Rented a pontoon boat on 7/14/26. Not sure of the actual name, but it had a 155 hp motor. 2nd newest in the fleet. Boat was absolutely SPOTLESS upon boarding! I've never seen a such a clean boat for rent. No tears. No stains. Everything worked. Just wow! Pre-drive instructions were great. Don't remember his name. Nice guy! Upon docking, Ben boarded and drove us around the dock. Talk about an awesome person! Cordial. Nice. Etc. Side note: He's aiming for Stanford. One bright kid! Mia at the desk was super nice. They take pictures of the boat before hand. That's probably why it's so clean. We've rented boats from many places. Best by far. read more

After payment we discovered that their jet ski area is very limited, no signage displayed at office. Declined the usage for that reason before even touching the jet skis 2 minutes later, but office initially gave us a very hard time about a refund. Office lady finally relented and was pleasant but other staff was unnecessarily hostile and belligerent. Who needs that? FYI expect to pay $20 parking. read more

Honestly... ? Jet skis 5/5 Pontoon boat 3/5 Service 4/5 I enjoyed it here. Staff was pretty chill. Some were chatty some were a bit less. We rented a pontoon and jet skis the next day! Some of the staff will explain more to you on boating and jet ski instructions some less. Benjamin was great! Jet skis honestly were iffy. I was worried. The day we went boating, saw some decently new ones and a few old and colors/paint on the skis looked really worked out. Luckily, the day we went! We got 2 really clean and new looking ones. Oh boy did they go fast! I think we hit 40+ MPH. What a blast! Pontoon was ok as usual the gear shifter are stiff and tough to adjust like most boats I've been on fell rentals. But it worked! We hosted all the way to the dam side of the lake and fished and the only thing is no anchors. Plus the lake is deep so it's not available to anchoring. read more

Pine Knot Marina - Marinas Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

SCAMMERS! Don't trust this company at all. I returned our rental at 4:01 only because I took that one minute to pull into the marina carefully. My reservation was until 4pm and so they tried to claim I returned the rental thirty minutes late at 4:30 so they took 275 out of my 300 dollar deposit. Reading the reviews it seems this company continues to scam its customers. The employee I spoke with told me to contact my bank to get my money back because the manager won't be helpful. I will be contacting the city, the BBB, making social media reviews etc. To treat your customers this way and steal their money is unacceptable. Stealing from families on vacation is bad karma. read more

These guys are terrific!! I got lost on the river and was freaking out a little. They were nice, professional and understanding. It was my favorite time of our whole vacation. We'll definitely rent from Pine Knott again! read more

Very disappointing experience from start to finish (June 11, 2026). We still had about 25 minutes left of our paid ride when our reservation was ended early(they are not transparent about time you start as well). Instead of trying to help or offering a solution, the staff simply closed our reservation and wanted to charge our deposit, which is $300. The supervisor that came is extremely rude, he just started yelling. The jet skis themselves were old, heavily worn, and clearly not well maintained. They looked like they had seen better days and did not match the quality we expected for the price. The rude attitude, lack of transparency, and poor customer service completely ruined what should have been a fun experience. People who cannot treat customers with respect should not be working in the hospitality and tourism industry. Would not recommend this place. There are other better places we went after. read more

Trust the bad reviews... everyone seems to assess that the manger is super unprofessional and rude. Seems like they try to over charge where ever they can whether it be in damages to the vessel or late fees. Turns what could be a great experience into one that frustrates you and ruins the vibe. read more

Absolutely the worst customer service I have ever experienced. My family and I went to Pine Knot Marina to rent jet skis, and from the moment it was our turn, we were treated completely differently from everyone else. We watched group after group ahead of us get told that jet skis were available and sent out with no issues. Every group before us was white. When it came to us, suddenly there were excuses about why we couldn't rent them. We left, came back later, and watched the exact same employee continue renting jet skis to other people while still refusing to rent them to us. What made it even worse was the way she spoke to us. Every single person in our group speaks fluent English--it's the only language we speak--yet she slowly sounded out words to us as if we couldn't understand basic English. It was incredibly disrespectful, insulting, and demeaning. There was absolutely no reason to treat us that way. I can't say for certain what her reason was, but as people of color, it was impossible not to notice the difference in how we were treated compared to everyone else. We left feeling embarrassed, humiliated, and unwelcome. No customer should ever leave a business feeling like they were singled out because of the color of their skin. This wasn't just bad customer service--it was one of the most upsetting experiences I've ever had at a business. If this is how Pine Knot Marina allows employees to treat customers, I cannot recommend giving them your business. We drove there excited to have a fun day on the lake and instead left feeling disrespected and discriminated against. I sincerely hope management takes these complaints seriously because no one should have to go through what we experienced. read more

Only giving these guys 1 star, cause 0 stars isn't an option. The experience I had was definitely underwhelming, to say the least. Terrible customer service, with a lack of proper communication on when our reservation actually started or when it ended, leading to our group being overcharged (which would have been fine, I suppose, but then the manager quite literally told us to " Fuck Off" when we confronted them about the late fee that we were unknowingly charged for.) Total scam of a company, and it honestly wasn't even that nice of a boat. read more

We had a very disappointing experience renting a boat from Big Bear Pine Knot Marina. From the beginning, the rental agreement was rushed. We were handed a lengthy contract with multiple pages of fine print and felt pressured to sign without having a realistic chance to read or understand everything. We ended up returning the boat about 30 minutes late and were charged $125 in late fees. While we understand businesses have policies, the way the situation was handled was completely unprofessional. When we spoke with the manager to ask about the charge, he made it clear that he didn't care about our concerns. The conversation became hostile, and he ultimately told us to "fuck off." I have never been spoken to that way by a business manager. Customer service matters just as much as the rental itself. If you're considering renting a boat in Big Bear, I would recommend looking at other marinas that treat their customers with respect and clearly explain their policies before rushing people through paperwork. Very scammy company. read more

Pine Knot Marina was one of the most frustrating experiences I've ever had. The rental process felt disorganized, staff came across as impatient, and the boat looked like it had seen far better days, with worn equipment that was very dirty. After spending a premium price, the overall experience felt rushed, stressful, and nowhere near worth the cost. Between the long wait, lack of clear communication, and disappointing customer service, I left feeling like my time and money had been wasted. read more

Horrible experience, they tried to fraudulently withhold my deposit. Did not notify me at all when I returned the jet ski and did it silently. Horrible scam artists who will do anything they can to scam you out of the $300 deposit. Pathetic attempt to keep my money. Fuck you!! read more

We booked a pontoon for an hour through Pine Knot Marina for the Labor Day weekend. The staff was friendly and helpful in showing us how to drive the pontoon. They even offered to let us use their manual wheelchair so we could wheel my son down the ramp to the boat, and just left the wheelchair in the pontoon so he could come back up after the boat ride. Everyone had a great time roaming around the lake. Would have loved to ride for 2 hours - just have to book it earlier in advance when it is available !! They also offer jet skis for rent, and paddle boards, and kayaks on a first come first serve basis. read more

Pine Knot Marina - Pontoon time!! - Marinas Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Wow! Beware! We were told at signing if we wanted another hour on the boat, to call them and let them know, and we would be charged another hour. We did not call them. We were on the boat an additional 30 minutes. When we got back, we were charged another hour , which we agreed to. But charged an additional $125 penalty fee for not calling them. We were never disclosed this. The staff suggested we speak with the manager. The manager was rude, and condescending to us. We were respectful at first and explained to him we were happy to pay the additional hour and we're not aware of the additional penalty fee. His response was " you should have read the contract "! Common courtesy would have been to brief us at signing that there was a penalty fee. Sadly, the manager didn't care and actually cursed at us. He didn't care about a bad review from us. We were totally misled by the staff as they made it seem like no problem to take an additional hour. No mention of a penalty fee. By the way, it was a slow day. There were plenty of boats to rent. read more

The manager is awful. He told us to f-off. We never were told we had to paid an $125 late fee. Alice was so nice. She said book an hour but if you want to stay out for two hours no problem. These folks are scammers. Total rip off. Do not use this company. 0 Stars read more

I know now why you have 3 out of 5 stars on your rating. If I could have given a zero I would have. The boat was extremely slow , service was horrible and unreasonable. The radio didn't work. The manager told us to F off. They have no business being in the service industry. It's bait and switch on the contract. We were rushed to sign and not allowed time to read the agreement. They misrepresented their business and would Never Recommend this business. Save you money for something else and someone you can Trust. read more

We went to rent a pontoon, the lady was less than enthusiastic and the pontoon she was gonna rent us was covered so we couldn't really see it. We left and went to Pleasure Point Marina- 100 % different experience. So many helpers, so engaged, boats were newer and beautiful. It was so worth the $50 more that we paid. read more

I selected this marina because I thought it would be less busy. Not only was the staff accommodating but the boats were much newer than all other locations. We had a wonderful time will definitely come back . read more

Pine Knot Marina - Big Bear lake - Marinas Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

We went on the Miss Liberty and had a great time on the tour. The captain is funny and well versed in the history of Big Bear. The older girl in the galley seems to not want to be there but the younger one was very nice and helpful. The galley is nicely stocked with a good selection of snacks and drinks. The reason it's not 5 stars is the confusion with where to go. There is a sign just before Pine Knot Ave that says boat rentals however the office for boat rentals is actually on Pine Knot Ave. read more

words of advice!! They are SCAMMERS and do NOT rent from them!! They WILL say something is wrong with the boat even though nothing is wrong. Disgusting business!! I will be filing a formal complaint with the city. read more

We had a very disappointing experience at Pine Knot Marina. Before going, we had read many negative reviews about unfair charges, so we were careful and even took photos of the jet skis to avoid being blamed for prior damage. Here's what happened: we rented two jet skis for 30 minutes, and two more for 1 hour. Nowhere did they explain or clearly mark which jet ski was tied to which rental period. We just took the ones that were given to us. When we returned two after 30 minutes and the other two after 1 hour, they suddenly accused us of keeping the 30-minute rentals for an hour. In the end, they unfairly charged us a $500 penalty, Overall, this was one of the worst customer service experiences we've had. The lack of clear instructions, combined with the unprofessional attitude, left a very bad impression. I would strongly caution others to think twice before renting here. There are plenty of other marinas in Big Bear, and I would not recommend Pine Knot Marina to anyone. read more

Absolutely the worst experience we've ever had in Big Bear. We booked a jet ski rental at Pine Knot Marina despite seeing so many negative reviews online. When we called ahead to ask about those reviews, they told us not to worry--that they weren't real or only rare situations. Unfortunately, everything written in those reviews happened to us exactly. * They took our entire deposit without explanation, claiming some vague "reason" that was never clearly communicated. * There was no damage to the equipment, yet they refused to explain why we were charged. * The staff and management were incredibly rude and dismissive--they wouldn't even provide names when we asked, and the manager was the worst of all. * Instead of professional customer service, we were treated with disrespect and arrogance. As residents of Orange County who frequently visit Big Bear, this was by far the most unprofessional and disappointing experience we've ever had with any rental company. We will never rent from Pine Knot Marina again, and I strongly advise anyone considering them to look elsewhere. read more

We were almost scared off by the negative reviews but are so glad we decided to try it out ourselves. Our family of 4 rented 2 wave runners and the staff was extremely helpful throughout our experience - from helpful tips during booking through showing us how to operate the wave runners through checking out. Everything went smoothly and we had a great time. Would absolutely rent from them again. read more

I wanted to rent a pontoon boat for 1 hour . This marina is right next to my hotel , so decided to give it a try . I had been on their website "boat rentals at pine knot marina" Not only was the price charged much different than shown , but didn't get the 15% discount advertised. I did not have my phone to check , so I paid and came back the next day with my phone. I was told that website is 9 years old and no longer accurate. However no one has removed it in 9 years , still looks valid. Very disappointed, unless something changes we won't be back! read more

Pine Knot Marina - Information on one of their websites - Marinas Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Busy weekend, I called / checked a bunch of places... finally found a "high performance tri-toon" pontoon boat that met our time preferences... booked online without checking reviews (which are horrible). We didn't find anyone unpleasant, place was mobbed and employees were nice enough. Equipment is all 100% haggard, not a nice or clean boat in the fleet. Bottom of the barrel as far as lake rentals go in big bear. That said, we made best of it and it was a lovely day on water. There are much better options, but, this place works in a pinch. Take a video of boat before you leave and you should be ok if you don't break rules or run boat into shallow water / grass / reeds. read more

Don't rent from this place at all. Please read the reviews, they are real. We didn't pay attention to this many bad reviews thought it's exaggerated, but it was so true. Our group rented two jet skis. One was supposed to be 30 minutes and the other 1 hour, but this was never explained to us when we checked in. We ended up riding them in reverse--brought one after 30 minutes and the other after 1 hour. Sure but Instead of being understanding about their lack of explanation, they took our entire deposit without proof or fair reasoning. When we asked for clarification, staff and management were rude, unhelpful, and refused to explain. This was not our mistake--it was their poor communication. Losing the full deposit over this is unfair and dishonest. Avoid this place. read more

Scam, please read all the negative reviews. They are all right, we should have listened. They charge you extra for the services they don't provide. They keep your deposits and find a way to charge your credit card. Don't go.... read more

The employees could improve by learning basic professionalism, respect, and customer service. Instead of acting like they're doing everyone a favor just by being there, they could actually explain things clearly, treat people decently, and not talk down to paying customers. If the staff dropped the attitude and remembered they're running a business -- not a high school clique -- this place might actually be worth visiting. On top of that, they shouldn't even be running a boat rental business if they can't provide the absolute basics: a map, clear rules, straightforward instructions, or vessels that are actually maintained. Instead, customers are left guessing where they can and can't go, what the rules even are, and whether the boat will hold up while out on the water. Pair that with their rude, dismissive staff and it's obvious this place cares more about taking your money than offering a safe or enjoyable experience. ZERO STARS read more

We rented a pontoon boat at 10:00 AM with 3 people onboard. Prior to our rental, we were told we could not dock the boat to pick up others. Fair enough. We met up with another boat on the lake and safely transferred more people onto ours--no docking involved. About 30 minutes into the rental, the boat completely stopped working. We called for help, and shortly after, the manager on duty sped out to us. From the moment he arrived, his attitude was shockingly unprofessional. The first words out of his mouth were, "We have an issue." Thinking he was referring to the boat malfunction, we lightly laughed and said, "Yeah, we do." Instead, he immediately began scolding us for having more people on the boat than when we first left the dock, accusing us of docking and breaking the rules--something we never did. We had kids and older family members with us, doing absolutely nothing wrong, yet we were spoken to like we were intentionally causing trouble. He then said he was canceling our rental and ordered us to return the boat. We had to ask what was even wrong with the boat--it turns out it had nothing to do with us; it was a mechanical issue on their end. Back at the dock, we tried to clarify the situation with another staff member who originally helped us. When we explained we met up with another boat but never docked, he suddenly claimed he told us to stay 100 feet away from any other boat. That was never said--he only mentioned keeping 100 feet away from a red or white flagged boat. I gave him credit for that, but the rest felt like they were just making things up to cover themselves. We asked for the name of the manager who came out and was incredibly rude (dark hair, nose piercing), but of course, they refused to give it. We were left feeling disrespected, uncomfortable, and like we'd been treated unfairly on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation. Just like others have said in reviews, I'll be writing to the city directly to file a formal complaint. This was completely unacceptable and unprofessiona read more

From shortly after the moment we boarded and set out, it was obvious that the vessel wasn't maintained. There were visible signs of that -- a throttle and reverse gear that would not work the way it's originally supposed to be, uneven acceleration and noises not consistent with a smooth running engine that made many of us uneasy. What's worse, not a single crew member conducted a safety briefing or demonstrated the use of life jackets (which, by the way, looked in poor shape). Many of us had prior experience with boating and the group was already excited about this, which is the only reason we decided to go on. It was shocking to see staff so disengaged from basic maritime safety protocols. No communication, no guidance in case of emergency, and no evidence of any inspection certifications onboard. The map they provided did not even had the basic markings or highlighting that will ensure a safe and timely return. It was as if they wanted to us run over time so they can charge overtime (which we did not since we kept track of land marks and planned the return very early on). Everything felt reckless and deeply unprofessional. I strongly advise others to reconsider using this service. There are other services in the same area that do better service. Until they prioritize safety and maintain their vessels to an acceptable standard, this operation is a risk to its passengers. read more

People please be aware that this company will blame you for anything wrong with their boats! They will take your $300 deposit if they find something wrong. They claim to take photos and if something is loose, or is broken that you had no part of, they do not care and blame you for it! DO NOT USE company for your water sport rentals!! read more

Before using their jet skis, make sure to take photos of everything they show you prior to signing. Yesterday my family rented four 2-person jet skis. It seems like a scam. They charge a lot of money for old, poorly maintained jet skis. Less than 10 minutes after starting the jet ski, a man yelled at us horribly and threatened that we should stop the jet ski immediately, saying you had broken the rules. Now that I think about it, it seems that it was a groundwork to extort our deposit money. It was our first time riding a jet ski, so we are very scared and ride very slowly, and even the 3 of jet ski's instrument panel were set to KMH. They should provide a proof that we are driving more than 5 MPH. They insisted that we all went over 5 MPH, and after seeing one of them docking unnaturally, they claimed that the jet ski had been severely damaged. They also claimed that they could not return the full deposit. We were planning to finish our trip with the jet skis and return home after a fun time but now, we are preparing to stop the card payments and take legal actions. Fortunately, my mom has a lot of photos and videos as evidence. I immediately wrote a review hoping that there will be no more scam victims as soon as we returned home. read more

Pine Knot Marina - When we asked for jet ski photos of before-riding, they emailed me blurry, low-quality photos. - Marinas Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

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All the reviews are right! STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!! Terrible experience from start to finish. Our group rented jet skis and we were told not to trust the negative reviews online because they were "rare" or "not true." That was a complete lie. What happened to us was exactly what those reviews described. They took our full deposit without justification, never showing proof of any issue. Staff were unprofessional, rude, and dismissive, refusing to explain why we were charged. read more

STAY AWAY !!!! We read the reviews about this being a scam but thought by taking enough photos and videos of the jet skis we could avoid losing our deposit but they still found a loop hole to scam us. We had two 30 min appts and two 1 hour ones. They did not tell us it made a diff which jet ski we got on and proceeded to charge us $500 without any real explanation. DO NOT be fooled , they will scam you and take your money . read more

It's a great Boat Dock and we have enjoyed it for years. We recently had to sell it because we just don't get up there very much anymore. Gerri read more

Staff was amazing and totally friendly. Boats were well taken care of and had a great time.

We selected this place for a pontoon rental because of the newer fleet options. The rental was easy and all personnel were super friendly. The boat was only 3 years old and was perfect to cruise around the entire lake with our dog. My only suggestion is the option for extending a rental. We wanted to extend an extra hour from our 4 hour rental but were told there was no 5 hour rental price. I said isn't it $100 per hour extra to an existing rental and they said no. No problem, it was later in the day and hard to find shade in the boat on a hot day, so we took it back about 10 mins late with no charge (thank you guys). On the rental contract it says " Return Time Policy: $100 Per Hour over return time plus rental rate." So to me I was like ok cool it is worth an extra $100 to bring it back at 6 instead of 5, but was told no. Again, no complaints, we had a great time, but that quote is a little unclear/misleading on late returns. This boat was in like new condition, a nice change from the many other aging pontoons on the lake. Well worth it, we might even rent again tomorrow for another half day! read more

Pine Knot Marina - Marinas Near Me - Big Bear Lake, California

Pontoon was great! Looked new and ran great! Dock staff was great (very friendly), front desk girl not so much.

Please DO NOT RENT HERE, whatever you do, DO NOT RENT FROM PINE KNOT MARINA. They will scam you for the $300 deposit. The jet skiis we rented were old and busted, they charged us the deposit for damages that were not caused by us with picture proof and audio proof but they still will charge you because of the contract you sign before hand. THEY WILL SCAM YOU. I thought the previous reviews were exaggerating but they're not. They will find any excuse to charge you the $300 deposit because they are not making money here. read more

Horrible experience! Employees are extremely rude and unprofessional!! We rented jet skis for a family vacation, their website says they offer jet skis fitting up to 2 people. When we came, they said there was a weight limit and they didn't have any other jet skis to fit us. Extremely rude and unprofessional business! read more