Crestline is a small
residential community located in the
San Bernardino Mountains of
Southern California. The community of less than 10,000 persons is spread along a 5000'
MSL southwest facing
ridge directly above
San Bernardino (at apppx. 1000' MSL).
Many of the homes in the area are not lived in full-time, and many of the full-time residents
commute to jobs in the
flatlands of SoCal. The balance of the local population is composed primarily of
retirees and the marginally employed. The area is
alpine in character and receives at least a few feet of snow each winter. Daytime temperatures are typically 20 degrees (F) cooler than the valley below. Property values are quite low compared to nearby
Lake Arrowhead and most of SoCal, but there is some slow
gentrification which will probably accelerate as the
suburban sprawl below continues.
Crestline is well known among the
hang-gliding community worldwide as the namesake of the
Crestline Soaring Society hang gliding club which maintains a launch site on the ridge. The arid
Mediterranean climate of SoCal and the reliable daily afternoon arrival of the
seabreeze from the coast 70-90 miles away provides more than 300
flyable days per year, on average, which is matched by few other places around the globe.