Cameron Park, California
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Cameron Park is 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 counte ...
(CDP) in
El Dorado County El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, United States and is part of the Greater Sacramento Area. The population was 19,171 in the 2020 census, up from 18,228 in 2010. Cameron Park is a community located in the
Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
Gold Country of the
Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
foothills, approximately 30 miles (50 km) east of
Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...
and 70 miles (110 km) west of South Lake Tahoe.


History

The original Native American inhabitants of the area surrounding Cameron Park were
Nisenan The Nisenan are a group of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and an Indigenous people of California from the Yuba River and American River watersheds in Northern California and the California Central Valley. According to a ...
, or Southern Maidu Indians. Grinding rocks and burial mounds, still visible in various locations in and near the park, serve as glimpses into their past. But modern development accelerated in the area when Larry Cameron purchased of foothill land in the 1950s for development purposes - first for ranching, then for housing, a golf course, parks, a lake and a small airport. In the years since, the land has slowly been sub-divided into parcels used for purposes varying from ranch-sized properties to medium- and high-density residential neighborhoods. Today, Cameron Park contains a mix of ranches, single family homes, condominiums, apartments and businesses. As of the 2020 Census, the Cameron Park CDP had 7,748 housing units.


Geography and climate

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (0.62%) is water (Cameron Park Lake). Cameron Park is situated in an interior
chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
zone or brush zone just east of the Central Valley. It is the closest population center to the Pine Hill Ecological Reserve. Native vegetation includes an abundance of redbud and manzanita bushes, and brush in general. Where treed the native trees are primarily
gray pine ''Pinus sabiniana'' (sometimes spelled ''P. sabineana'') is a pine endemic to California in the United States. Its vernacular names include towani pine, foothill pine, gray pine, ghost pine, and bull pine. The name digger pine was historically ...
s, and oak trees with some small groves of ponderosa pines starting in the higher elevation zones. The elevation of Cameron Park varies between approximately above sea level, and is not considered in the snow zone of the Sierra Nevada mountains to the east, which are typically between 3,000 and 5,000 feet of elevation and above. Summers are generally hot and dry, with average daytime temperatures in the range, but sometimes reaching , or more. It can be very dry, with little effect of mountain thunderstorms or monsoonal flows that affect the south and interiors. Nights, however, tend to cool off more so than in the
Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River. It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California ...
below, and temperatures in general range a few degrees below the eastern portion of the Central Valley because of the elevation difference. Autumns tend to be an "extended dry, hot summer" throughout California and Cameron Park is no exception. Winters are generally cool and rainy, with highs averaging and nights occasionally dropping below freezing. Cameron Park typically receives exceptional snow events, about once every few years. The soil in Cameron Park is reddish and clay-like and usually must be amended in order for many non-native ornamental plants to survive. The soil is derived from
Gabbro Gabbro ( ) is a phaneritic (coarse-grained and magnesium- and iron-rich), mafic intrusive igneous rock formed from the slow cooling magma into a holocrystalline mass deep beneath the Earth's surface. Slow-cooling, coarse-grained gabbro is ch ...
type of volcanic bedrock and despite its clay-like composition it is good soil and rich in nutrients. Cameron Park is in Sunset Climate Zone 9 and USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 9A.


Demographics


2020

At the 2020 census Cameron Park had a population of 19,171. The population density was . The racial makeup of Cameron Park was 16,242 (88.2%) White, 143 (0.9%) African American, 194 (1.1%) Native American, 425 (2.3%) Asian, 36 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 461 (2.5%) from other races, and 727 (4.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17% of the population. The age distribution was 4.4% were under 5 years, 79% were over 18 years of age, and 23% were 65 years or older. The median age was 45.3 years. There were 7,748 housing units reported with a margin of error of 260. The median income reported was $79,814, with a margin of error of $5,265.


2010

At the 2010 census Cameron Park had a population of 18,228. The population density was . The racial makeup of Cameron Park was 16,242 (89.1%) White, 143 (0.8%) African American, 194 (1.1%) Native American, 425 (2.3%) Asian, 36 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 461 (2.5%) from other races, and 727 (4.0%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2,056 persons (11.3%). The census reported that 18,222 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. 2,512 (35.9%) households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 3,975 (56.8%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 790 (11.3%) had a female householder with no husband present, 356 (5.1%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 390 (5.6%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 41 (0.6%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 1,465 households (20.9%) were one person and 622 (8.9%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.61. There were 5,121 families (73.2% of households); the average family size was 3.00. The age distribution was 4,576 people (25.1%) under the age of 18, 1,502 people (8.2%) aged 18 to 24, 4,162 people (22.8%) aged 25 to 44, 5,358 people (29.4%) aged 45 to 64, and 2,630 people (14.4%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.6 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males. There were 7,610 housing units at an average density of , of which 6,993 were occupied, 4,768 (68.2%) by the owners and 2,225 (31.8%) by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.0%; the rental vacancy rate was 14.6%. 12,566 people (68.9% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 5,656 people (31.0%) lived in rental housing units.


Government

In the
state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...
, Cameron Park is in , and . Federally, Cameron Park is in . Locally, a Community Services District (CSD), supported by an elected Board of Directors, provides many programs and services such as fire and emergency services, local administration, CC&R enforcement, recreational programs and parks and facilities management and upkeep.


Transportation

El Dorado Transit provides local bus service, including the 50 Express bus to Iron Point Station.
Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...
20C provides a daily connection to Sacramento Valley Station to the west, and South Lake Tahoe to the east, with a few stops in between.


Sites of interest

Cameron Airpark Estate's wide streets double as taxiways leading from the residences to the adjacent airport. Many homes have aircraft hangars (oversized garages) that house personal aircraft, allowing residents to commute from home to work entirely by air. The adjoining airport ( Cameron Airpark, O61) is a public airport and of economic importance to the surrounding region. Adjacent to the Airpark Estates sits man-made Cameron Park Lake. Covering approximately , the area contains a trail encircling the lake, picnic areas, boat rentals, tennis courts and playgrounds. Turtles and aquatic fowl can be seen at the lake, and the Community Services District regularly stocks the lake with fish including bluegill, black bass, and black crappie fish. Cameron Park Lake is also the site of the annual "Summer Spectacular" held on or about the
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
holiday. Since 1999 this event has provided entertainment, food, and a fireworks show to attendees. Cameron Park Lake is also the home of "Ribstock," a one-day
barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
festival that features a
Kansas City Barbeque Society Kansas City Barbeque Society is a competitive cooking organization based in Kansas City, Missouri, famous for Kansas City BBQ. It is the largest competitive barbecue organization in the world, with more than 15,000 members. It was founded in 19 ...
-sanctioned barbecue competition. Cameron Park was once known as the home of "Sam's Town", where many travelers stopped on their way to and from
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...
. This restaurant and amusement complex was located along Highway 50, but was torn down in 2002 and is now Fork Lift by Nugget Markets, a grocery store and part of the
Nugget Markets Nugget Markets is an American family-owned upscale supermarket chain operating within the Greater Sacramento, greater Sacramento metropolitan area as well as in Marin County, California, Marin and Sonoma County, California, Sonoma counties in Nor ...
chain. All that remains is a plaque noting its former existence. Parts of the Skinner Vineyard and Winery from the early 1860s can be seen at the intersection of Green Valley Road and Cameron Park Drive. All that is left of Skinner's ranch is a portion of the cellar (integrated into the Cameron Park Nursery on the northeast corner of the intersection), a tiny remnant of the distillery wall (behind mobile homes in the mobile home park near the southeast corner of the intersection), and the Skinner cemetery (near the south-west corner of the intersection). The cemetery contains the graves of James and Jessie Skinner (née Bernard) and three of their sons. The cemetery is located on a small hill just west of the intersection behind a pizza restaurant. Only remnants of a few headstones and fence remain due to the effects of time and vandalism. There are several other "pioneer" cemeteries located throughout Cameron Park. El Dorado Community Health Center (EDCHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center 501(c)(3) with a wide range of services in Cameron Park, CA, including; General Health, Dental Services, Pharmacy, Prevention & Wellness, Immunizations, Behavioral Health, Podiatry and Flu/Pneumonia Immunization.


Notable Parks

Cameron Park has a few large family friendly parks, Rasmussen Park includes baseball and soccer fields. Rasmussen Park features a small bridge spanning a small brook, a mile long track for walking and jogging, two separate playgrounds, as well as the playing fields. The Cameron Park Lake area features a developed lake, that is part of the Deer Creek that flows through western El Dorado County, and into eastern Sacramento County. The lake is surrounded by a walking track. The park includes a disc golf course, tennis courts, fishing, extensive picnicking and wildlife viewing areas. There is a fee to enter Cameron Park Lake. Christa McAuliffe Park is also a park of noteworthy size, situated between Camerado Springs Middle School and
U.S. Route 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...
. It consists of a playground, benches, picnicking, a skate park, and large rugby or soccer fields.


References


External links


Chamber of Commerce


{{Authority control Census-designated places in El Dorado County, California Census-designated places in California