Running Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in San Bernardino County, California, United States.

Running Springs is situated 17 miles west of the city of Big Bear Lake.

Running Springs is home to the 3,400-acre National Children’s Forest, which offers interpretive programs, educational tours and more.

They got their name from Spanish priest Father Garces in 1776, but called themselves Yuhaviatam (“people of the pines”).

Numerous mortar holes can be seen throughout the area, made by the Serranos grinding acorns into meal.

[8] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km2), 99.79% of it is land and 0.21% is water.

According to the 2010 United States Census, Running Springs had a median household income of $59,111, with 9.3% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

Situated at the junction of State Route 18 and State Route 330, it is a major gateway to the mountain communities of Lake Arrowhead, Arrowbear, Green Valley Lake, and Big Bear and is the closest community to Snow Valley Mountain Resort.

It lies some 16 miles (26 km) northeast of the city of Highland, California, up State Route 330, at an elevation of 6,080 feet (1,850 m).

The Rim (as it is locally known) extends from Crestline to Big Bear, a distance of some 30 miles (48 km).

Logging in the San Bernardino Mountains was once done on a large scale, with the Brookings Lumber Company operation the largest.

It operated on 8,000 acres (32 km2) between Fredalba and Hunsaker Flats (present-day Running Springs), and extending northward to Heap's Ranch and Lightningdale (near Green Valley Lake) between 1899 and 1912.

About 60% of the finished lumber was hauled by wagon down the steep grades to the Molino box factory in Highland, which made packing crates for the citrus grown in the area.

[25] Movies filmed in Running Springs include Next (2007), When a Stranger Calls (2006), Communion (1989),[26] Small Town Saturday Night (2010), I'm Reed Fish (2006), Messenger of Death (1988), Demon Legacy (2014), The Bigfoot Project (2017) and Cold Cabin (2010).