Dumpster rental and junk removal in Big Bear Lake

A town of second homes and older cabins

Census estimates for 2020 to 2024 count about 9,722 housing units in Big Bear Lake. About 7,101 of them, roughly 73 percent, are held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use, and the median home was built in 1976.

Owners who live down the hill can set up a rental by phone, text or the online request: pick delivery and pickup dates around a weekend up, and send photos of the rooms, the driveway and where the dumpster should sit. Every cabin is different, so if you are unsure how to plan it, text a photo of the rooms or the pile and we will help.

Where the dumpster goes: your driveway, not the street

Inside city limits, City code makes it unlawful to place a dumpster in the public right-of-way without an encroachment permit from the city engineer's office (Municipal Code 8.64.110(E)). We place the dumpster on your driveway or your own lot by default, which keeps the street clear and avoids that permit.

Snow rules matter too. From October 15 to April 15, the City treats snow conditions as in effect, and no vehicle may be left stopped, parked or unattended on a city street during snow conditions. Plowed driveway snow also cannot be pushed back into the street. Pick a spot off the road that a plow berm will not bury, and keep a clear path to it for delivery and pickup.

Winter at 6,752 feet

Big Bear Lake sits at 6,752 feet, and Wikipedia describes it as the highest and coldest incorporated city in Southern California. Snowfall in town averages about 58.6 inches a season, and the ridges above 8,000 feet can see more than 100.

Robert brings the dumpster on a trailer behind his pickup. Under Caltrans R-1 chain controls, every vehicle towing a trailer must chain one drive axle, so a storm on Highway 18, 38 or 330 can move a delivery or pickup day. We confirm every delivery day by call or text, and weather can change it.

Moonridge is part of this page

Moonridge, on the east side of town around the Big Bear Alpine Zoo, is covered here. The zoo's Moonridge Road address falls inside Big Bear Lake city limits, while other parts of Moonridge are unincorporated county land.

For a dumpster on your driveway, that line rarely matters. It only matters if something has to sit in the road: inside the city, the encroachment permit comes from the City of Big Bear Lake, and on a county road it comes from San Bernardino County Public Works.

Fire-season clearing in the city

The Big Bear Fire Department runs defensible-space inspections across Big Bear Valley, except Fawnskin, and mailed weed-abatement notices again in 2026. It says vacant lots must be cleared too, and that a citation can come without a notice of violation first. CAL FIRE's 2025 recommended hazard map puts about 2,779 acres of the city in the Very High fire hazard severity zone.

Our owner is a firefighter. Clearing season fills a yard with brush, limbs and needles fast, so before you load yard waste, call or text a photo and we will work out what goes in the dumpster.

Where things go in Big Bear Lake

Some things never belong in a dumpster, and the local drop-offs have rules of their own. Here is what applies as of November 2026.

• Big Bear Transfer Station: the County's transfer station at 38550 Holcomb Valley Road, about a mile and a half north of Baldwin Lake. The County lists it as open Monday to Saturday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, and closed on major holidays. Check the County's page for current hours and fees.
• Household hazardous waste: paint, motor oil, solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals and batteries are banned from the trash in California. Residents can drop them off free at the County Fire collection facility, 42040 Garstin Drive, on Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm, up to 15 gallons or 125 pounds per trip.
• Clean Bear sites: the City's drop-off sites are for residents' household trash. City code keeps bulky items and construction and demolition waste out of them, and that is the kind of load a dumpster or a junk haul-away is for.