Legend has it that the remarkable scar on the southern face of the mountain was formed when the Great Spirit fired an arrow at healing hot springs along the baseline, to mark the spot for the Pauite and Serrano Indians. From the floor of the San Bernardino Valley, the "arrowhead" can be seen from up to 50 miles away. The once-named "Little Bear Valley" was populated mostly by loggers for a time, but in the 1920s, the area was reimagined as a getaway spot. Tourists and Hollywood stars flocked to the lakefront hotels and homes, and the lake became a year-round destination for skiing, hiking, shopping, and dining.
Author Rhea-Frances Tetley is a fourth-generation Californian whose family developed Valley of Enchantment, near Lake Arrowhead. She is a charter member of the Rim of the World Historical Society and a columnist on the subject of local history for Alpenhorn News, Crestline Chronicle, and the Crest Forest Historical Society newsletter.