Lake of the Woods is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in southwestern

Kern County, California Kern County is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield, California, Bakersfield. Kern County comprise ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 790. The community is in

Cuddy Canyon Cuddy Canyon is a canyon running along the boundary line between Kern County and Ventura County, California. It lies inside the Los Padres National Forest and southern San Emigdio Mountains. The canyon includes the Tejon Pass mountain communitie ...

in the

San Emigdio Mountains The San Emigdio Mountains are a part of the Transverse Ranges in Southern California, extending from Interstate 5 at Lebec and Gorman on the east to Highway 33–166 on the west. They link the Tehachapis and Temblor Range and form the southern ...

, along the Ventura and Kern County line. It is within the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

. The name "Lake of the Woods" was bestowed by pioneer Mrs. Florence Cuddy, when the community was established in 1925. The reservoir for which it was named has been dry since 1962, when its dam burst.Adam Nagourney
A Dry California Town Struggles to Save Its Water Supply
''The New York Times'', March 7, 2014; se
Ridge Route Communities Museum And Historical Society
(accessed July 21, 2022) for precise year and circumstances.

Demographics

2010

The

2010 United States Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

reported that Lake of the Woods had a population of 917. The population density was . The racial makeup of Lake of the Woods was 820 (89.4%)

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 3 (0.3%)

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 18 (2.0%) Native American, 11 (1.2%)

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0 (0.0%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 34 (3.7%) from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 31 (3.4%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 123 persons (13.4%). The Census reported that 917 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 405 households, out of which 107 (26.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 188 (46.4%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 29 (7.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 24 (5.9%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 22 (5.4%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 (0.2%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 140 households (34.6%) were made up of individuals, and 52 (12.8%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26. There were 241

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

(59.5% of all households); the average family size was 2.95. The population was spread out, with 182 people (19.8%) under the age of 18, 75 people (8.2%) aged 18 to 24, 192 people (20.9%) aged 25 to 44, 348 people (37.9%) aged 45 to 64, and 120 people (13.1%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. For every 100 females there were 113.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.7 males. There were 480 housing units at an average density of , of which 274 (67.7%) were owner-occupied, and 131 (32.3%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.8%; the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%. 594 people (64.8% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 323 people (35.2%) lived in rental housing units.

2000

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 833 people, 346 households, and 217 families in Lake of the Woods, 88 percent of the residents being white — significantly higher than the population of the United States as a whole — which has a population about 75 percent white. There were no African-Americans included in the Lake of the Woods census. Lake of the Woods, California

The population was somewhat older than the country as a whole, the median age being 39 years in Lake of the Woods and 35 years elsewhere. The community had a higher percentage of veterans: One hundred sixteen residents had served in the armed forces, or 20 percent, compared with 13 percent in the rest of the country. Thirty-eight percent of all residents, or 305 people, were disabled; that is higher than the 19 percent disabled population in the country at large. In common with some of the other

Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass The Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass, or the Frazier Mountain Communities, in the San Emigdio Mountains is a region of California that includes Lebec, Frazier Park, Lake of the Woods, Pinon Pines, and Pine Mountain Club, in Kern Count ...

, Lake of the Woods had a significant vacancy rate when the census was taken in March 2000 — 129 of the 475 housing units were unoccupied, compared with just 9 percent in the nation at large. The vacancies may be attributed to some homes' being used only seasonally, or on the weekends.

Transportation

Kern Regional Transit KERN (1180 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General Media. The radio studios and offices are in the American General Medi ...

provides bus service to Lake of the Woods Thursdays and Saturdays during the summer to Frazier Park,

Lebec Lebec is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place in southwestern Kern County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 1,468. Geography Lebec is located in Castac Valley ...

, Pinon Pines, and

Pine Mountain Club Pine Mountain Club is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in southwestern Kern County, California. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,315. It is one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass. Geography Pine Mount ...

. It offers a dial-a-ride service all year. Connections can be made in Frazier Park or Lebec to a scheduled service to

Grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, b ...

and

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

and further connection from the latter to

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

. Road access from the east is provided by Frazier Mountain Park Road, which connects Lake of the Woods to Frazier Park,

, and

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

. Cuddy Valley Road heads west to Pinon Pines and Pine Mountain Club.

Public facilities

Lake of the Woods is served by the Frazier Park post office. Cuddy Hall, owned by the local Lake of the Woods property owners association, is a community center that is available to the public. It was sold to the association in 1959 by Mrs. Cuddy for just $10. It is used as a polling place and is rented out for weddings, parties, concerts, and other events."Association News," ''Mountain Enterprise,'' September 28, 2007.
/ref>

References

Sources

*Bailey, Richard C., ''Kern County Place Names'', (Bakersfield, California: Merchant's Printing and Lithography Co., 1967). *US Geological Survey 7.5-minute quadrangle, "Frazier Mountain, California" (1995).

Newspapers

''The Mountain Enterprise''''Bakersfield Californian''
The ''Californian'' discontinued circulation in the Mountain Communities effective May 1, 2009
Source: ''Mountain Enterprise,'' April 3, 2009
{{Kern County, California Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass Census-designated places in Kern County, California Los Padres National Forest San Emigdio Mountains 1925 establishments in California Populated places established in 1925