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Why are there more visitors at Big Bear Lake during a pandemic?

exco

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We have vacationed at Big Bear Lake California in Oct. for several years. We were surprised because there are more people and cars here this year in October.

The Governor of California has issued an executive order mandating masks be worn in public and anywhere that 6 ft. of separation is not possible.

Vons (the local Safeway grocery store chain) was so crowded Friday night. Fortunately, the store requires customers to wear masks.
However, we still saw several people not wearing a mask at all or wearing a mask improperly with the mask pulled down below their noses.

Most guests at the resort are not wearing masks going up and down the outdoors narrow stairs, parking lot, play ground, ...etc.
Some do not even wear masks at the indoors lounge and during check-in at the resort's front desk.
The resort has taken a complete hands-off approach regarding mask wearing. They "suggest wearing masks", but guests are not required them in either indoor or outdoor locations on the resort's property. We received aggressive or sarcastic remarks after we asked a couple people who were not wearing masks "to give us some space since they were not wearing masks".

Has your experience been similar at other timeshare resorts?
 

clifffaith

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Worldmark
We cancelled multiple Big Bear trips this year. First they weren't open, then we decided we weren't ready for two rescheduled trips, then finally when we were within days of going in September we got a "Fire Marshall prefers you'd stay away" message. I wouldn't be shy about reminding anyone in a California resort that they needed to wear or pull up their mask, giving them the benefit of the doubt that they came in from out of state. The front desk should be turning people away without help (and in fact ordering them out of the office) when they walk up maskless. Heck, I went to the shoe store this morning and they have you sign in with contact information and use hand sanitizer before you get two feet in the door (I have to confess I saw none of this until later because I walked in and made an immediate left turn to the counter to return something bought online; while I was waiting to sort things out, then I noticed the sign).
 

PigsDad

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Simple answer: more people are doing drive-to vacations this year, avoiding cruises, overseas and air travel. With Big Bear Lake being in relatively close proximity to the second largest metro area in the US, it should be no surprise to anyone that it is crowded.

Kurt
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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I have family members who have a second home near Lake Arrowhead that they also run as a rental business through AirBnB and VRBO. They have never been more busy than they have been this year. They've raised their rates twice, and now charging more than double what they were charging in 2019. And they are still filling up. Their goal had been to turn a minor profit using rentals, so that they would essentially be able to use the place for free when they wanted to get away. This year they are making a chunk of change.

It's LA and Orange County flatlanders who are doing drive-to vacations instead of flying off somewhere.
 

davidvel

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We have vacationed at Big Bear Lake California in Oct. for several years. We were surprised because there are more people and cars here this year in October.

The Governor of California has issued an executive order mandating masks be worn in public and anywhere that 6 ft. of separation is not possible.

Vons (the local Safeway grocery store chain) was so crowded Friday night. Fortunately, the store requires customers to wear masks.
However, we still saw several people not wearing a mask at all or wearing a mask improperly with the mask pulled down below their noses.

Most guests at the resort are not wearing masks going up and down the outdoors narrow stairs, parking lot, play ground, ...etc.
Some do not even wear masks at the indoors lounge and during check-in at the resort's front desk.
The resort has taken a complete hands-off approach regarding mask wearing. They "suggest wearing masks", but guests are not required them in either indoor or outdoor locations on the resort's property. We received aggressive or sarcastic remarks after we asked a couple people who were not wearing masks "to give us some space since they were not wearing masks".

Has your experience been similar at other timeshare resorts?
To answer your first question, the natives are getting restless, and Big Bear is a 90 or less mile drive for over 20 million people. As to the mask issue, this has not been our experience. What resort is this?
 

TravelTime

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Since many people are working remotely and many families are doing remote school, people are “vacationing” year round now.
 

BJRSanDiego

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.... It's LA and Orange County flatlanders who are doing drive-to vacations instead of flying off somewhere.
I had read elsewhere that the Palm Desert Marriotts were also full. Three weeks ago I stayed at Marriott Newport Coast and they were full also. On the weekends, parking was pretty tight. So like you said, people are doing a lot of "drive-to" vacations - - just like we are doing.
 

pedro47

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The kids and parents are home 24/7 together; both parties needs some space from one another. LOL It is called TIME OUT,
Plus, the family can have some fresh country air.
 
Last edited:

The Colorado Kid

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We just returned from 3 days at the Westin Riverfront in the Vail Valley here in Colorado. Even though the fall leaf colors were mostly waning the resort was 100% full. We've been going to Vail this weekend for years and this is the most crowded we can remember.
 

presley

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To your first question, like the others have said, it's a close location for millions of people. I've had to cancel so much this year and now I don't want to be indoors with people. The only places I can think to go are outdoorsy type places - Big Bear would be an option, but it's not on my personal list. Lots of other outdoor places in CA, NV and AZ are on my potential list, though. Of course, previous fires and not knowing what's all going to be open are still keeping me away from most places, even if they are outside.

To your second point, the mask thing is still interesting. Some people just don't think it does anything. I think the nose danglers probably think they are doing okay because there's been so much publicity about the virus spreading from saliva vapor. I don't think I've seen a graphic or a demonstration of how it passes via the nose. I'm assuming that's why they dangle their noses out. :shrug:
 

SmithOp

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It's LA and Orange County flatlanders who are doing drive-to vacations instead of flying off somewhere.

and maybe thats because our beach parking and hotels are packed with Nevada and Arizona plated vehicles.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 

TTSDavid

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I think it's because people are traveling a lot by car lately. Also its location allows it to be easy to visit.
 

exco

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To answer your first question, the natives are getting restless, and Big Bear is a 90 or less mile drive for over 20 million people. As to the mask issue, this has not been our experience. What resort is this?

I want to thank everyone for your replies.

We have tried staying at home since March this year because of COVID-19. We cancelled our San Diego reservation and let 4 bonus weeks expire.
We exchanged for this Big Bear week at Lagonita Lodge a year ago. We did not cancel it, thinking it is not in a big city, so it wouldn't be that crowded.
We were wrong to assume it would have less people as it has been in the past years.

We like to come here in Oct/Nov (shoulder season) to get away from the city crowd. It was also quiet after schools started again from the summer break. In addition to the mask concerns, there are so many kids running around shouting and screaming, and teenagers playing loud music for hours like they own the place. I really wish parents could educate/discipline their kids to be more considerate of other guests.

I also wonder the gray squirrels have been scared away from the loud people/music. They are very shy (not like fox squirrels in the cities).
I used to see them at the resort in Oct, but not this year. We've been here almost a week and haven't seen a single one yet.
 
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