Rustic opulence at Northwoods Resort in Big Bear

By John Phane
The décor of the Northwoods Resort in Big Bear Lake blends lavish design into a bucolic motif. Unique, custom, wooden furniture, with bark left on as accent for chairs, cabinets, bars and bedposts, decorates the rooms, lobby and dining area. The mountain-cabin theme carries over to walls adorned with woodland pastels, antlers, plaque-mounted trophy faux-fish, flowers and more. Bedspreads with the feel and look of hand-stitched homespun quilts cover beds. Couches and chairs covered with fabrics depicting mountain scenes fill comfortable rooms.

Enjoy an historical holiday in beautiful Big Bear

By John Phane
Born in 1869 to a Native American mother and a white father, William Edwin Knickerbocker, or "Bill Knick" as he dubbed himself, heeded the cry, "Go West Young Man." He traded his native Pennsylvania for the promised land of California, and there he climbed a mile-high mountain to find his home. Bill Knick mined for gold, logged, worked as Big Bear Lake's first dam keeper, married Rose Pollard, claimed a prime piece of property and built his budding family a three-story log cabin.