Bear Valley Springs is a guarded-gate community in Kern County, California, United States. Bear Valley Springs is in the Tehachapi Mountains and is part of the greater Tehachapi area. The elevation ranges from 4121ft to 6,934 feet (Bear Mountain). The population fluctuates between a low during the winter months when snow is common, to a high in the summer months when its elevation keeps it much cooler than surrounding areas and major cities. The population was 5,172 at the 2010 census, up from 4,232 at the 2000 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Bear Valley Springs as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name.HistoryWhile the nation had pushed to the western coast, the land the Fickert family settled in 1869 was still isolated and remote. For centuries, it had been the realm of Native Americans. Over the years, after purchasing squatter's rights to 160acre, the Fickerts expanded their holdings until, by the 1900s their ranch encompassed a vast region of 25,000acre.By 1959, the last of the immediate Fickert family were gone, joining their kin who had gone before in the tiny family cemetery just up the hill from the main house.Dart Resorts purchased the ranch from the Fickert heirs. Resource Ecology Associates was employed by Dart to plan and maintain the original natural value of the property, including wildlife. Bear Valley Springs was born.
