
? which usually is on weekends.
Wildhaven is well worth this little bit of extra hassle.
Located just three miles from the Lake Arrowhead Resort,
the drive takes you into some "backwoods" residential
areas, then through the forests and up some hills until you
come to an area that was devastated by fire in October
2003. It's here on a hillside that Wildhaven directors
Roger and Diane Williams saw their facility greatly damaged
by the fire and have since rebuilt the 30-acre compound to
house a variety of animals indigenous to the San Bernardino
Mountains.
The Williams offer a complete presentation in a small
theater where they bring out various small creatures and
explain where they came from and how they are progressing
in their rehabilitation. Most interesting are the personal
details that Diane provides about how, as a little girl
growing up in a troubled home, she found that animals
helped give her solace and a reason for living. She knew
then that caring for animals would be her life-long work.
Many of the animals at Wildhaven will not be able to
re-enter the wild because they may have limited physical
ability ? such as a bird's inability to fly ? or because
they have become too domesticated. During one
demonstration, the resident mule deer was eating out of the
trainer's hand and showing no fear of the group of human
onlookers. As Roger explained, "he wouldn't last an hour
during hunting season."
Owls, raccoons, bobcats, coyotes, eagles ? there were
plenty of species to observe during our visit. Especially
entertaining were the two black bears doing their tricks
and playing in their bathtubs while visitors watched from
just a few feet away outside their cage. All and all, this
proved to be an ideal family activity that was both fun and
informative.
Wildhaven is just another reason why you might consider
Lake Arrowhead for your next family vacation. There is
plenty of luxury and ambiance for the adults, but it's also
a chance to visit the Great Outdoors ? and teach your kids
a little bit about how it all got there.
AT A GLANCE
WHERE: Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear are located about two
hours east of Los Angeles and reached by driving a scenic,
albeit curvy, highway northeast out of San Bernardino.
WHAT: Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear share the same woodsy
feel and plunging winter temperatures. Arrowhead is
smaller, a bit quaint and is a quiet romantic getaway. Big
Bear offers a larger city, but many more choices for dining
and lodging. Both offer a variety of shops and boutiques.
WHEN: Year-round. The shoulder seasons are less crowded,
but both summer and winter are popular because of the
area's many outdoor activities.
WHY: A complete contrast from the Southern California
climate and lifestyle, yet just an hour or so from balmy
places like Palm Springs.
HOW: For more information on Lake Arrowhead, contact the
Lake Arrowhead Chamber of Commerce at 909-337-3715 or visit
www.lakearrowhead.net. For more information on the Lake
Arrowhead Resort, phone 800-800-6792 or visit
www.laresort.com. For more information on Wildhaven, phone
909-337-1391 or visit www.wildhaven.org.
----------------------------------------------------
Cary Ordway is a syndicated travel writer and president of
Getaway Media Corp, which publishes websites focused on
regional getaway travel. Among the sites currently offered
by GMC are http://www.californiaweekend.com , and
http://www.northwesttraveladvisor.com .
