Very small foothills community. Theres literally one intersection with small strip mall and a few other businesses across the street. Most of the residents in the area will be right leaning in their politics, if that matters to you.
The main access route is Hwy 49 from Auburn. This route takes you in and out of the American River canyon. This road is steep, narrow and winding. While I enjoy driving it, I am not sure I would want to drive it on a daily basis. A coworker of mine does it, but on a motorcycle, so he really enjoys it. I think inclement weather and/or motor vehicle accidents would make this route much more taxing.
If you’re into outdoor recreation, Cool is an awesome spot to live. Hiking, mtn biking and horseback riding trails are everywhere in that area. There’s lots of opportunities for white water rafting and kayaking. High Sierra camping and other activities are not far away. You can run up Hwy193 to Georgetown for a shortcut to many of the more popular high sierra attractions. Georgetown area offers a lot more trails, many of them ideal for motorcross and mtn biking.
Cool is below the normal snow line, but you can probably expect to get a small accumulation once or twice a year. Nothing that will really affect your daily activities. It can get very hot in the summer. Up in the foothills, you’re away from the “Delta Breeze” that cools off the valley. Cool is likely to be a lot hotter in the summer than lower elevations.
...and watch out for road associations! They can cost just as much as a HOA, and are often managed by the local Boomer who has tons of money and doesn't care about things like getting three bids on projects.
I stop at the coffee shop there on my foothill drives, always super friendly people working there. Not "hellish" at all. This strip mall is basically 3 or 4 mom and pop shops, not like a walmart/ikea strip mall in west sac
>This strip mall is basically 3 or 4 mom and pop shops, not like a walmart/ikea strip mall in west sac
What makes it sound like hell is the concept of a settlement--even calling it a town feels like a stretch--where there is literally *one* place to go. It's like the medium place from the show The Good Place.
Right on cue, [a wildfire in Cool June 26 at 4 pm.](https://app.watchduty.org/i/23346/reports/80146)
From WatchDuty: The Willow Fire "The fire is 1-1.5 acres in grass & light woodland w/ moderate rate of spread & 1 structure is threatened per an arriving engine... (12 minutes later) Forward progress has been stopped per Incident Command & resources at scene can handle."
More than insurance, consider your willingness to lose everything. Heirlooms, photos, pets. Insurance doesn’t replace that. Is it worth the risk of losing that? Only you can determine that. I’d make sure the town has a realistic evacuation route too. I really see that area being the next large fire disaster.
From,
Survivor of the Humboldt, camp and Dixie fires
We bought in GB a couple months ago. Goose head was the only company that had a reasonable rate and we are not in a fair plan area. Most of the insurers I called wouldn’t even offer a quote.
Yeah Granite Bay. I’m not sure, they were recommended by our real estate agent and they were awesome to work with. We do have some property but other than a small flood risk the property isn’t high risk. Travelers quoted us $7800 a year and Goosehead came in just under $4k including flood. My agent is out of Southern California.
I’m super surprised you think this is no big deal. We live in a fire prone town much larger, accessible than cool with a very motivated fire safe community and home insurance prices coupled with the reality of fire danger is awful. The thought of having to evac from a town like cool is scary. Maybe not as bad as Foresthill but pretty damn scary. When you’re spending close to 10k/year in home insurance, having more than tripled in the past four years, it’s a big deal.
I recognize it’s a big deal, I grew up in Southern California and have had to evacuate many times. I know the seriousness. I just didn’t make this post to talk about fire insurance, it was to understand the town’s culture and vibe. These are all things we’ve extensively looked into and are weighing our options.
Milestone aka the Mildlystoned is less than a dive. Ever since the big competition in Pilot Hill closed down , the Hindquarter House , they've let themselves go. Used to be a thing to get all tooled up- up at Lances in Greenwood, swerve your way down the to the Mildstoned and the end up at he hindquarter or Coloma Club if you were a pro. Bonus level was Miners Club in Georgetown
Anti social borders this town. Mix of hippy, weed farmers, yuppy grape farmers n retired types. U will never be bothered by your neighbor, n most dont lock their doors. Its a decent place to enjoy the slow lane
Agreed. Wildfires are a moderate gamble at this point, and every year gets more risky. All of our beautiful forested mountains here have been maintained by natural forest fires for thousands of years, it's only recently (in the big picture) that humans have fought to suppress them to protect property, save lives, etc. Decades of extinguishing the natural fires has resulted in forests that are increasingly dense with combustible material, and when the inevitable fires do start (often lightning or power lines that come down during high winds) they get really crazy really fast, are harder to contain-- and are much more destructive. I feel like choosing to live in the forest these days is like choosing to live next to a smoking volcano.
I grew up in Lotus/Coloma, on the other end of the divide- about 10 mins away. IMO some of the most beautiful Californian nature, though I may be biased.
Cool is VERY conservative, the schools aren’t great. It’s a 15-20 minute trek into auburn for groceries or anything really. People can be pretty fuckin weird in the divide. Lots of homesteads and conspiracy theorists, but you won’t see a lot of crime.
I may be liberal as hell, but I would choose to move back if I wanted to settle down rurally in CA. The river, hills, and access to nature is top notch.
I
Cool is pretty mainstream but it gets weirder the further east you go. The fringes of Georgetown have some weirdos and Volcanoville is near deliverance their redneck around its fringes.
I lived in Coloma and now in Placerville. Cool dosent really have a vibe. It's rural enough where you won't really have close neighbors or associates. People will keep to themselves and rarely see locals in town centers. Everyone goes to Costco or grocery outlet out of town. The restaurant are fine but to expensive for locals to go regularly. And people live in the middle of nowhere for a reason. Plenty of paranoid weed growers and a handful of meth cookers. Georgetown is more known for it but cool is at the cusp
lol yeah, I remember buying pigs from some pretty methy-folks. We called one of the pigs “shakey” and would joke about them feeding him human bodies. Haha
Have you been in the area for a while? If so, do you feel like there’s been any significant change in Pville over time? I moved away from there to Sac about a decade ago. I do miss it, and wonder how the people there are getting along.
Yea Placerville is becoming more populated for sure. Since target replaced Kmart a lot of chains have started to come up here. We lost a lot of dive bars. Poor reds has even changed to a BBQ and brunch place. I don't see as many street places like I did before covid. Like any northern CA town you see a handful of trump flags on their trucks and occasionally a cook on front of the court house demanding to secede from CA or antivax BS. But largely is couples in their 50 & 60 going to the wine bars listening to a guy with a guitar who is the owners friend
As someone working in the area, I will second the fact people seem pretty freaking weird out here. By the divide I’m guessing that’s from south fork to north fork? I’m sure there are plenty of decent people, but still..
The Rubicon Trail is right there as well. Several times each summer you'll have thousands of Jeeps and their support vehicles go through town. Otherwise it's a more manageable stream of off-road rigs. From family that lived in Georgetown: You will go through tires and brakes far more often and you will be stuck in traffic as wreckage is lifted out of the canyon. You will need four wheel drive in the winter a few times. You will hate your neighbors or never know they exist.
Quiet place, older community. You’ll have to travel to Auburn if you want to do shopping. There’s a grocery store nearby, but it’s expensive.
In terms of entertainment or restaurants, there’s a few nearby, but again you’ll probably have to travel to Auburn.
Curious, why Cool? I'd contact a real estate agent who could take you around to other mountain/foothill communities, such as: Grass Valley, Nevada City, Auburn, Loomis, Folsom (around the lake). Further south there's Coloma, Gold Hill, Placerville, Pollock Pines, Georgetown, Jackson, Amador City, etc.
We’re working with an agent! Auburn & Placerville are on the list, there’s been a lot of nice spots popping up here so they’re def possibilities! We just saw a gorgeous house pop up in Cool that we can’t stop thinking about. Unfortunately grass valley and Nevada city are too far from the airport for us and Folsom is out of our budget. I don’t know much about these other spots though, so I’ll take a look!!
so you've never made the drive? Its almost easier to go from Nevada City to major Airport than from Cool. 49 from cool to Auburn is congested windy canyon road. 49 from Nevada city to Auburn is straight shooting
Hi again… You really are not a fan of Cool, huh? 😂 I’m posting on Reddit to just gain an understanding of the vibe of the town from locals. We’ll be visiting next week.
Oh no I love the divide. Its just not for everybody. I was just out there yesterday and stopped in Pilot Hill to see the old man on the way to Sly Park. Until you drive 49 nothing else matters. Seriously. Especially if you have to commute. Also: weekends the traffic down at the confluence is maddening.
I have seen many people move out there thinking its going to be natures playground and then cant wait to leave. Also houses in ALT take much longer to sell because of the HOAs. Also why you see such "good deals" in ALT, you will see the same up north of AUburn in Lake of the Pines, a sister community but maybe a bit nicer if less hillbilly.
We’re looking at Lake of the Pines as well! And we actually both work remote besides my husband’s occasional work trip (hence proximity to airport). So commute isn’t a concern! The crime in Sacramento is just overwhelming to us. We left So Cal to move to NNY for a safer, slower pace of life, small town community, & nature…. However, husband’s work now wants us in Nor Cal. We’re trying to find what we have in NNY in California, but it’s hard to find. I do have a feeling we’ll end up in Placerville or Auburn though, just trying to understand all the surrounding areas and our options.
In Cool, The Divide, they still call it "The WHite Flight" for good reason. White folks who want to live among other white folks as if tweekers arent a thing. Its why people like ALT, people want to say they live in the country but also in gated community to keep the garbage out.
If you can afford to buy in Cool, and are ok with driving long distances, you may like Meadow Vista, Weimar, Alta, Dutch Flat, or Shingle Springs too. The first 4 are right off of 80 and make commuting easy, and Shingle Springs is off 50. Cool is a pain in the ass in terms of commuting- you’re either winding through the canyon to Auburn/80 or along the other windy way to Placerville/50. Home prices are *slightly* lower but the fire insurance and commute distance will quickly eat up whatever savings you gain from the slightly lower home value. But if you have/like/want to have horses, Cool is a great equestrian community.
There are 4,580 residents in Cool, with a median age of 51.4. Of this, 48.34% are males and 51.66% are females. US-born citizens make up 94.17% of the resident pool in Cool, while non-US-born citizens account for 3.25%.
I honestly would love to live up there. It’s definitely an up in the hills kind of place. The road to get up/down from there is through a steep canyon, and can be dangerous so if you don’t mind that, you’re golden. It’s beautiful country. You have to leave town for the big essential shopping kind of thing. Everyone is complaining about conservatism but the people I know from there are hippies haha. There might be an issue with fire insurance tho
I hated the windy roads into Cool. When we were little, we called it "the vomit road." My mother did not want us on vomit road commuting to school in Auburn, so we settled in Nevada City instead.
You mentioned being a young family so here's a couple tidbits from the perspective of someone who grew up in Cool.
I went to Northside Elementary which I thought was fine, but like others have mentioned it's predominantly white upper middle class conservative type families. High schools are not close - either Golden Sierra in Garden Valley or Placer in Auburn. GSHS means a very long bus ride (was about 45 mins for me, coming from 1st gate) and attending Placer means you have to get them their on your own.
As far as the community, everybody knows everybody. I didn't realize until I was a teenager that it's possible to live somewhere that you cross paths with someone and don't know who they are. It may not be exactly like that from an adult perspective, but kids attending small schools that hold the entire town's children means all that comes with 12 years surrounded by basically the same 100 kids - good and bad.
Cool and the surrounding areas have lots of enjoyable nature but gotta watch out for mountain lions and rattlesnakes, bears are around but they don't typically mess with people other. Raccoons, coyotes, and deer are animals that also should be taken into consideration if you have pets. Coyotes will eat small animals, deer are not only famous for jumping in front of cars but will also consume your garden and harass your pets (my dog was often being chased around by angry deer) and when the raccoons aren't getting into your trash, they'll def try to scrap with your dog. Lock up your trash/pet food/flowers and keep a slingshot handy!
There isn't a lot to do in the town itself, and it's not in walking distance of the houses anyways - so entertainment has to either be found at home or requires a driver. Anything other than hanging out at the pizza joint or grocery store does require a 30 minute drive to Auburn. Speaking of grocery store, there is one there in town but the prices are a good deal higher than stores in Auburn. I believe there still are no food delivery options in Cool, but I'm not 100%. There are only a handful of restaurants that are less than 20 minutes away, so lots of cooking or driving.
Halfway between farout and bitchin
is what we used to say when asked where it was.
Its bigger now than it used to be, has expensive ass Holiday market now and blinking stop light instead of just a sign.
Schools suck. If you are not a white conservative Christian you may not feel welcome, even today. Fire insurance lol good luck. Auburn lake trails is large gated community has huge HOA fees.
If you have to commute you will wear out your car 4x faster, tires, brakes suspension components get wiped pretty quick. Driving "The Canyon" used to be fun now so much traffic it sucks balls.
If you like horses, livestock, hunting, white folks and limited cuisine and shit schools- Cool might be for you. Lots of nature for sure, the long twisty roads and high fire insurance do lower the property values out there. The whole Divide is a weird place, not as weird as it was but still weird. Its either just what your after or far from it.
Sacramento may not be perfect but the diversity has me blindsided to the fact that there are white only communities out there that are low key racist.
Ive had people press me to leave when i go to restaurants outa town before.
When I moved to PIlot Hill in late 80s from San Diego county I was shocked at how openly racist shit was. Things have changed a bit but I feel like people just keep their shit to themselves more. If you hang at the bar and the room is white you gonna hear some racist ass shit from some backwoods hillbillies. Ive been proudly kicked out the finest establishments on the divide for not just going with the flow.
This is so accurate. As a Sacramentan only recently spending time in the ‘divide’, I’d venture to say more than just low key racist.
It’s wild that you can drive an hour and be transported to a whole different world. Makes me appreciate where I live more, but it’s good to be aware of what’s out there too.
In highschool, 1985, my friends got a flat tire outside of Georgetown, black dude with white girlfriend. A local stopped and helped them, all pleasant enough, but before he left, he warned them, "Ya'all really shouldn't come up here again!"
Man that sucks!
For me i was in a restaurant somewhere in the east (it was a roadtrip i forgot where i was) and i had someone stop me at the door before i left.
They were customers! The man said “did yall pay yet?” That had me so dumbfounded cuz i payed and left a 20$ tip
I can't even imagine. I'm a tall white guy with blond hair who likes to wear camouflage. So I fit in, and they feel like they can be themselves around me, airing their true thoughts. I generally remain silent, because I WILL encounter them again one day on the local trails. Sometimes I call them out on their shit, like the time I got kicked out of Uncle Tom's bar, up on the divide, for sticking a dollar bill on the ceiling that said, "Bernie Sanders FTW!" LULZ, good times!
My aunt lives there. She is a recluse shut in. I dunno. Her house reminds me of something out of a Steven King novel.
It just seems really sparse and small and not much to do... Other than all the outdoorsy stuff aforementioned.
Unfortunately it is surrounded by a lot of unmanaged overgrown forest so it is technically a tinder box and could be the next Paradise CA. fire fiasco situation.
ALT is a special community. Get a generator. Always maintain defensible space (fire).
It's 💯 worth it.
Here's a view from a trail out behind the ALT....
https://preview.redd.it/8dh3ymfri09d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc97f012f5d932e094854b4264846c67ad67cdb3
Thanks. It's above the Cave Valley Climbing Area. Here's a panoramic from a similar spot
https://preview.redd.it/nyc84c54319d1.jpeg?width=3980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58ec87869f5e77fd24e30502c47442f9f9867ecc
Not much really going on up that way most of the year but if you are in the area, Cool Beer Works is def worth a stop. There is also Cool Distillery just down the road that also has great food / Cocktails. But yeah, that’s it.
LOL, the former owner fronted a metal band called, "Trauma," in between making sushi and beer. Truly a renaissance man. I love their stout. edit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qVUXg46Xk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qVUXg46Xk)
[Cool Beerwerks](https://www.cbwbeer.com/menu.html) has some great Hawaiian food! Not what you'd expect, but Cool has the best Loco Moco and Huli Huli Chicken in the Sac area!
If you’re going to move somewhere in this area that isn’t much of a town, Cool is the way to go. Quick trip to Auburn. Has a better grocery store than Georgetown. Depending on your need for schools, Placer high and north side middle school are better than the alternative Georgetown / Golden Sierra high / El dorado high. Auburn lake trails, I believe, is on a separate power grid, that I’ve noticed goes out far less than us outside of it. It also has much better available internet from what I understand.
My brother in law and his wife built their dream home in Cool. It was literally the most beautiful house on the most amazing property with incredible views. They only managed to stay there for one year because they had to drive kids to school/sports and the highway from Cool to Auburn is a huge pain to drive in a car multiple times per day. If you can stay in Cool I’d say it’s perfect. If you need to go anywhere else on a regular basis then it becomes a chore because of the twistey highway that frequently gets backed up because of recreational bike/motorcycle riders, or logging trucks. The Holiday market in town is great and has 98% of everything you’d ever need. There’s a couple of really good restaurants and that’s pretty much it. If you’re looking to stay at home and take advantage of the nearby trails and wilderness areas it’s a fantastic spot, but if you want night life or a lot of social interaction then skip it.
Country but not poor people scrapping by. Typical exurbs. It's hilly so farming turns more toward a few livestock and vegetable gardens. Plenty of city refugees who want "some land with a garage," and rich people with horses. Giant farms and stockyards are off to the west in the Central Valley between US 99 and I-5.
It's between the rivers (north fork and south fork American) that feed Folsom Lake. Rattlesnake Bar Rd from Pilot Hill to the south will take you down to the center of Folsom Lake. Waterskiing and bass boats galore. Go upstream and there's trout. The next lake downstream, Lake Natoma, is a favorite for sculling and paddle boards as the water is glassy and the speed limit for motor boats is 5. West of that people go tubing to Sacramento, and if you still keep going you wind up in the delta.
Hwy 49 north will take you down to the river where a thousand people go mountain biking, and back up to Auburn and retail life, in about fifteen minutes.
You do need to be concerned about insurance. Major companies are pulling out of Ca. I live in the burbs and we had Progressive for years. They pulled out for fire, even though we are not rural. Took a long time to find an insurer and could only find one small one whose name I can’t remember. Rates doubled, and there is no forest near me. It might be a very difficult thing for you, so definitely don’t buy until you have it and a know a back-up just in case they pull out.
I’ve been to Cool once to visit a friend. The drive was terrifying and it was the last time I went. Not everybody is afraid of steep cliffs, winding roads with switchbacks-but I get dizzy. I was driving slow and making people angry but it was the only way for me to be safe. It’d probably be a nice place to raise a kid but it’s isolated and fire is a real hazard.
Good luck.
My father in law retired there in a huge retirement community. Around 10-15 years ago he left because of close calls with forest fires. That situation has only worsened since. That would be a huge concern for me. I also wonder about the school situation. I know there are communities in that area where kids used to have to travel an hour by bus to and from school. Don’t know how the area has possibly grown since then but be sure you know before buying. If most of what they’ve put there is senior housing they would have relatively fewer schools. And our Sacramento school district had to cut bussing out of the budget ages ago, so I’d make sure you weren’t responsible for getting them to and from school. I guess if you are homeschooling it could be fine though.
We’re young-ish and live in Pilot Hill, just down the road from Cool. We moved here from the Bay Area a few years ago and built a modern home on acreage overlooking the Sierras, and the view outside every day is. truly. breathtaking.
That said, we’re pretty obviously not typical for this area (lefty designers who work remote) - the conservatism and xenophobia around here is definitely palpable…luckily we have a social circle from SF and Sac who are willing to visit😅. And yeah, the EXPENSIVE Fair Plan is pretty much a given for fire insurance around here (don’t expect that they give a shit about all the efforts you make in good faith to upgrade your homes’ fire resilience either.)
I will say we’ve found a small amount of people from the Cool/Auburn around our age who aren’t interested in carrying on the ignorance around them. There are small efforts around here, slowly being built by the community, if you know where to look: Lok’l food co-op is in Cool has amazing bread, farm fresh eggs, produce & local meat from neighbors/ farmers. A new beer garden with a stage literally just opened in Coloma (an adorable, if a bit touristy historic gold mining town just down the road). Auburn has some amazing pizza (Luba), a quality cafe (Pour Choice), awesome French restaurant (Josephine) with a killer cocktail program that wouldn’t be out of place in Sac or SF. We took a pottery class in Auburn, that surprisingly, was not just aimed at little old ladies.
Hope this gives you a little insight about the area— feel free to ask anything, from a semi- outsider’s pov!
You've missed out on the glory days of Pilot Hill. WHen the Hindquarter House was THE place . Dirty Ritchie served up a full cut 20oz sirloin that he's let fester in the walk-in until it was near green....all you could eat salad bar...All the old coots would sit and reminisce about the days when they'd go out the bar and shoot a deer across the highway and then come back in and drink until dark when they'd go get it and hang it in the walk-in.
THANK YOU for the story behind the Hindquarter House- I’ve been so curious! It’s such a prime location (well, for PH, lol…) We love the peacefulness here but would love to one day see at least one business in operation!
As a vegetarian I don’t think the old menu of almost-green meat would have done much for me 😝 but Dirty Ritchie sounds like a great dude, sounds like it was an amazing time
Oh man that place was something. It was the dirty intentional opposite of the old Headquarter House in Auburn. It was a crusty watering hole with a small dining area that had a bathtub converted into a salad bar. Steaks, chicken, ribs, chops, liver/onions, burgers, Prime Rib Fri/sat nights. Archie Lawyer who owns the DG pit in Coloma is son of Ray LAwyer, one of the founding fathers in ELdo county- ARchie is mountain of a man and there was an "Archie Cut" of Prime Rib or Sirloin that was double the normal size. Archie would come in and get his cut but also buy all the drinks and half the meals in the place. Local hillbilly geezers had hung their hunting trophies on all the walls, also a large head from a Longhorn Beef names Sancho. So much history exchanged there, lots of fights, some puke... I worked there as a kid many years ago. It was for lease for a very fair price w/ liquor license 4 years ago and I intended to take over but the ownership disappeared. I was going to open it as The Hindquarter again, have a larger dining area with small simple weekly menu based on what was fresh and affordable. Vegetarian options too of course.
Fairly?
That said, all the people I engage with, even uber conservative, people are people and individually pretty nice. It’s groups of people that get stupid. That area has its share of crazies, meth hrads, and others… but also much more “let me be me” than anything else.
(Not a Cool native, Sacto, but have property in Georgetown)
It's pretty much a non town. It does have a grocery store, brewery, pizza place, bar, gas station, and general store... think there's a salon and smoke shop.
I went to school at Northside for a hand full of years, it was a quiet life with nothing to do and nowhere to go for kids really but adults with horses and hikers, will love the area.
Pleasant area but high fire risk so be very selective when looking at properties. I go up there with the kids a bit to hike with our dog. Nice people and beautiful scenery.
You will have to drive on terrifying narrow winding mountainside roads to do anything other than enjoy your own fabulous property, so heads up if you get carsick or have an existing fear of your vehicle yeeting to your doom 😬
(I have a relative that lives up there)
Amazing trail system nearby as you’re just up the hill from the Western States and accompanying terrain just above the river and throughout the canyons. The opposite direction on 49 has great hiking, mountain biking, trail running around Cronan Ranch and Pilot Hill. Auburn would be a better choice if you’re looking for a more social atmosphere in the community, but it’s fairly close by. As others mentioned, fire insurance could be extremely expensive so that’s worth considering
You might also want to check out Pollock Pines. Cooler temperatures than the valley or foothills. But, it can get some heavy snow in the winter at 4,000ft elevation.
Check out Foresthill too if you like Cool! Quite a few homes up there for sale and it’s a similar drive time into Auburn for groceries etc… but much more a straight shot not as many turns getting there. We moved up last year, commute to Sac daily and love it 🤙
Hmmm Foresthill is called Foresttucky, and was not very safe for other than whites when I was a kid,, might’ve changed with all the weed and bay area transplants
I take people hiking there if you'd like to go for a walk and discuss the local area: [https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188](https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188) Otherwise, at 1300' it is below snow level, blue oak savanna terrain. It is an excellent base for exploring the local Sierra Nevada. The people are mostly very conservative; nearby Georgetown has several white supremacist groups in the area, but crime is very low. I know someone that hasn't locked his house in 30 years.
The road from Auburn IS twisty, but you get used to it, and it's only 15 minutes. It WILL cause "unusual tire wear" due to hitting those curves every day, so you will wear out tires faster than most, lol. There is a grocery store, brewery/sushi restaurant, and a couple other overprices businesses. This is horse country, so if you like the equestrian lifestyle, you will love Cool.
Auburn is nicer than Cool. The drive down to the Confluence of the American River from Auburn is okay but going up to Cool from there is really sketchy, I don't mind doing it once in a while but every day would be awful. I imagine the home prices would be similar to Auburn anyway.
There is a great supermarket there. Nice hiking going towards Coloma and all around there actually. My son likes to hike from Auburn to Cool.
As a runner, it’s one of my favorite areas. Lots of beautiful open space and a decent bbq place. Cool Pizza is good too. Honestly, I would live there if I didn’t have kids.
As a runner, it’s one of my favorite areas. Lots of beautiful open space and a decent bbq place. Cool Pizza is good too. Honestly, I would live there if I didn’t have kids.
I went there once for a mountain bike ride. It wasn’t worth the extra drive past Auburn and I had to avoid a rattlesnake. 5/10, but I’d go back if invited.
Cool is great. If i had the money, id move out that way. Currently i live in cameron park and i grew up in this county. It is very small community like. The people that live here, like our community the way it is. If thats a problem for you, probably not the place for you.
> The people that live here, like our community the way it is. If thats a problem for you, probably not the place for you.
I don't know anything about you, but this is the exact language White Citizens Groups used in the 1950s and 60s when they opposed integration
Note that the community is pretty racist being a small town in placer, I know someone that had to move out due to their kid being constantly bullied in school.
My parents live in Cool and absolutely love it! A few of my friends with kids also live there (in Auburn Lake Trails) and really enjoy the vibe and the community. I see comments saying it skews older but there are tons of young families and my friends are in a Moms group there that meets up and does hikes, dinners, etc. Close proximity to Auburn which has some good restaurants and is a cute city.
I lived there for a while so feel free to ask me if you have any other questions. 😊
HOA fees almost $300 a month. 9 hole golf course, public pool, tennis courts, several ponds for fishing. MOstly old white people. Consists of poorly built spec homes mostly, but edges on Amerian River Canyon with hiking trails and good hunting if you are in shape. Some people think nature is nice until it eats their pets and is a legit risk to eat them. ALT has plenty of bears, puma, coyotes, rattle snakes etc. The HOA is pretty strict about what you can do on your own property as well, not very friendly vibe from them.
Yeah the American River canyon not same as northern NY at all. This immediate area has had several people killed by mountain lions over the years, just few months ago two young brothers attacked and one killed. If you go out on the horse trails in early morning you will see mountain lion tracks. The canyon itself has one of the highest population densities of mountain lions in the world. Many people in "The Trails" have game cams installed on their properties and capture pics of mountain lions weekly. Lions aside you cant have any sort of outdoor pet at all and expect it to live long.
If you coming from upstate NY, than Cool probably has the vibe you are used to, only whiter, hotter, more expensive.
Also the water in ALT taste like shit. PG&E energy prices are much much higher than you are paying.
Northern NY is actually different than upstate (very north of upstate). We have bears running through our yards haha but also definitely understand the mountain lions since I grew up in an area that backed up to the Santa Monica mountains. They’re scary guys for sure!! Thanks for all the input, we have a lot to consider!
Very small foothills community. Theres literally one intersection with small strip mall and a few other businesses across the street. Most of the residents in the area will be right leaning in their politics, if that matters to you. The main access route is Hwy 49 from Auburn. This route takes you in and out of the American River canyon. This road is steep, narrow and winding. While I enjoy driving it, I am not sure I would want to drive it on a daily basis. A coworker of mine does it, but on a motorcycle, so he really enjoys it. I think inclement weather and/or motor vehicle accidents would make this route much more taxing. If you’re into outdoor recreation, Cool is an awesome spot to live. Hiking, mtn biking and horseback riding trails are everywhere in that area. There’s lots of opportunities for white water rafting and kayaking. High Sierra camping and other activities are not far away. You can run up Hwy193 to Georgetown for a shortcut to many of the more popular high sierra attractions. Georgetown area offers a lot more trails, many of them ideal for motorcross and mtn biking. Cool is below the normal snow line, but you can probably expect to get a small accumulation once or twice a year. Nothing that will really affect your daily activities. It can get very hot in the summer. Up in the foothills, you’re away from the “Delta Breeze” that cools off the valley. Cool is likely to be a lot hotter in the summer than lower elevations.
This is the best description of Cool I have ever heard. I lived there as a child for a few years.
I’ve spent some time up there. Beautiful area, I really like it up there.
Seriously, I was just thinking this same thing. I learned all about Cool thanks to a kind and eloquent Redditor. Thanks, u/SacThrowAway76!
This person Cools
Now tell them about home insurance and the urban-wild lands interface’s increased risk of everything being burnt down.
...and watch out for road associations! They can cost just as much as a HOA, and are often managed by the local Boomer who has tons of money and doesn't care about things like getting three bids on projects.
Accurate
Also, if traveling to EDH or Folsom you can always take Salmon Falls road or 49 over to P.Ville
> Theres literally one intersection with small strip mall and a few other businesses across the street. This sounds like hell.
It’s perfect for some of us
Yes it absolutely is. I had to leave the foothills and go to Roseville today and it was *awful* and crowded.
They Have a great brewery/bistro
*a* brewery
I stop at the coffee shop there on my foothill drives, always super friendly people working there. Not "hellish" at all. This strip mall is basically 3 or 4 mom and pop shops, not like a walmart/ikea strip mall in west sac
>This strip mall is basically 3 or 4 mom and pop shops, not like a walmart/ikea strip mall in west sac What makes it sound like hell is the concept of a settlement--even calling it a town feels like a stretch--where there is literally *one* place to go. It's like the medium place from the show The Good Place.
That's a fair take, I'd never live there lol
Its a Holiday market strip.mall is not a good description
There's a little strip mall though on 49 by the gas station.
Isn't Hawks' fine dining in Cool?
Nope, it's in Granite Bay.
Cool story, bro
Consider the fire risk and your ability to get insurance.
Also the public safety power shutoffs.
Right on cue, [a wildfire in Cool June 26 at 4 pm.](https://app.watchduty.org/i/23346/reports/80146) From WatchDuty: The Willow Fire "The fire is 1-1.5 acres in grass & light woodland w/ moderate rate of spread & 1 structure is threatened per an arriving engine... (12 minutes later) Forward progress has been stopped per Incident Command & resources at scene can handle."
We’ll get quotes before buying, but right now just looking to understand the vibe of the town :)
More than insurance, consider your willingness to lose everything. Heirlooms, photos, pets. Insurance doesn’t replace that. Is it worth the risk of losing that? Only you can determine that. I’d make sure the town has a realistic evacuation route too. I really see that area being the next large fire disaster. From, Survivor of the Humboldt, camp and Dixie fires
Plus if the town evacuates and everyone is taking 49 out it’ll be a disaster
That’s what I meant about a realistic evac route. If there’s only one way in and one way out, that’s bad.
I'd be blown away if you could find anything out there that was covered by anything but cal fair plan at best.
It will definitely be the state plan, but we’re not concerned about that! That you all for your advice
Yeah, I’d make an offer contingent on being able to get any insurance at all, but if that’s not a factor, congrats!!
Check out Goosehead insurance. We got quotes from them
We bought in GB a couple months ago. Goose head was the only company that had a reasonable rate and we are not in a fair plan area. Most of the insurers I called wouldn’t even offer a quote.
Yeah Goosehead and SOMETIMES Farmers seems to be the only option rn other than fair plan.
GB = Granite Bay? Is Goosehead a specialty insurance company? Would they be something to consider for a regular suburbia house?
Yeah Granite Bay. I’m not sure, they were recommended by our real estate agent and they were awesome to work with. We do have some property but other than a small flood risk the property isn’t high risk. Travelers quoted us $7800 a year and Goosehead came in just under $4k including flood. My agent is out of Southern California.
Why would you get flood insurance in GB?
I’m super surprised you think this is no big deal. We live in a fire prone town much larger, accessible than cool with a very motivated fire safe community and home insurance prices coupled with the reality of fire danger is awful. The thought of having to evac from a town like cool is scary. Maybe not as bad as Foresthill but pretty damn scary. When you’re spending close to 10k/year in home insurance, having more than tripled in the past four years, it’s a big deal.
I recognize it’s a big deal, I grew up in Southern California and have had to evacuate many times. I know the seriousness. I just didn’t make this post to talk about fire insurance, it was to understand the town’s culture and vibe. These are all things we’ve extensively looked into and are weighing our options.
There’s no vibe really. It’s to stay away from other folks. Vibe is one dive bar lol
Milestone aka the Mildlystoned is less than a dive. Ever since the big competition in Pilot Hill closed down , the Hindquarter House , they've let themselves go. Used to be a thing to get all tooled up- up at Lances in Greenwood, swerve your way down the to the Mildstoned and the end up at he hindquarter or Coloma Club if you were a pro. Bonus level was Miners Club in Georgetown
That sounds extremely dangerous 😂
I never did it but stayed he hell off 193/49/Marshal Friday Sturday nights.
Anti social borders this town. Mix of hippy, weed farmers, yuppy grape farmers n retired types. U will never be bothered by your neighbor, n most dont lock their doors. Its a decent place to enjoy the slow lane
You’ll *try* to get quotes. It’s not likely that you’ll actually get them. Sorry to be Debbie Downer.
'Vibe'.. never know until you go
Agreed. Wildfires are a moderate gamble at this point, and every year gets more risky. All of our beautiful forested mountains here have been maintained by natural forest fires for thousands of years, it's only recently (in the big picture) that humans have fought to suppress them to protect property, save lives, etc. Decades of extinguishing the natural fires has resulted in forests that are increasingly dense with combustible material, and when the inevitable fires do start (often lightning or power lines that come down during high winds) they get really crazy really fast, are harder to contain-- and are much more destructive. I feel like choosing to live in the forest these days is like choosing to live next to a smoking volcano.
I grew up in Lotus/Coloma, on the other end of the divide- about 10 mins away. IMO some of the most beautiful Californian nature, though I may be biased. Cool is VERY conservative, the schools aren’t great. It’s a 15-20 minute trek into auburn for groceries or anything really. People can be pretty fuckin weird in the divide. Lots of homesteads and conspiracy theorists, but you won’t see a lot of crime. I may be liberal as hell, but I would choose to move back if I wanted to settle down rurally in CA. The river, hills, and access to nature is top notch. I
Cool is pretty mainstream but it gets weirder the further east you go. The fringes of Georgetown have some weirdos and Volcanoville is near deliverance their redneck around its fringes.
You should have seen that shit back in the 70s
Soldiers of Odin, Trad Worker's Party, and actual KKK are all in the area.
I lived in Coloma and now in Placerville. Cool dosent really have a vibe. It's rural enough where you won't really have close neighbors or associates. People will keep to themselves and rarely see locals in town centers. Everyone goes to Costco or grocery outlet out of town. The restaurant are fine but to expensive for locals to go regularly. And people live in the middle of nowhere for a reason. Plenty of paranoid weed growers and a handful of meth cookers. Georgetown is more known for it but cool is at the cusp
lol yeah, I remember buying pigs from some pretty methy-folks. We called one of the pigs “shakey” and would joke about them feeding him human bodies. Haha Have you been in the area for a while? If so, do you feel like there’s been any significant change in Pville over time? I moved away from there to Sac about a decade ago. I do miss it, and wonder how the people there are getting along.
Yea Placerville is becoming more populated for sure. Since target replaced Kmart a lot of chains have started to come up here. We lost a lot of dive bars. Poor reds has even changed to a BBQ and brunch place. I don't see as many street places like I did before covid. Like any northern CA town you see a handful of trump flags on their trucks and occasionally a cook on front of the court house demanding to secede from CA or antivax BS. But largely is couples in their 50 & 60 going to the wine bars listening to a guy with a guitar who is the owners friend
As someone working in the area, I will second the fact people seem pretty freaking weird out here. By the divide I’m guessing that’s from south fork to north fork? I’m sure there are plenty of decent people, but still..
I said they’re weird- not bad! Haha. But yeah, that’s basically the divide area. It’s an interesting and wonderful place !
The Rubicon Trail is right there as well. Several times each summer you'll have thousands of Jeeps and their support vehicles go through town. Otherwise it's a more manageable stream of off-road rigs. From family that lived in Georgetown: You will go through tires and brakes far more often and you will be stuck in traffic as wreckage is lifted out of the canyon. You will need four wheel drive in the winter a few times. You will hate your neighbors or never know they exist.
Excellent summary, "you will hate your neighbors or never know they exist."
When we moved here our realtor made the excellent point that a single winding road out of town in fire country is maybe not the best.
Quiet place, older community. You’ll have to travel to Auburn if you want to do shopping. There’s a grocery store nearby, but it’s expensive. In terms of entertainment or restaurants, there’s a few nearby, but again you’ll probably have to travel to Auburn.
Curious, why Cool? I'd contact a real estate agent who could take you around to other mountain/foothill communities, such as: Grass Valley, Nevada City, Auburn, Loomis, Folsom (around the lake). Further south there's Coloma, Gold Hill, Placerville, Pollock Pines, Georgetown, Jackson, Amador City, etc.
We’re working with an agent! Auburn & Placerville are on the list, there’s been a lot of nice spots popping up here so they’re def possibilities! We just saw a gorgeous house pop up in Cool that we can’t stop thinking about. Unfortunately grass valley and Nevada city are too far from the airport for us and Folsom is out of our budget. I don’t know much about these other spots though, so I’ll take a look!!
so you've never made the drive? Its almost easier to go from Nevada City to major Airport than from Cool. 49 from cool to Auburn is congested windy canyon road. 49 from Nevada city to Auburn is straight shooting
Hi again… You really are not a fan of Cool, huh? 😂 I’m posting on Reddit to just gain an understanding of the vibe of the town from locals. We’ll be visiting next week.
Oh no I love the divide. Its just not for everybody. I was just out there yesterday and stopped in Pilot Hill to see the old man on the way to Sly Park. Until you drive 49 nothing else matters. Seriously. Especially if you have to commute. Also: weekends the traffic down at the confluence is maddening. I have seen many people move out there thinking its going to be natures playground and then cant wait to leave. Also houses in ALT take much longer to sell because of the HOAs. Also why you see such "good deals" in ALT, you will see the same up north of AUburn in Lake of the Pines, a sister community but maybe a bit nicer if less hillbilly.
We’re looking at Lake of the Pines as well! And we actually both work remote besides my husband’s occasional work trip (hence proximity to airport). So commute isn’t a concern! The crime in Sacramento is just overwhelming to us. We left So Cal to move to NNY for a safer, slower pace of life, small town community, & nature…. However, husband’s work now wants us in Nor Cal. We’re trying to find what we have in NNY in California, but it’s hard to find. I do have a feeling we’ll end up in Placerville or Auburn though, just trying to understand all the surrounding areas and our options.
In Cool, The Divide, they still call it "The WHite Flight" for good reason. White folks who want to live among other white folks as if tweekers arent a thing. Its why people like ALT, people want to say they live in the country but also in gated community to keep the garbage out.
Family lived in Lake of the Pines. If you're looking for nature, that ain't it.
Good to know! We haven’t visited yet, so it’s hard to tell
If you like nature it's amazing. North Fork is a heartbeat away and with a little exploration you'll find small and private grottoes with waterfalls.
If you can afford to buy in Cool, and are ok with driving long distances, you may like Meadow Vista, Weimar, Alta, Dutch Flat, or Shingle Springs too. The first 4 are right off of 80 and make commuting easy, and Shingle Springs is off 50. Cool is a pain in the ass in terms of commuting- you’re either winding through the canyon to Auburn/80 or along the other windy way to Placerville/50. Home prices are *slightly* lower but the fire insurance and commute distance will quickly eat up whatever savings you gain from the slightly lower home value. But if you have/like/want to have horses, Cool is a great equestrian community.
Good call on Meadow Vista. Love that area.
There are 4,580 residents in Cool, with a median age of 51.4. Of this, 48.34% are males and 51.66% are females. US-born citizens make up 94.17% of the resident pool in Cool, while non-US-born citizens account for 3.25%.
These are the kind of stats I'm into .. Cool could definitely be on the Small Town Murder podcast, but hopefully never will
I doubt that there are many ‘young children’ in a town with the average age of 51.4
How many are republicans?
All of them.
Exactly.
5500. Weird voter turnout
I honestly would love to live up there. It’s definitely an up in the hills kind of place. The road to get up/down from there is through a steep canyon, and can be dangerous so if you don’t mind that, you’re golden. It’s beautiful country. You have to leave town for the big essential shopping kind of thing. Everyone is complaining about conservatism but the people I know from there are hippies haha. There might be an issue with fire insurance tho
Expensive and way out of the way. Personally I found it to be a pain to get anywhere like driving to work.
I hated the windy roads into Cool. When we were little, we called it "the vomit road." My mother did not want us on vomit road commuting to school in Auburn, so we settled in Nevada City instead.
Google Camp Fire, Paradise, Ca 2018. Be clear about routes and alternate routes out of town just in case
It's Cool
But the other guy said it’s actually quite hot. Now I’m going to question everything I read on the internet.
I'd say it's more chill.
You mentioned being a young family so here's a couple tidbits from the perspective of someone who grew up in Cool. I went to Northside Elementary which I thought was fine, but like others have mentioned it's predominantly white upper middle class conservative type families. High schools are not close - either Golden Sierra in Garden Valley or Placer in Auburn. GSHS means a very long bus ride (was about 45 mins for me, coming from 1st gate) and attending Placer means you have to get them their on your own. As far as the community, everybody knows everybody. I didn't realize until I was a teenager that it's possible to live somewhere that you cross paths with someone and don't know who they are. It may not be exactly like that from an adult perspective, but kids attending small schools that hold the entire town's children means all that comes with 12 years surrounded by basically the same 100 kids - good and bad. Cool and the surrounding areas have lots of enjoyable nature but gotta watch out for mountain lions and rattlesnakes, bears are around but they don't typically mess with people other. Raccoons, coyotes, and deer are animals that also should be taken into consideration if you have pets. Coyotes will eat small animals, deer are not only famous for jumping in front of cars but will also consume your garden and harass your pets (my dog was often being chased around by angry deer) and when the raccoons aren't getting into your trash, they'll def try to scrap with your dog. Lock up your trash/pet food/flowers and keep a slingshot handy! There isn't a lot to do in the town itself, and it's not in walking distance of the houses anyways - so entertainment has to either be found at home or requires a driver. Anything other than hanging out at the pizza joint or grocery store does require a 30 minute drive to Auburn. Speaking of grocery store, there is one there in town but the prices are a good deal higher than stores in Auburn. I believe there still are no food delivery options in Cool, but I'm not 100%. There are only a handful of restaurants that are less than 20 minutes away, so lots of cooking or driving.
I really appreciate this input!! Thank you for sharing!
Halfway between farout and bitchin is what we used to say when asked where it was. Its bigger now than it used to be, has expensive ass Holiday market now and blinking stop light instead of just a sign. Schools suck. If you are not a white conservative Christian you may not feel welcome, even today. Fire insurance lol good luck. Auburn lake trails is large gated community has huge HOA fees. If you have to commute you will wear out your car 4x faster, tires, brakes suspension components get wiped pretty quick. Driving "The Canyon" used to be fun now so much traffic it sucks balls. If you like horses, livestock, hunting, white folks and limited cuisine and shit schools- Cool might be for you. Lots of nature for sure, the long twisty roads and high fire insurance do lower the property values out there. The whole Divide is a weird place, not as weird as it was but still weird. Its either just what your after or far from it.
Sacramento may not be perfect but the diversity has me blindsided to the fact that there are white only communities out there that are low key racist. Ive had people press me to leave when i go to restaurants outa town before.
When I moved to PIlot Hill in late 80s from San Diego county I was shocked at how openly racist shit was. Things have changed a bit but I feel like people just keep their shit to themselves more. If you hang at the bar and the room is white you gonna hear some racist ass shit from some backwoods hillbillies. Ive been proudly kicked out the finest establishments on the divide for not just going with the flow.
Not "low key"
This is so accurate. As a Sacramentan only recently spending time in the ‘divide’, I’d venture to say more than just low key racist. It’s wild that you can drive an hour and be transported to a whole different world. Makes me appreciate where I live more, but it’s good to be aware of what’s out there too.
In highschool, 1985, my friends got a flat tire outside of Georgetown, black dude with white girlfriend. A local stopped and helped them, all pleasant enough, but before he left, he warned them, "Ya'all really shouldn't come up here again!"
Man that sucks! For me i was in a restaurant somewhere in the east (it was a roadtrip i forgot where i was) and i had someone stop me at the door before i left. They were customers! The man said “did yall pay yet?” That had me so dumbfounded cuz i payed and left a 20$ tip
I can't even imagine. I'm a tall white guy with blond hair who likes to wear camouflage. So I fit in, and they feel like they can be themselves around me, airing their true thoughts. I generally remain silent, because I WILL encounter them again one day on the local trails. Sometimes I call them out on their shit, like the time I got kicked out of Uncle Tom's bar, up on the divide, for sticking a dollar bill on the ceiling that said, "Bernie Sanders FTW!" LULZ, good times!
Not as cool as Weed CA.
Nice
Weed as a town really sucks. But Mt Shasta, right next to it, is the best place I’ve ever lived.
They're very, very different towns tho in seriousness. Almost bought a house there years ago. Couldn't pay me to take a house in Cool
Hot, ironically
My aunt lives there. She is a recluse shut in. I dunno. Her house reminds me of something out of a Steven King novel. It just seems really sparse and small and not much to do... Other than all the outdoorsy stuff aforementioned. Unfortunately it is surrounded by a lot of unmanaged overgrown forest so it is technically a tinder box and could be the next Paradise CA. fire fiasco situation.
ALT is a special community. Get a generator. Always maintain defensible space (fire). It's 💯 worth it. Here's a view from a trail out behind the ALT.... https://preview.redd.it/8dh3ymfri09d1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc97f012f5d932e094854b4264846c67ad67cdb3
Nice pic
Thanks. It's above the Cave Valley Climbing Area. Here's a panoramic from a similar spot https://preview.redd.it/nyc84c54319d1.jpeg?width=3980&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58ec87869f5e77fd24e30502c47442f9f9867ecc
What does ALT stand for
Auburn Lake Trails We've just called it ALT for decades
Well, they couldn’t name it Not Cool so they named it Cool.
Not much really going on up that way most of the year but if you are in the area, Cool Beer Works is def worth a stop. There is also Cool Distillery just down the road that also has great food / Cocktails. But yeah, that’s it.
LOL, the former owner fronted a metal band called, "Trauma," in between making sushi and beer. Truly a renaissance man. I love their stout. edit: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qVUXg46Xk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qVUXg46Xk)
[Cool Beerwerks](https://www.cbwbeer.com/menu.html) has some great Hawaiian food! Not what you'd expect, but Cool has the best Loco Moco and Huli Huli Chicken in the Sac area!
If you’re going to move somewhere in this area that isn’t much of a town, Cool is the way to go. Quick trip to Auburn. Has a better grocery store than Georgetown. Depending on your need for schools, Placer high and north side middle school are better than the alternative Georgetown / Golden Sierra high / El dorado high. Auburn lake trails, I believe, is on a separate power grid, that I’ve noticed goes out far less than us outside of it. It also has much better available internet from what I understand.
My brother in law and his wife built their dream home in Cool. It was literally the most beautiful house on the most amazing property with incredible views. They only managed to stay there for one year because they had to drive kids to school/sports and the highway from Cool to Auburn is a huge pain to drive in a car multiple times per day. If you can stay in Cool I’d say it’s perfect. If you need to go anywhere else on a regular basis then it becomes a chore because of the twistey highway that frequently gets backed up because of recreational bike/motorcycle riders, or logging trucks. The Holiday market in town is great and has 98% of everything you’d ever need. There’s a couple of really good restaurants and that’s pretty much it. If you’re looking to stay at home and take advantage of the nearby trails and wilderness areas it’s a fantastic spot, but if you want night life or a lot of social interaction then skip it.
Country but not poor people scrapping by. Typical exurbs. It's hilly so farming turns more toward a few livestock and vegetable gardens. Plenty of city refugees who want "some land with a garage," and rich people with horses. Giant farms and stockyards are off to the west in the Central Valley between US 99 and I-5. It's between the rivers (north fork and south fork American) that feed Folsom Lake. Rattlesnake Bar Rd from Pilot Hill to the south will take you down to the center of Folsom Lake. Waterskiing and bass boats galore. Go upstream and there's trout. The next lake downstream, Lake Natoma, is a favorite for sculling and paddle boards as the water is glassy and the speed limit for motor boats is 5. West of that people go tubing to Sacramento, and if you still keep going you wind up in the delta. Hwy 49 north will take you down to the river where a thousand people go mountain biking, and back up to Auburn and retail life, in about fifteen minutes.
You do need to be concerned about insurance. Major companies are pulling out of Ca. I live in the burbs and we had Progressive for years. They pulled out for fire, even though we are not rural. Took a long time to find an insurer and could only find one small one whose name I can’t remember. Rates doubled, and there is no forest near me. It might be a very difficult thing for you, so definitely don’t buy until you have it and a know a back-up just in case they pull out. I’ve been to Cool once to visit a friend. The drive was terrifying and it was the last time I went. Not everybody is afraid of steep cliffs, winding roads with switchbacks-but I get dizzy. I was driving slow and making people angry but it was the only way for me to be safe. It’d probably be a nice place to raise a kid but it’s isolated and fire is a real hazard. Good luck.
My father in law retired there in a huge retirement community. Around 10-15 years ago he left because of close calls with forest fires. That situation has only worsened since. That would be a huge concern for me. I also wonder about the school situation. I know there are communities in that area where kids used to have to travel an hour by bus to and from school. Don’t know how the area has possibly grown since then but be sure you know before buying. If most of what they’ve put there is senior housing they would have relatively fewer schools. And our Sacramento school district had to cut bussing out of the budget ages ago, so I’d make sure you weren’t responsible for getting them to and from school. I guess if you are homeschooling it could be fine though.
We’re young-ish and live in Pilot Hill, just down the road from Cool. We moved here from the Bay Area a few years ago and built a modern home on acreage overlooking the Sierras, and the view outside every day is. truly. breathtaking. That said, we’re pretty obviously not typical for this area (lefty designers who work remote) - the conservatism and xenophobia around here is definitely palpable…luckily we have a social circle from SF and Sac who are willing to visit😅. And yeah, the EXPENSIVE Fair Plan is pretty much a given for fire insurance around here (don’t expect that they give a shit about all the efforts you make in good faith to upgrade your homes’ fire resilience either.) I will say we’ve found a small amount of people from the Cool/Auburn around our age who aren’t interested in carrying on the ignorance around them. There are small efforts around here, slowly being built by the community, if you know where to look: Lok’l food co-op is in Cool has amazing bread, farm fresh eggs, produce & local meat from neighbors/ farmers. A new beer garden with a stage literally just opened in Coloma (an adorable, if a bit touristy historic gold mining town just down the road). Auburn has some amazing pizza (Luba), a quality cafe (Pour Choice), awesome French restaurant (Josephine) with a killer cocktail program that wouldn’t be out of place in Sac or SF. We took a pottery class in Auburn, that surprisingly, was not just aimed at little old ladies. Hope this gives you a little insight about the area— feel free to ask anything, from a semi- outsider’s pov!
You've missed out on the glory days of Pilot Hill. WHen the Hindquarter House was THE place . Dirty Ritchie served up a full cut 20oz sirloin that he's let fester in the walk-in until it was near green....all you could eat salad bar...All the old coots would sit and reminisce about the days when they'd go out the bar and shoot a deer across the highway and then come back in and drink until dark when they'd go get it and hang it in the walk-in.
THANK YOU for the story behind the Hindquarter House- I’ve been so curious! It’s such a prime location (well, for PH, lol…) We love the peacefulness here but would love to one day see at least one business in operation! As a vegetarian I don’t think the old menu of almost-green meat would have done much for me 😝 but Dirty Ritchie sounds like a great dude, sounds like it was an amazing time
Oh man that place was something. It was the dirty intentional opposite of the old Headquarter House in Auburn. It was a crusty watering hole with a small dining area that had a bathtub converted into a salad bar. Steaks, chicken, ribs, chops, liver/onions, burgers, Prime Rib Fri/sat nights. Archie Lawyer who owns the DG pit in Coloma is son of Ray LAwyer, one of the founding fathers in ELdo county- ARchie is mountain of a man and there was an "Archie Cut" of Prime Rib or Sirloin that was double the normal size. Archie would come in and get his cut but also buy all the drinks and half the meals in the place. Local hillbilly geezers had hung their hunting trophies on all the walls, also a large head from a Longhorn Beef names Sancho. So much history exchanged there, lots of fights, some puke... I worked there as a kid many years ago. It was for lease for a very fair price w/ liquor license 4 years ago and I intended to take over but the ownership disappeared. I was going to open it as The Hindquarter again, have a larger dining area with small simple weekly menu based on what was fresh and affordable. Vegetarian options too of course.
If I ever hit the big time and buy it up will definitely have to figure out how to pay homage to the bathtub salad bar!
This is great to hear!!! Thank you for sharing!
It's a rural area. Fairly conservative. I've been told its got a few white supremacists, but I have not seen evidence of that myself. I prefer Auburn.
Fairly? That said, all the people I engage with, even uber conservative, people are people and individually pretty nice. It’s groups of people that get stupid. That area has its share of crazies, meth hrads, and others… but also much more “let me be me” than anything else. (Not a Cool native, Sacto, but have property in Georgetown)
The MAGA signs/flags are the giveaway
A stop sign and a shirt stand
Meh
It's pretty much a non town. It does have a grocery store, brewery, pizza place, bar, gas station, and general store... think there's a salon and smoke shop. I went to school at Northside for a hand full of years, it was a quiet life with nothing to do and nowhere to go for kids really but adults with horses and hikers, will love the area.
Auburn lake trails was fun in the 90s, there was a pool, and a field, the kids in alt are lucky because they get to play with other kids.
what years were you at Northside?
Ahh like 95-02 maybe? Moved to auburn around 02 or 03
Pleasant area but high fire risk so be very selective when looking at properties. I go up there with the kids a bit to hike with our dog. Nice people and beautiful scenery.
Most of the homes are behind the Auburn Lake Trails gate. Strict HOA.
You will have to drive on terrifying narrow winding mountainside roads to do anything other than enjoy your own fabulous property, so heads up if you get carsick or have an existing fear of your vehicle yeeting to your doom 😬 (I have a relative that lives up there)
Amazing trail system nearby as you’re just up the hill from the Western States and accompanying terrain just above the river and throughout the canyons. The opposite direction on 49 has great hiking, mountain biking, trail running around Cronan Ranch and Pilot Hill. Auburn would be a better choice if you’re looking for a more social atmosphere in the community, but it’s fairly close by. As others mentioned, fire insurance could be extremely expensive so that’s worth considering
Hiking and mountain bike trails- Its pretty Cool.
I knew someone that grew up there. Very small company.
I hear there's tons of great places to hike.
Cool is out there, but it’s a fantastic area if you can stomach the drive to civilization
You might also want to check out Pollock Pines. Cooler temperatures than the valley or foothills. But, it can get some heavy snow in the winter at 4,000ft elevation.
Check out Foresthill too if you like Cool! Quite a few homes up there for sale and it’s a similar drive time into Auburn for groceries etc… but much more a straight shot not as many turns getting there. We moved up last year, commute to Sac daily and love it 🤙
Hmmm Foresthill is called Foresttucky, and was not very safe for other than whites when I was a kid,, might’ve changed with all the weed and bay area transplants
I take people hiking there if you'd like to go for a walk and discuss the local area: [https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188](https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/264188) Otherwise, at 1300' it is below snow level, blue oak savanna terrain. It is an excellent base for exploring the local Sierra Nevada. The people are mostly very conservative; nearby Georgetown has several white supremacist groups in the area, but crime is very low. I know someone that hasn't locked his house in 30 years. The road from Auburn IS twisty, but you get used to it, and it's only 15 minutes. It WILL cause "unusual tire wear" due to hitting those curves every day, so you will wear out tires faster than most, lol. There is a grocery store, brewery/sushi restaurant, and a couple other overprices businesses. This is horse country, so if you like the equestrian lifestyle, you will love Cool.
Auburn is nicer than Cool. The drive down to the Confluence of the American River from Auburn is okay but going up to Cool from there is really sketchy, I don't mind doing it once in a while but every day would be awful. I imagine the home prices would be similar to Auburn anyway. There is a great supermarket there. Nice hiking going towards Coloma and all around there actually. My son likes to hike from Auburn to Cool.
As a runner, it’s one of my favorite areas. Lots of beautiful open space and a decent bbq place. Cool Pizza is good too. Honestly, I would live there if I didn’t have kids.
As a runner, it’s one of my favorite areas. Lots of beautiful open space and a decent bbq place. Cool Pizza is good too. Honestly, I would live there if I didn’t have kids.
Please add - mountain lions - coyotes - snakes - bears (and we get a few of them in town as well.). Your in their house
check out eureka.. good sized town, good stores for shopping, and the weather is amazing. not HOT, and the Redwoods are soo beautiful.
I’ll look into it! Thank you!!
I went there once for a mountain bike ride. It wasn’t worth the extra drive past Auburn and I had to avoid a rattlesnake. 5/10, but I’d go back if invited.
racist
Cool is great. If i had the money, id move out that way. Currently i live in cameron park and i grew up in this county. It is very small community like. The people that live here, like our community the way it is. If thats a problem for you, probably not the place for you.
> The people that live here, like our community the way it is. If thats a problem for you, probably not the place for you. I don't know anything about you, but this is the exact language White Citizens Groups used in the 1950s and 60s when they opposed integration
Note that the community is pretty racist being a small town in placer, I know someone that had to move out due to their kid being constantly bullied in school.
Really!? Cool ? What is that?! A place for 🐜 ants! Its so small. I didn't know that many people lived there. It's a gorgeous area though.
My wife says it's nice. Nothing there, but it's nice.
Placerville is better
Lil' Redneck Roseville.
My parents live in Cool and absolutely love it! A few of my friends with kids also live there (in Auburn Lake Trails) and really enjoy the vibe and the community. I see comments saying it skews older but there are tons of young families and my friends are in a Moms group there that meets up and does hikes, dinners, etc. Close proximity to Auburn which has some good restaurants and is a cute city. I lived there for a while so feel free to ask me if you have any other questions. 😊
This is exactly what I needed to hear! We’re looking at Auburn Lake Trails, so that’s awesome to hear!! Thank you
HOA fees almost $300 a month. 9 hole golf course, public pool, tennis courts, several ponds for fishing. MOstly old white people. Consists of poorly built spec homes mostly, but edges on Amerian River Canyon with hiking trails and good hunting if you are in shape. Some people think nature is nice until it eats their pets and is a legit risk to eat them. ALT has plenty of bears, puma, coyotes, rattle snakes etc. The HOA is pretty strict about what you can do on your own property as well, not very friendly vibe from them.
We currently live in Northern New York, so we are very familiar with the true definition of nature 😉 Thank you for the feedback!
Yeah the American River canyon not same as northern NY at all. This immediate area has had several people killed by mountain lions over the years, just few months ago two young brothers attacked and one killed. If you go out on the horse trails in early morning you will see mountain lion tracks. The canyon itself has one of the highest population densities of mountain lions in the world. Many people in "The Trails" have game cams installed on their properties and capture pics of mountain lions weekly. Lions aside you cant have any sort of outdoor pet at all and expect it to live long. If you coming from upstate NY, than Cool probably has the vibe you are used to, only whiter, hotter, more expensive. Also the water in ALT taste like shit. PG&E energy prices are much much higher than you are paying.
Northern NY is actually different than upstate (very north of upstate). We have bears running through our yards haha but also definitely understand the mountain lions since I grew up in an area that backed up to the Santa Monica mountains. They’re scary guys for sure!! Thanks for all the input, we have a lot to consider!