Pine Mountain Lake (PML) is a private gated community and a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 count ...

(CDP) in

Tuolumne County Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorporated city is Sonora. Tuolumne County comprises the ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is located north and east of Groveland. Pine Mountain Lake sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Pine Mountain Lake's population was 2,796. The ZIP Code is 95321. The community is inside

area code 209 Area codes 209 and 350 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of California. Their service area includes Stockton, Modesto, Turlock, Merced, Winton, Atwater, Livingston, Manteca, Ripon, Tr ...

. The "Gateway to Yosemite", PML is an all-seasons vacation and retirement community. PML includes a private lake with of shoreline. The community also hosts an 18-hole championship golf course, golf shop, lake lodge, tennis, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, fishing, an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

, and close proximity to local shopping, medical, and government services. PML is west of

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ...

on State Highway 120. It gets a light dusting of snow in the winter, and has warm summer days, a green spring, and colorful fall.

About

The community of Big Oak Flat was founded by James D. Savage, who began mining the area about 1851. In "Discovery of the Yosemite and the Indian War of 1851 which led to that event" by Lafayette Bunnell, Savage is credited as the leader of the first group of non-Native Americans of European ancestry into Yosemite Valley, on March 27, 1851. Others of European ancestry may have seen the valley as early as 1833. From approximately 1916 to 1924, Big Oak Flat served as a staging area and housing location for workers constructing the

Hetch Hetchy Railroad The Hetch Hetchy Railroad (HHRR) was a standard gauge Class III railroad constructed by the City of San Francisco to support the construction and expansion of the O'Shaughnessy Dam across Hetch Hetchy Valley. Based in Groveland, the HHRR ope ...

which was required to build the O'Shaughnessy Dam on the

Tuolumne River The Tuolumne River (Yokutsan: ''Tawalimnu'') flows for through Central California, from the high Sierra Nevada to join the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley. Originating at over above sea level in Yosemite National Park, the Tuolumne ...

in the

Hetch Hetchy Valley Hetch Hetchy is a valley, a reservoir, and a water system in California in the United States. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years bef ...

. Big Oak Flat is now registered as

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

#406. The lake is spring-fed and is also fed by Big Creek. It has of water and of shoreline. It affords water skiing, sailing, swimming and fishing. It has three sandy swim beaches, a boat launch marina and a fisherman's park. Pine Mountain Lake Association stocks the lake with trout. The lake is surrounded by

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

s and

manzanita Manzanita is a common name for many species of the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. They are evergreen shrubs or small trees present in the chaparral biome of western North America, where they occur from Southern British Columbia and Washington to Or ...

s, and most homes cannot be seen from the lake, preserving its wilderness feeling. The Pine Mountain Lake subdivision was developed by

Boise Cascade Boise Cascade Company (), which uses the trade name Boise Cascade, is a North American manufacturer of wood products and wholesale distributor of building materials, headquartered in Boise, Idaho. with sales over $7.9 billion in 2021, it is trad ...

in the late 1960s with about 3,600 homesites averaging about one third to one half of an acre each. PML offers an equestrian center, tennis, a PGA rated golf course with a full-time golf pro, a "country club," and full-time mobile security patrol. The lake is about feet above mean sea level. The highest points in the community are about AMSL. Altitudes range from about 2,600 to . Temperatures range from the 20–30 °F in winter to 80–90 °F in the summer. Groveland has Tenaya Elementary School (grades K–8) and Tioga High School (grades 9–12), part of the Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District. Columbia College (California) is about down the hill in Columbia, from Sonora (about from Groveland).

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the CDP covers an area of 19.3 square miles (49.9 km²), 19.0 square miles (49.1 km²) of it land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (1.46%) water.

Demographics

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 servi ...

reported that Pine Mountain Lake had a population of 2,796. The population density was . The racial makeup of Pine Mountain Lake was 2,596 (92.8%)

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 o ...

, 18 (0.6%)

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 ...

, 25 (0.9%) Native American, 24 (0.9%)

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 ...

, 7 (0.3%)

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 21 (0.8%) 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 105 (3.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties forme ...

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 183 persons (6.5%). The Census reported that 2,796 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized. There were 1,346 households, out of which 200 (14.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 776 (57.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 84 (6.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 44 (3.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 66 (4.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 369 households (27.4%) were made up of individuals, and 216 (16.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08. There were 904

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. Ideal ...

(67.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.45. The population was spread out, with 372 people (13.3%) under the age of 18, 95 people (3.4%) aged 18 to 24, 340 people (12.2%) aged 25 to 44, 973 people (34.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,016 people (36.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. There were 3,048 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,117 (83.0%) were owner-occupied, and 229 (17.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 20.7%. 2,239 people (80.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 557 people (19.9%) lived in rental housing units. Pine Mountain Lake, as well as the greater Groveland area, sits within Census Block 06109004200, which includes large portions of both southern Tuolumne County, as well as northern portions of Mariposa County.

Government

In the California State Legislature, Pine Mountain Lake is in , and . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, Pine Mountain Lake is in .

Airport

The

Pine Mountain Lake Airport Pine Mountain Lake Airport , formerly Q68, is a public airport located three miles (4.8 km) northeast of Groveland, serving Tuolumne County, California, United States. It is used mostly for general aviation, and has public access. The airpor ...

is five miles (8 km) from the intersection of Ferretti Road and SR120. The facility has an

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

identifier of E45 and features a roughly- runway.

Sources

* Map: " Stanislaus National Forest, California," U.S. Forest Service, 1979. * Map: "Groveland, California," U.S. Geological Survey, 1987. * ''Airport Facility Directory: Southwest U.S.'', U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, unknown date.

References

External links

Pine Mountain Lake Association home page

Pine Mountain Lake Aviation Association

Friends of the Lake

US Census Bureau Block Data for Pine Mountain Lake CBD
{{authority control Census-designated places in Tuolumne County, California Populated places in the Sierra Nevada (United States) Gated communities in California