Plenty of Outdoor Recreation
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4/11/2011
The review places the elevation too low. At the center of town (Safeway Supermarket) we are at 3,990. I'm slightly higher at just over 4,000. 30 years ago we used to get at least 1 four foot snowstorm per year. That hasn't happened but this past winter (2010-2011) we had 2 three foot storms, and 3 of at least one foot. Power was out this winter for a total of 4 days due to storm damage. (most spilt into blocks of 6 hours). Since we had an early storm before the leaves fell from the deciduous trees many were broken and some uprooted. Even many evergreens were broken this past winter.
The outdoor recreation is vast with Lake Tahoe just 45 minutes away with plenty of fun in between. The Rubicon Trail, famous worldwide as a 4X4 rock climbing wilderness trail is just 20 minutes from town. Sly Park lake and camping is in town just 10 minutes from Safeway. Fishing, camping, hiking, hunting (target shooting), horseback riding, ATV and dirt bike trails run through the US National Forest. Speaking of which, the NF surrounds 3 sides of the town!
Skiing is close by with Sierra at Tahoe only 25 minutes, and the rest of the resorts of Lake Tahoe just beyond. Very rarely do they close the pass due to snowstorms, and if they do it will open within 24 hours. Snowmobiling is popular here too. Many local residents own them and use them on Iron Mountain Road (which is closed to auto traffic for the winter.) Trails abound from either side of the road and continue for many miles. You best have a guide or a very good map before you head out.
Just 3 miles down the mountain is Apple Hill. An area of more than 60 apple orchards many open to the public serving apple pies, turnovers, ice cream, besides fresh homegrown fruit.
Most people living here do not work in town, they commute down to Placerville and a percentage work for Intel Corp in Folsom, a 40 minute commute.
I have warned you about winter, now I shall brag about summers here. While people are baking in Sacramento and Folsom sometimes toping 110F we stay around 78F to 92F up here at 4,000 feet above sea level, and we usually have a nice fresh mountain summer breeze flowing through our cedars and pines. Perfect weather to camp comfortably near one of the six local lakes. At the Union Valley Reservoir bring your speedboat for waterskiing and your jet skis too. This damed lake in the wilderness is surrounded by mountain peaks and in the distance to the East you'll see the tops of the Sierra Nevada reaching over 10,000 feet. Most of the summer you will see remnants of winters deep snows still clinging to the mountainsides high in the Sierra. U.V.R. is one of my favorite boating lakes in California.
So, all in all if you don't mind a 30 to 40 minute commute for work, and enjoy winter snow you will be rewarded with a perfect summer. It could be worse, you know?
Roy | Pollock Pines, CA