Big Bear Lake Level Today
The water district reads the lake gauge once a week. Its latest reading, from October 13, 2026, put Big Bear Lake 9.46 feet below full.
The gauge read 62.87 feet on October 13, 2026. Full pool is 72.33 feet on the same gauge. At this level the deepest water near the dam is roughly 63 feet instead of 72, and the shallow east end has pulled back from its full-lake shoreline.
Source: Big Bear Municipal Water District weekly lake data. We copy each new reading by hand, so between updates this page can trail the district by a week or two; the district's table is the one to trust if they differ. Last compared with the district on October 17, 2026.
Is Big Bear Lake low right now?
Low compared with the last three years, high compared with the drought years before them. A year ago the district's October figure was 63.72 feet, so the lake is 0.85 feet lower than then. In 18 of the last 50 Octobers the lake sat lower than it does now, most recently every October from 2014 through 2022.
This winter added little water. From the first reading of the year the lake rose only 0.79 feet, peaking at 65.78 feet on March 23, 2026, then fell through summer. The district puts average evaporation at about four feet of lake level a year, which is why a dry winter shows up at the shoreline by August.
2026 weekly readings
Show the readings as a table
| Date | Gauge (ft) | Below full (ft) | Elevation (ft) | Storage (acre-ft) | Surface temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-13 | 62.87 | 9.46 | 6,733.79 | 47,314 | 59.4°F |
| 2026-10-05 | 62.78 | 9.55 | 6,733.70 | 47,191 | 62.3°F |
| 2026-09-28 | 62.88 | 9.45 | 6,733.80 | 47,438 | 62.7°F |
| 2026-09-22 | 62.96 | 9.37 | 6,733.88 | 47,561 | 63.4°F |
| 2026-09-14 | 63.14 | 9.19 | 6,734.06 | 48,065 | 65.7°F |
| 2026-09-08 | 63.2 | 9.13 | 6,734.12 | 48,191 | 66.0°F |
| 2026-08-31 | 63.26 | 9.07 | 6,734.18 | 48,318 | 68.9°F |
| 2026-08-24 | 63.41 | 8.92 | 6,734.33 | 48,699 | 70.3°F |
| 2026-08-17 | 63.59 | 8.74 | 6,734.51 | 49,206 | 70.3°F |
| 2026-08-11 | 63.74 | 8.59 | 6,734.66 | 49,587 | 70.6°F |
| 2026-08-03 | 63.87 | 8.46 | 6,734.79 | 49,841 | 70.1°F |
| 2026-07-27 | 64.01 | 8.32 | 6,734.93 | 50,221 | 69.9°F |
| 2026-07-20 | 64.18 | 8.15 | 6,735.10 | 50,741 | 68.8°F |
| 2026-07-13 | 64.28 | 8.05 | 6,735.20 | 51,001 | 67.3°F |
| 2026-07-06 | 64.41 | 7.92 | 6,735.33 | 51,262 | 65.2°F |
| 2026-06-29 | 64.58 | 7.75 | 6,735.50 | 51,781 | 64.3°F |
| 2026-06-22 | 64.76 | 7.57 | 6,735.68 | 52,171 | 66.3°F |
| 2026-06-15 | 64.93 | 7.4 | 6,735.85 | 52,691 | 65.6°F |
| 2026-06-08 | 65.02 | 7.31 | 6,735.94 | 52,821 | 61.9°F |
| 2026-06-01 | 65.18 | 7.15 | 6,736.10 | 53,351 | 60.6°F |
| 2026-05-26 | 65.28 | 7.05 | 6,736.20 | 53,616 | 60.5°F |
| 2026-05-18 | 65.45 | 6.88 | 6,736.37 | 54,013 | 52.5°F |
| 2026-05-11 | 65.49 | 6.84 | 6,736.41 | 54,146 | 57.8°F |
| 2026-05-04 | 65.57 | 6.76 | 6,736.49 | 54,279 | 52.6°F |
| 2026-04-27 | 65.62 | 6.71 | 6,736.54 | 54,411 | 51.4°F |
| 2026-04-20 | 65.66 | 6.67 | 6,736.58 | 54,543 | 52.9°F |
| 2026-04-13 | 65.7 | 6.63 | 6,736.62 | 54,675 | 51.8°F |
| 2026-04-06 | 65.7 | 6.63 | 6,736.62 | 54,675 | 52.2°F |
| 2026-03-30 | 65.72 | 6.61 | 6,736.64 | 54,675 | 51.5°F |
| 2026-03-23 | 65.78 | 6.55 | 6,736.70 | 54,941 | 49.5°F |
| 2026-03-16 | 65.74 | 6.59 | 6,736.66 | 54,808 | 44.5°F |
| 2026-03-09 | 65.66 | 6.67 | 6,736.58 | 54,543 | 38.5°F |
| 2026-03-02 | 65.53 | 6.8 | 6,736.45 | 54,279 | 38.5°F |
| 2026-02-24 | 65.31 | 7.02 | 6,736.23 | 53,616 | 36.5°F |
| 2026-02-19 | 65.21 | 7.12 | 6,736.13 | 53,351 | 32.0°F |
| 2026-02-09 | 64.99 | 7.34 | 6,735.91 | 52,821 | 38.5°F |
| 2026-02-02 | 65.02 | 7.31 | 6,735.94 | 52,821 | 36.5°F |
| 2026-01-26 | 65.02 | 7.31 | 6,735.94 | 52,821 | 32.0°F |
| 2026-01-20 | 65.03 | 7.3 | 6,735.95 | 52,954 | 32.0°F |
| 2026-01-12 | 65.04 | 7.29 | 6,735.96 | 52,954 | 32.0°F |
| 2026-01-05 | 64.99 | 7.34 | 6,735.91 | 52,821 | 36.0°F |
Lake level history since 1910
Monthly readings from the district's historical record, with this year's weekly readings on the end. Full lakes are rare: the gauge last reached full pool in May 2011. The record low was 21.0 feet in December 1956, 51.33 feet below full, near the end of a long 1950s drought.
October levels, last ten years
| Year | October gauge (ft) | Below full (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 63.72 | 8.61 |
| 2024 | 66.00 | 6.33 |
| 2023 | 64.91 | 7.42 |
| 2022 | 55.11 | 17.22 |
| 2021 | 56.22 | 16.11 |
| 2020 | 60.01 | 12.32 |
| 2019 | 60.73 | 11.60 |
| 2018 | 54.52 | 17.81 |
| 2017 | 58.08 | 14.25 |
| 2016 | 55.94 | 16.39 |
History: Historic Lake Levels 1910–2025 (PDF, Big Bear Municipal Water District). The source leaves January 1989 and January 1992 blank, and its October 2023 row lists a "down from full" figure that doesn't match its own gauge reading; we chart the gauge reading.
Quick answers
How full is Big Bear Lake?
About 65% by volume on October 13, 2026: 47,314 acre-feet against a capacity of 73,320. By height it was 9.46 feet below full.
When was Big Bear Lake last full?
In the district's monthly record, May 2011. The highest monthly reading in the ten years since 2016 was 68.4 feet in May 2024, 3.93 feet below full.
Does a low lake affect swimming and boating?
The lake level alone doesn't close anything. Launch ramps, docks and swim areas each have their own operator and season, so check those directly. Our beaches guide covers where you can get in.
Where does the number come from?
The Big Bear Municipal Water District, which manages the lake, reads the lake gauge and publishes the result weekly with elevation, storage and surface temperature. Depth, size and the rest of the lake's vital statistics are on our Big Bear Lake facts page.