Green Valley Lake
Perched at roughly 6,850 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains, Green Valley Lake has long been known as the “Lake Above the Clouds.” Its story begins in the late nineteenth century as a modest mountain stop, first serving travelers through a toll station operated by Ben Pitts and later by the Tillitt family, who expanded the site with a store and gas station.
The surrounding forests were heavily logged in the early twentieth century, an era that reshaped both the land and the local economy. A turning point came in 1926, when Harry “Green Valley Mac” McMullen championed the construction of a small dam, creating the nine-acre lake that remains the heart of the community today.
Now regarded as Southern California’s highest resort town, Green Valley Lake retains a quiet, old-mountain character. Fishing, small-boat recreation, and winter snows draw visitors much as the cool air and tall pines once did, offering a living indication of how a working mountain outpost settled into a lasting place of retreat.
Mountain Lakes
Ecology
