Running Springs Real Estate

About Running Springs

Running Springs: quiet mountain living between lake arrowhead and big bear.

Running Springs sits at roughly 6,100 feet on SR-18 between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, with Snow Valley Mountain Resort at its eastern edge. It's a quieter alternative to its better-known neighbors: fewer tourists, fewer vacation rentals, and a market more weighted toward full-time residents and long-held second homes. Arrowbear Lake and Green Valley Lake are within the Running Springs market area.

Running Springs sits at roughly 6,100 feet on SR-18, right between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, with Snow Valley Mountain Resort at its eastern edge, and its real estate market offers a quieter, more full-time-resident character than its better-known neighbors. Fewer tourists, fewer vacation rentals, and a market weighted toward long-held second homes and year-round residents define the community. Buyers searching Running Springs homes for sale are often looking for a calmer mountain lifestyle and better value than Arrowhead, with less of the STR intensity of Big Bear.

The market here is predominantly non-HOA, made up largely of cabin-and-house product on individual lots, with two notable exceptions: the Arrowbear Lake Property Owners Association in the Arrowbear sub-area, and Green Valley Lake, which operates its own community lake access for property owners in that small hamlet. Short-term-rental rules are administered by San Bernardino County, the same regime covering Big Bear City and Lake Arrowhead's county parcels. Unlike Big Bear, Snow Valley's lift operations do not translate into ski-in, ski-out HOA product, so buyers here are generally purchasing traditional mountain homes.

The lifestyle is genuinely middle-of-the-mountains. Skiing and snowboarding at Snow Valley anchor the winter, summer brings lift-served mountain biking and trout fishing at Green Valley Lake and Arrowbear Lake, and the community sits just 15 minutes from Lake Arrowhead Village and about 25 from Big Bear, giving residents easy access to both. The local dining scene is quiet and resident-oriented, with a handful of longtime spots along the SR-18 corridor. Families are served by Rim of the World Unified.

The honest picture is that Running Springs trades marquee amenities and rental buzz for quiet and value, which suits some buyers perfectly and not others, and mountain ownership brings the usual snow, access, and condition considerations. After 30 years working this region, we can help you weigh Running Springs against Arrowhead and Big Bear, evaluate Arrowbear and Green Valley Lake as distinct sub-markets, and find a sound home at a fair price. Whenever you would like to look, we are glad to help without pressure.

Schools in Running Springs

School district

Rim of the World Unified School District

Running Springs is served by Rim of the World Unified: the same district as Lake Arrowhead and Crestline. Running Springs Elementary is the local K-5 campus; students continue on to Mary Putnam Henck Intermediate and Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead. Bus routes account for winter weather and the SR-18 commute between communities.

Notable schools

School attendance boundaries can change, so always verify the current assignment for any specific address.