EL DORADO COUNTY
County Offices
330 Fair Lane
Placerville 530-621-5567
www.edcgov.us
Chamber of Commerce
542 Main Street
Placerville 530-621-5885
www.eldoradocounty.org
While the term “Gold County” has been attached to the entire Sacramento Valley, the land we know today as El Dorado County marks the place where it all began. It was back in 1848 that James Marshall discovered gold on the site of John Sutter’s sawmill in what is now the town of Coloma. More than 150 years later, the wild stampede continues.
Newcomers are flooding into the county’s friendly and charming small towns, leaving behind the hectic pace of metropolitan life. In fact, El Dorado is now the eighth fastest-growing county in California. With its natural beauty, abundant land and extensive resources, the region can offer the “get away from it all” lifestyle that many residents and businesses desire. The proliferation of business and industry in nearby employment centers like Folsom is also driving residential and commercial growth throughout El Dorado County.
The county, which stretches to Lake Tahoe and Nevada on the east, is just 25 miles from the state’s capital at its western boundary. San Francisco and the West Coast are 150 miles to the west. Enjoying a diversity of topography and elevations that range from 200 to 10,881 feet, the region boasts authentic gold rush sites, pristine alpine creeks, orchards and fields, untamed rivers and snow-capped peaks. In fact, South Lake Tahoe is the hub of the celebrated Lake Tahoe recreation area. While Placerville and South Lake Tahoe are the only incorporated towns, the county claims more than 20 quaint, historic communities. Major residential communities in the western quadrant—El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park and Shingle Springs—serve as suburban havens for the booming Sacramento metropolitan region.
Services
Although El Dorado County has traditionally relied on agriculture, mining, timber harvesting, and tourism for its economic base, the late 1970s began the trend toward diversification. In some parts of the county, bed-and-breakfast inns, wineries and home-based businesses are the fastest-growing industries. Population growth and increasing personal income have created new demands for goods and services, particularly in the areas of services and retail trade. Businesses from San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento are discovering and taking advantage of El Dorado County’s many advantages. The resulting prosperity reflects the county’s land-rich resources, skilled work force, superior transportation services, and unsurpassed quality of life.
The manufacturing focus has shifted from wood-related products to a modern technological information base closely tied to the county’s fiber optics infrastructure. Companies involved in publishing, electronics, precision plastics molding, and data processing or billings have sprung up beside those centered around the lumber industry. Outstanding transportation amenities throughout the Sacramento Valley have positively influenced the county’s power to attract new business. The major highways of U.S. 50 and State Route 49 intersect the county, while the regional arteries of Interstates 5 and 80 are just 25 minutes from El Dorado Hills. The Port of Sacramento, Sacramento International Airport’s airfreight facilities, numerous trucking companies, and cargo rail service combine to meet every need.
Flourishing agriculture and processing industries both enjoy an ideal climate and good markets. Pleasing connoisseurs from around the world, El Dorado County is fast becoming a famous wine-producing region with its own appellation and following. While tourism remains a dynamic source of revenue, the service sector is growing rapidly—particularly the healthcare industry.
The county takes pride in offering quality educational opportunities to the entire community, from school-age children to adults who are seeking new skills or college-track programs. Progressive school districts maintain modern classrooms and comprehensive programs in a healthy, semi-rural environment that continually ranks as a state leader in SAT performance. The Regional Occupation Program provides courses in trade and industry, while the El Dorado Education Center of Cosumnes River College combines with Lake Tahoe Community College for two-year degree and certification opportunities. Just 20 miles from El Dorado Hills, California State University, Sacramento offers extension and continuing education programs streamlined around the changing needs of the business community.
Residents of El Dorado County can also look forward to efficient and comprehensive healthcare facilities that deliver patient-centered care in a state-of-the-art setting. Placerville is home to Marshall Hospital, a 90-bed institution with a full complement of services that include 24-hour emergency treatment and a maternity unit. Mercy Hospital of Folsom and Sacramento’s premier medical centers and hospitals are easily accessible for a full range of health system options. Skilled professionals in every major specialty and most subspecialties are close to home to meet every need, from routine to advanced.
Lifestyle
Regarded for decades as a “vacation getaway” region, El Dorado County is gaining a reputation as a highly desirable place to live, raise a family, or locate a business. Centrally located, the county seat of Placerville is surrounded by the communities of Diamond Springs, El Dorado, Coloma, and Pleasant Valley. Creating an ideal climate, the elevation remains above the fog line in the wintertime and cools the valley’s summer heat by about 10 degrees.
While Pollock Pines and Camino are just a short distance east, a sharp increase in elevation creates a true alpine feeling. Camino is home to many of the orchards and ranches of Apple Hill and Farm Trail, attracting thousands of Sacramento Valley residents each autumn. As fresh mountain produce and fruits fade from season, the harvesting of Christmas trees begins. Generating millions of dollars in revenue each holiday, El Dorado County has been dubbed “Christmas Tree Capital of the World.
Pollock Pines forms the gateway to the High Sierra, where a wealth of outdoor adventures and recreational opportunities are waiting. Alpine splendor and mountain trails amid the fragrant pines create a paradise of outdoor adventure. More than half of the county’s land is preserved in public ownership through national forests, parks, and recreation areas. South Lake Tahoe is just an hour’s drive from 80 percent of the state’s alpine resorts. Thousands of acres of timberland, luxurious resorts, ski areas, hot mineral springs, parks, campgrounds, and state-line casinos beckon residents and visitors to a playground of natural wonders.
If you prefer to balance outdoor adventure with cultural pleasures, El Dorado County offers a full calendar of events and activities. Theater El Dorado productions combine with art shows, concerts, museums, historic sites, galleries, cabarets, and clubs that feature top-name entertainment. Just eight miles north of Placerville is the site of the Coloma gold strike that launched the famous “California Gold Rush” of 1849. Many of the local festivities seem to mirror the spirit and vitality of that era, from jazz jubilees and fiddle contests to the annual Wagon Train, sternwheeler races, and classic car shows.
From every vista and corner, El Dorado County invites exploration and involvement. The north quadrant is relatively isolated, situated above the forks of the American River. However, nestled within the Divide along the ridges of the Sierra Nevada are closely knit communities with deeply rooted traditions. Dotted with quaint Gold Rush era towns like Georgetown, Cool, and Garden Valley, the “north country” is considered to be the “back door” of the Desolation Wilderness Area. Located at the crest of the Sierra Nevada above Lake Tahoe, the wilderness offers controlled-access hiking unspoiled by motor vehicles.
The expansive rolling hills and elevation of the southern region make it ideal for the production of wine grapes. Charming towns like Grizzly Flat, Omo Ranch, Outdingdale, and Mt. Aukum blend beautiful vineyards and wineries with other commercial agricultural enterprises, bed and breakfasts, and innovative home-based businesses. Most wineries offer year-round tastings, tours and picnicking—surrounded by vineyards as verdant and lush as those gracing southern France. El Dorado County also claims some of the most scenic and superbly designed golf courses in the nation, displaying the legendary architectural talent of world-renowned designers like Robert Trent Jones and Algie Pulley.
Housing options in El Dorado County are as diverse as the terrain and climate, ranging from turn-of-the-century homes in long-established small towns to prestigious hillside estates, secluded mansions, and luxurious ranch or horse properties. An attractive and plentiful housing supply combines with an abundance of undeveloped land to create some of the finest real estate opportunities in the state. Without a doubt, El Dorado County is virtually boundless in its possibilities and unparalleled in its natural beauty. Lovely, forested communities continue to grow and mature, driven by the same entrepreneurial spirit that tamed the West. For those who recognize the county’s true worth and potential, the gold is still here—waiting to be discovered!
Cameron Park, Shingle Springs
County Offices
530-621-5567
Chamber of Commerce
530-677-8000
www.sscpchamber.org
Primarily serving as a bedroom community, the Cameron Park/Shingle Springs area offers a distinctive amenity that has influenced its demographics: the centrally located airport in Cameron Park. Spacious, executive homes surround the airport, all graced by oversized driveways that offer immediate access to the landing strip. Many residents of Cameron Park are able to land their planes and taxi to their driveways as easily as most people pull a vehicle into the garage. Approximately 150 of these homes are clustered around the airport, known locally as “air estates.” Those who prefer surface travel can enjoy an easy commute to Sacramento via Highway 50. Excellent schools, quiet streets and successful master-planned housing developments combine with outstanding recreational amenities like golf courses, acres of parks and country clubs. Services and retail options for this area are expanding, from a community service center and library to a small shopping plaza.
El Dorado Hills
County Offices
530-621-5567
Chamber of Commerce
916-933-1335
www.eldoradohillschamber.com
One of the most attractive of the many unincorporated bedroom communities, El Dorado Hills offers a continually expanding selection of lovely homes nestled in master-planned residential developments. A rapidly growing community, the town began as a development east of Folsom but soon formed its own identity. Today, it includes beautiful residential choices like Lake Hills Estates, a prestigious residential development that enjoys breathtaking views of Folsom Lake. Golf courses, well-maintained parks, a community service center, library, and respected schools make this a highly desirable location for families, young professionals, and retirees. Housing options include executive estates on relatively small lots to sprawling homes on generous acreage. Architectural styles range from Tudor and Chateau to the clean lines of modern styling. Hillside, fairway, and lake views are abundant in this scenic community.
Placerville
Municipal Offices
530-642-5200
www.cityofplacerville.org
Chamber of Commerce
530-621-5885
www.eldoradocounty.org
Residents of Placerville enjoy the cool summer breezes and clear winter days that characterize life in this scenic area. Serving as the county seat, Placerville is located just off Highway 50 along the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. Filled with natural charm and intriguing Gold Rush history, Placerville also offers attractive yet affordable housing options. Prime land for new construction, rural acreage and well-kept Victorians combine with the benefits of small-town living to make Placerville a quality choice as a bedroom community. Quaint bed and breakfasts, unique boutiques, galleries and antique dealers have taken residence in carefully restored turn-of-the-century buildings that grace the historic downtown district. While tourism remains a major component of the local economy, new residential development is following the corporate expansion in nearby Folsom. A local community college education center, first-rate schools and unparalleled outdoor recreational opportunities add to the amenities.
Pollock Pines, Camino
County Offices
530-621-5567
Chamber of Commerce
530-621-5885
www.eldoradocounty.org
The unincorporated communities of Pollock Pines and Camino are located east of Placerville on US 50, tucked away in the scenic wonderland approaching Lake Tahoe. The two communities offer a small-town atmosphere in close proximity to some of the state’s finest recreational areas, including the South Fork American River and Eldorado National Forest. Both towns offer mountain vistas of the majestic Crystal Range, as well as forested land covered with cedar, pine, and oak where mountain streams attract deer and other wildlife. Camino adds pastoral scenes of farms and orchards. Newcomers are drawn to this area for the splendor of the scenery and the myriad of outdoor adventures just beyond their front doorstep. This high Sierra region is ideal for boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, camping, and winter snow sports of every type.
South Lake Tahoe
Municipal Offices
530-542-6000
www.cityofslt.us
Chamber of Commerce
530-541-5255
www.tahoeinfo.com
The pride of El Dorado County is rapidly growing South Lake Tahoe, featuring some of the nation’s finest scenery, summer recreation, winter skiing, and year-round entertainment. Housing options range from modest, rustic vacation cabins to the most luxurious of lakeside living. Surrounded by the majestic, alpine splendor of the Sierra Nevada, South Lake Tahoe began as a world-class resort community that provided an incomparable lifestyle for its fortunate residents. Once categorized as a second-home or vacation area, the town is rapidly transforming its image to that of a highly desirable bedroom community. Like many of El Dorado County’s small towns, expansion of nearby employment opportunities is changing the complexion of the community to that of a year-round paradise. The charming commercial district that has evolved as a result of South Lake Tahoe’s resort reputation represents another amenity for newcomers.
