Big Lake is an exurban community in a fairly rural setting, although recent years have seen significant suburban development. The area, however, has remained primarily residential. A few notable exceptions include a playable 9-hole golf course on the lake's east side, a 1950s-themed bar & grill, a quaint community store, and a small (but quickly growing) elementary school. The latter two are located at the historic north end of the lake, once a bustling logging town. A fire destroyed much of the town proper in the early 1900s, and that which was lost was never rebuilt.