Whether you believe in ghosts or not, Halloween brings out the paranormal curiosity in just about everyone. So if you’ve been wondering if there are any spooky goings-on here in Crestline and the neighboring mountain areas, we have the perfect website for you.
Ghosts of America has a page specifically dealing with ghost and poltergeist sightings in Crestline and the San Bernardino Mountains. Unfortunately they don’t cite any actual facts to back up their claims, or even exact locations for most of the sightings, but it makes for a fun Halloween read nonetheless.
Have you ever spotted any of the listed apparitions…or perhaps one they don’t even know about? Tell us your favorite Crestline ghost story in the comments.
Most people who visit Crestline do so from the ground, driving the winding mountain roads. But what if you could enjoy our beautiful scenery from the air?
That’s the idea behind the Crestline Soaring Society (CSS), a licensed non-profit organization that operates here in the San Bernardino Mountains.
The CSS is a chapter of the United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association that maintains launch sites in the area, along with a a landing zone, Andy Jackson Airpark. Recent group projects included rebuilding the stairs leading up to the Crestline launch area, and the CSS also hosts several events a year such as the upcoming Andy Jackson Memorial Fly-In on September 6th, 2008.
Fees start at $10 a day for non-members, and annual memberships in the CSS start at $100, which include unlimited use of facilities and are tax-deductable. The group’s website also lists several members who are licensed instructors, if you’ve never taken to the air in this way before, as well as a weather cam, current wind information and maps of the launch sites.
Want some incentive to give it a try? How about this cool YouTube video we found:
Have you hang glided or paraglided in the Crestline area? Let us know what you thought of it.
We’ve just added a 24/7 insta-widget for you to check on the weather in Crestline! You can look to the widget in the upper left corner of this website (on every page), or go directly to the expanded Crestline weather forecast at Wunderground.
CrestlineLiving is accepting banner ad requests from local mountain businesses. I am especially interested in ads for places locals and travelers will find helpful - shops and services that will add a friendly, local and USEFUL presence on this site.
Every summer’s Friday - from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends - you can find a fresh fruit and veggie extravaganza at Lake Arrowhead Village. The Farmer’s Market coincides with the free Lake Arrowhead Concert Series.
From 5pm to 8pm you can find lots of the fresh stuff:
fresh fruit and vegetables
fresh bread
fresh flowers
specialized foods (things like spiced nuts, jams and sweets)
fresh fun - balloon twisting, amusement rides, children’s entertainment
Considering a move to our mountain paradise? You’ll need to walk in with your eyes wide open - our lifestyle is not the modern, fast-paced, urban society one associates with the rest of southern California. In other words, it’s not for everyone.
Read this Top Ten list and see if these good and bad points agree with your lifestyle:
We live above the smog. This is a huge plus! And you can see it every day when you look down the drop-off towards the valley: the thick grey/brown smog most southern California residents forget they live in.
All cars are required to carry snow chains in the winter. They don’t have to be ON your tires, but you at least have to have them in your car. Police will do checks on snowy days to make sure you have chains and will send you back down the hill if you do not.
You really do need a 4 wheel drive car to live up here - our winters are no joke - the roads are steep, narrow, and covered with ice & snow for many days during the season. You will also need a strong back for frequent shoveling of your driveway, or else, like a lot of folks, pony up for a snowblower.
At least you really don’t need air conditioning for the summertime. While we do get a few hotter days, we can get by nicely with fans. Unlike in the valley below, where not having air conditioning is an actual health concern.
There’s no actual home mail delivery. You have to get your mail from the local post office. Crestline residents get a free PO Box. You can check your box at any time, but for packages you need to come in during the post office’s posted hours. Packages sent Fed Ex and UPS can be sent to most home addresses, however. Unless you live on an access road like I do!
It’s an easy commute to San Bernardino. It takes only 15 minutes to drive from “Top Town” in Crestline to the bottom of the hill down Highway 18. 50% of Crestline residents do commute down the hill, every day.
Shopping is limited. We don’t have a Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Costco or even a decent movie theater. Blue Jay has a Rite Aid and Arrowhead has a Stater Brothers, and that’s about it for the big chains.
Crestline is a bowl. The lake and downtown are at the bottom of the bowl, occupying the only flat space. The rest of Crestline, Cedar Pines Park and most of the Valley of Enchantment lie on very steep lands. Houses here are built into hillsides. Huge back decks take the place of yards for most of us. Flat entryways are considered very desirable, whereby the main floor is upstairs and bedrooms lie below. Actual car parking is at a premium, with many homes sporting dangerously steep driveways or no driveways at all.
We DO have a good, close-in hospital in Lake Arrowhead.
This is a phenomenally beautiful place to live, with clean air, pine trees, blue lakes, great views in every direction, tons of sunshine, wildlife right off our decks, cool summer breezes, good schools, pretty parks and nice people.
For the right kind of person, Crestline is paradise. Thus, this article on what to expect if you’re considering a move up here becomes important.
Runner’s Up Point on Info to Know:
Fire danger is a huge concern here. Houses burn down to the ground here on a regular basis (ie - a big fire occurs a few times in every decade). You might be forced to evacuate at any time during the fire season. While this is a crucial thing to know about mountain living, this fire danger is actually just as high ANYWHERE in southern California. We don’t have it worse than, say, people living in San Diego or Santa Monica. Most people think “earthquakes” when they think of California, not realizing that fires are a much greater worry for us all. Being prepared is a way of life here.
Living in Crestline, we get a variety of wild animals living in and among our dailyness.
RACCOONS
Last night we had a huge raccoon climbing around our back porch - I assume attracted by our large bowls of water and dry dog food. It had no fear of me. I gave it a respectfully wide berth myself. Raccoons can be very vicious - never approach or feed one. They will fight and hurt a dog if attacked. Still, these are neat animals to watch.
COYOTES
We’ve had coyotes cross our front yard and even come up onto our front steps to look at our small dogs inside the house. Most locals with small dogs do worry about the coyotes. While our coyotes tend to be on the small and scrawny side, they WILL and DO grab small dogs like puppies, chihuahuas, maltese, yorkies and the like. We ourselves have a very fluffy pomeranian that we are not sure a coyote would go for - the hair makes her look bigger than she is. A coyote did manage to corner her on our front stoop one afternoon when she had escaped from our yard. The coyote was definitely considering her as possible prey.
I would suggest a small to small-medium dog should never be allowed to roam free up here, just in case. Medium to large dogs should be safe from coyotes unless they like to fight. Our large standard poodle has come home twice with bite marks from who knows what and we no longer let him out alone.
We also try to keep our garbage cans well sealed - hungry coyotes know to tip over garbage and recycling cans to get at the goodies inside. Many winter mornings people awake in Crestline to discover their half-chewed garbage strewn across their driveways. We keep a bungie cord placed over the tops of our cans for this reason.
SQUIRRELS
A lot of people living here enjoy the mountain squirrels. Some people even put out food for them. I have heard people mention their local squirrels are comfortable enough - brazen enough even - to tap on the windows of the houses where people feed them, showing off like the little beggars they are.
Those who choose to feed squirrels need to be cautious - no matter how cutely they appeal to you for treats, keep your hands away from the creatures. Squirrels are wild things that can carry rabies and will bite if you stick your fingers in their face. That said, you can certainly capture adorable photos of these charming critters if you’re inclined to befriend them.
BATS
As the sun sets, the bats come out. Our bats are the size of small birds, are shy of people, and provide a valuable service to the community by eating literally millions of insects each night. I love seeing these fascinating mammals swoop over and under my back deck every dusk. They take over from the dayshift ’s insect-eating swifts and swallows, in a sense. Bats are delightful creatures and not to be feared - hanging a bat nesting box on your property will provide you with free insect control all year long and make for cool evening viewing.
BIRDS
Bird watchers find Crestline a great place for birding! We get a lot of raptors soaring over Lake Gregory and down below the Rim of the World highway. While a lot of the usual suspects hang around people’s homes and feeders - crows, Stellar’s jays, scrub jays and robins, we also see mountain bluebirds, Cassin’s finch, Gamble’s quail, western tanagers and at least three kinds of woodpeckers. Lake Gregory has a large population of ducks and sea gulls. Our winters see a healthy population of Bald Eagles perching on tall pines overlooking the several lakes in the area.
SKUNKS
Skunks also deserve our respect - no one wants to get sprayed. Keep your dogs leashed or in your house if this is a concern, also remembering that skunks can carry rabies. That said, it sure is cute to see little skunk families rambling around. If a family moves under your deck, don’t attempt to remove them yourself, however! Call animal control.
LESSER SEEN BUT STILL AROUND
We also have mule deer, bobcats and grey foxes.Black bears, cougars and bighorn sheep can be found roaming in some areas but tend to avoid the towns.
Crestline doesn’t have much in the way of hotels, unlike Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead. There’s really just the two motels, a campground near the lake, and a large assortment of rental cabins. I’ve done an interview with the owner of one lovely cabin (see Valle View link below).
Here are the places to stay in Crestline itself -
North Shore Inn - 909-338-2718 (I did stay here a few years back - nice rooms, lake views, dogs are okay in some rooms)
Sleepy Hollow Cabins - 909-338-5230 (motel plus individual cute little cabins to rent)
Switzerland Camp - 909-338-9002 (campground - north shore of Lake Gregory, in the trees)
Valle View Cabin - 909-518-2554 (I’ve also stayed here - it’s an ideal private rental…then number is the owner’s personal cell phone; leave a message)
My Los Angeles friend Bonnie wrote an article on the recent 5.4 magnitude earthquake (11:42 AM, July 29, 2008 - government info here) felt here in the mountains. I was in San Diego at the time and the there house shook, the windows rattled, etc. I have friends all over southern CA who were Twittering about feeling the quake. Facebook friends were discussing the quake. Although it wasn’t a large event and no one was hurt as far as I heard, there is still no excuse to not have an emergency earthquake plan.
While Bonnie’s article discusses plans for untimely deaths (funeral, cremation, transfer of death accounts), I got to thinking about earthquake preparedness.
We have a huge fire danger here, just as all of southern California. Most of us have fire evacuation plans but an earthquake plan is almost entirely different.
There are no evacuations for earthquakes - mainly you hold on and hang out. Here are some bare bones basics to get you started:
During the earthquake - get under an archway, desk or staircase if there’s time and wait it out. Then wait a bit longer: there might be aftershocks.
Have some water set aside in case of water line disruption. Fill used milk gallon jugs with fresh tap water in which you’ve added a capful of plain bleach. Duct tape the top shut and stack water jugs in a closet, in your build-up or utility room. Plan for enough water to last for three days. That’s three gallons per person per day.
Make an emergency kit - flashlights, batteries, camp stove (with pots and fuel), can opener, crank powered flashlights, lanterns with lantern non-smoking fuel (they carry this at Ace in downtown Crestline), plenty of protein and food bars (at Goodwins in Crestline, Stater Brothers in Arrowhead and Rite Aid in Blue Jay), perhaps several freezer-quart bags of calorie-heavy trail mix stored in a cooler, a first aid kit, a lighter/matches, knife, warm clothes, emergency blankets and a hatchet. You can also keep copies of your important and irreplaceable documents in this kit (medical info, financial documents, ID, passport and credit card copies). Put everything in a water tight plastic bin that you can grab and go with in case you need to leave town.
Car readiness - keep your fuel tanks filled no matter how expensive gas gets. Keep a shovel, tow rope, jumper cables and tire chains in your car at all times. Make sure you have a decent car battery and sound brakes.
Helpful San Bernardino Area Earthquake & Emergency Preparedness Links:
Ghosts of America has a page specifically dealing with ghost and poltergeist sightings in Crestline and the San Bernardino Mountains. Unfortunately they don’t cite any actual facts to back up their claims, or even exact locations for most of the sightings, but it makes for a fun Halloween read nonetheless.
tires, but you at least have to have them in your car. Police will do checks on snowy days to make sure you have chains and will send you back down the hill if you do not.
At least you really don’t need air conditioning for the summertime. While we do get a few hotter days, we can get by nicely with fans. Unlike in the valley below, where not having air conditioning is an actual health concern.
It’s an easy commute to San Bernardino. It takes only 15 minutes to drive from “Top Town” in Crestline to the bottom of the hill down Highway 18. 50% of Crestline residents do commute down the hill, every day.
Crestline is a bowl. The lake and downtown are at the bottom of the bowl, occupying the only flat space. The rest of Crestline, Cedar Pines Park and most of the Valley of Enchantment lie on very steep lands. Houses here are built into hillsides. Huge back decks take the place of yards for most of us. Flat entryways are considered very desirable, whereby the main floor is upstairs and bedrooms lie below. Actual car parking is at a premium, with many homes sporting dangerously steep driveways or no driveways at all.
This is a phenomenally beautiful place to live, with clean air, pine trees, blue lakes, great views in every direction, tons of sunshine, 
Houses burn down to the ground here on a regular basis (ie - a big fire occurs a few times in every decade). You might be forced to evacuate at any time during the fire season. While this is a crucial thing to know about mountain living, this fire danger is actually just as high ANYWHERE in southern California. We don’t have it worse than, say, people living in San Diego or Santa Monica. Most people think “earthquakes” when they think of California, not realizing that fires are a much greater worry for us all. 
