Let’s be honest, there is nothing like small town and rural communities here in Northern California. Even those of us who are from a city seem to want to escape to the great outdoors every chance we can get. Those of us lucky to be from these rural areas know there really is no place like home. The cool thing about Northern California is the variations in climate, making our rural areas some of the most interesting and unique places to live.
- Carriage rides through rustic old towns.
flickr/Bob White Nevada City is just one of the Gold Rush towns that still hosts carriage rides like this one.
- Picking blackberries right out of our backyards.
Flickr/ Martin LaBar But a drawback to these berries is removing those plants; they grow like weeds!
- Summers on the lakes with loved ones.
Flickr/ Ken Lund Follow This is Donner Lake in Truckee.
- Homemade jams and preserves… yum!
Flickr/ Stuart Rankin El Dorado County’s award winners.
- County fairs and livestock auctions. Raise your hand if this is a hometown staple for you!
Flickr/ Stuart Rankin This is the El Dorado County Fair Livestock Auction.
- The beautiful gardens that bloom and grow in the yards in your neighborhood.
Flickr/ Ariel Ophelia Who doesn’t love a cheerful sunflower?
- Speaking of plants and agriculture, our wineries are stunning and we don’t hate the vino that comes out of them, either.
Flickr/ Lyn Gateley Pictured here is Sterling Vineyards.
- And then there’s the Christmas Tree Farms.
Flickr/ Daniel Hoherd Follow There’s nothing that says it’s the holidays like driving up past the snowline in search of that perfect tree.
- As well as the rows of produce (this is a field of strawberries that really does go on forever, just like in the Beatles song).
Flickr/ Russell Mondy Did you know that Sacramento is the farm to fork capital of the U.S.?
- All the farmland of Northern California. It’s just so rustic and peaceful compared to other parts of the world.
Flickr/ Bob White A barn with Hwy 395 in the distance just south of Susanville.
- The mountains.
Flickr/ Christian Arballo This is Echo Lake in Northern California.
- The beaches.
Flickr/ Ulrich Burkhalter This fisherman on the Northern California coast looks like he’s about to reel something in.
- The history that we could spend hours exploring.
Flickr/ Susan Stienstra This is the Old Station Post Office in Shasta County.
- The many reminders of how life used to be.
Flickr/ Patrick Dirden This is an abandoned and partially destroyed Tepee Woodchip burner in a field south of Anderson, CA.
- The endless opportunities for play.
Flickr/ Bob White There’s fun to be had in any direction if you are looking for a place to explore here in Northern California.
- The trains that have rolled through some towns for generations.
Flickr/ Patrick Dirden You can practically hear this train a comin'.
- The wildlife stuns us every time.
Flickr/ Kirt Edblom These massive elk are a common sight along the North Coast.
- There’s no other place like rural Northern California for watching the sunset.
Flickr/ ah zut This is what it looks like from the Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.
- Or seeing the stars.
Flickr/ jason jenkins Pictured here is the Gerle Creek campground in the Crystal basin region of El Dorado National Forest.
- The traditions that never cease to delight us.
Flickr/ graeagleworld This is the reenactment of the first ski race in Graeagle. Other traditions include the wheelbarrow races in Placerville and the Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County.
There really is no better place to live – give us the rural Northern California countryside over any other place in the world! Here are some of our favorite little NorCal towns.
flickr/Bob White
Nevada City is just one of the Gold Rush towns that still hosts carriage rides like this one.
Flickr/ Martin LaBar
But a drawback to these berries is removing those plants; they grow like weeds!
Flickr/ Ken Lund Follow
This is Donner Lake in Truckee.
Flickr/ Stuart Rankin
El Dorado County’s award winners.
This is the El Dorado County Fair Livestock Auction.
Flickr/ Ariel Ophelia
Who doesn’t love a cheerful sunflower?
Flickr/ Lyn Gateley
Pictured here is Sterling Vineyards.
Flickr/ Daniel Hoherd Follow
There’s nothing that says it’s the holidays like driving up past the snowline in search of that perfect tree.
Flickr/ Russell Mondy
Did you know that Sacramento is the farm to fork capital of the U.S.?
Flickr/ Bob White
A barn with Hwy 395 in the distance just south of Susanville.
Flickr/ Christian Arballo
This is Echo Lake in Northern California.
Flickr/ Ulrich Burkhalter
This fisherman on the Northern California coast looks like he’s about to reel something in.
Flickr/ Susan Stienstra
This is the Old Station Post Office in Shasta County.
Flickr/ Patrick Dirden
This is an abandoned and partially destroyed Tepee Woodchip burner in a field south of Anderson, CA.
There’s fun to be had in any direction if you are looking for a place to explore here in Northern California.
You can practically hear this train a comin'.
Flickr/ Kirt Edblom
These massive elk are a common sight along the North Coast.
Flickr/ ah zut
This is what it looks like from the Ahjumawi Lava Springs State Park.
Flickr/ jason jenkins
Pictured here is the Gerle Creek campground in the Crystal basin region of El Dorado National Forest.
Flickr/ graeagleworld
This is the reenactment of the first ski race in Graeagle. Other traditions include the wheelbarrow races in Placerville and the Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County.
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