Cassie MacDuff has posted in the Press Enterprise about Lake Gregory. To be honest, I have never been there; it’s a sign with an arrow on it on my way up to Big Bear or down to the flatlands.
Over the past 20 years, Lake Gregory in the San Bernardino Mountains has languished in the shadows of its bigger, glitzier cousins, Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake.
Visitors bypassed the forested lake and continued to the bigger, better-tended resorts up the hill.
Motels and inns in nearby Crestline dwindled from 22 to just three.
Run by San Bernardino County Regional Parks, Lake Gregory suffered neglect.
Dredging that should have been done yearly or biannually was skipped for eight or nine. Built-up sediment clogged the shore until residents complained, “We’re losing our lake.”
The park operated at a deficit of some $700,000 a year, not including state-mandated repairs to the dam.
Thankfully, some in county government and a dedicated corps of business people saw Lake Gregory for the jewel it is: prime to be polished as a mountain gem.
As of Jan. 1, a private operator — California Parks Co. — will begin sprucing up Lake Gregory under a three-year contract with San Bernardino County.
Cal Parks will add features to attract visitors, corporate retreats, family reunions, church groups and the like.
You can read more on the Press Enterprise website HERE.