Welcome to Bear Valley ...
Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County<1>.
Google driving directions from your current location to Bear Valley
While we don't have a date for the founding of Bear Valley, you might consider that their post office opened in 1858.
A typical abbreviation for Bear Valley: Bear Vly. (or less commonly used: Bear Vally. or Bear Vlly.)
Bear Valley is 2,050 feet [625 m] above sea level.<2>.
Time Zone: Bear Valley lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Bear Valley: 209 & 350<3>
The ZIP code for Bear Valley: 95338<4>
Communities Also Named Bear Valley ...
While we believe that this Bear Valley is located in Mariposa County, we know of another 3 California communities named Bear Valley. Those communities are located in the following counties: Alpine, Nevada and Shasta County.
Beyond California, there are 8 communities that are also named Bear Valley - they are located in Colorado, Minnesota, Ontario, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Bear Valley.
Communities near Bear Valley ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Bear Valley.
- Mount Bullion
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Bullion
- Mount Bullion is located in Mariposa County
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Mount Bullion
From Bear Valley to Mount Bullion
- Hornitos
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hornitos
- Hornitos is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hornitos <5>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Hornitos
From Bear Valley to Hornitos
- Catheys Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Catheys Valley
- Catheys Valley is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Catheys Valley <5>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Catheys Valley
From Bear Valley to Catheys Valley
- Dogtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dogtown. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<6>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dogtown
- Dogtown is located in Mariposa County
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Dogtown
From Bear Valley to Dogtown
- Mariposa
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mariposa
- Mariposa is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mariposa <5>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Mariposa
From Bear Valley to Mariposa
- Coulterville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coulterville
- Coulterville is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coulterville <5>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Coulterville
From Bear Valley to Coulterville
- Merced Falls
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merced Falls
- Merced Falls is located in Merced County
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Merced Falls
From Bear Valley to Merced Falls
- Midpines
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Midpines
- Midpines is located in Mariposa County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Midpines <5>
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Midpines
From Bear Valley to Midpines
- Bootjack
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Jerseydale
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerseydale
- Jerseydale is located in Mariposa County
Google driving directions:
From your current location to Jerseydale
From Bear Valley to Jerseydale
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Bear Valley. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Bear Valley.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Bear Valley. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Bear Valley.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Bear Valley. See our Newspapers Page for Bear Valley.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Bear Valley ...
Looking for more information about Bear Valley? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Bear Valley, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Bear Valley.
Adding Bear Valley to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Bear Valley in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Bear Valley was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>
From that list, the Bear Valley post office opened in 1858.
We also found Bear Valley in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Bear Valley.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bear Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Mariposa County: www.mariposacounty.org/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of California's counties, including Mariposa, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Bear Valley - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <3> | When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 209 code has been Overlayed with the 350 area code. New phone numbers in the Bear Valley area will be assigned with one of these codes: 209 or 350. As a result, placing a call in the Bear Valley area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <4> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Bear Valley). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Bear Valley or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |