Tag Archives: towns

snow

Snow Towns in California

snow towns

People visit higher elevation towns & parks just to hang out in the snow. Ski resorts are plentiful, but not every snowy town has a ski lift. They may just have a great sledding hill or a big meadow to cross country ski.

Elevations range from 4000′-9000′ above sea level.

Most California snow locations have a wide variety of outdoor recreation, lodging, restaurants, shops. Cute cabins to rent for that upcoming weekend get-away. Or that week-long fishing trip. But with millions people in the state you better make overnight reservations in advance.
snow
California WINTERS:
When does winter actually ‘set in’ for California?

eastern sierra: OCT- APR
western sierra: NOV- APR
high sierra: OCT- MAY
northern coast: OCT- MAY
northeast: OCT- APR

snow

Winter Recreation in California

winter road conditions
California Road Conditions

CALIFORNIA SNO-PARKS: Locations listed below with California State Snow Parks nearby, are listed in bold.

sledding

SoCal Snow

While Southern California doesn’t receive nearly the amount of snow that the rest of the state gets, it does on occasion get some winter storm precipitation. Perhaps just a winter dusting, or maybe a few inches, but sledding families usually enjoy it. For real snow skiing opportunities, head to the Sierras!

Angeles National Forest
Angelus Oaks
Big Bear City
Big Bear Lake
Cleveland National Forest
Fawnskin
Frazier Park
Idyllwild
Julian
Laguna Mountain
Lake Arrowhead
Los Padres National Forest
Palomar Mountain
Pine Cove
Pine Mountain
Ramona
Running Springs
San Bernardino National Forest
Sky Forest
Twin Peaks
Wrightwood

huntington lake

Sierra Nevada Snow

Arnold
Aspendell
Avery
Bear Valley
Blairsden
Blue Lakes
Bridgeport
Calaveras Big Trees State Park
Camp Nelson
Convict Lake
Dorrington
Downieville
El Dorado National Forest
Fish Camp
Hume Lake
Huntington Lake
Inyo National Forest
Kirkwood
June Lake
Lakeshore
Lake Tahoe
Mammoth Lakes
Markleeville
Norden
Pinecrest
Plumas National Forest
Ponderosa
Rock Creek Canyon
Sequoia National Park
Shaver Lake
Sierra City
Sierra National Forest
Sierra Nevada Mountains
Stanislaus National Forest
Tahoe National Forest
Tahoe City
Tahoe Vista
Tahoma
Toiyabe National Forest
Tom’s Place
Truckee
Twain Harte
Twin Lakes
Yosemite
Yosemite National Park

sierrasnowbelt
Sierra Snowbelt

snowmo

NorCal Snow

Blairsden
Bucks Lake
Burney
Butte Meadows
Cedarville
Chester
Childs Meadow
Etna
Fall River Mills
Fort Jones
Gold Lake
Graeagle
Greenville
Happy Camp
Inskip
Klamath National Forest
Lake Almanor
Lassen National Forest
Lassen Volcanic National Park
McCloud
Mill Creek
Mineral
Mount Shasta
Portola
Quincy
Shasta Trinity National Forest
Shingletown
Six Rivers National Forest
Soda Springs
South Lake Tahoe
Trinity Center
Trinity Lake
Westwood

snow towns california

rural, towns

California Towns by Population

Small Towns in California,
Listed by Population

Seeking to explore more of California:
Outside more, Inside less.

CaliforniaRural reaches of rivers, mountains, high and low deserts. Find a new town in Northern California or in the Sierra foothills. Discover a new place for local vacations, or go all out and get a new job, in a new town.

Relocating, outside of a big city – for a life style change,  more nature, less people, less traffic. Real living life outdoors, walking to the market, growing some food, and enjoying a forced, early retirement.

Most populated state in US = California

smalltownCA

Most of the towns listed below are NOT located in the popular San Francisco Bay Area, nor the massive hot and smoggy Central Valley, nor in the over-crowded Southern California region.

cool town

Upscale villages, mountain hamlets and historic downtowns often have loads of attractions and eateries, yet unaffordable rentals and sky high residential real estate prices. We’ve purposely left out the super expensive and over-priced places like wine country, coastal enclaves and the typical touristy stops.

Many in this list are unheard-of farm towns, forest cabin communities, or river canyons – often neglected, minimal and unimproved. Some of these will not have a Wal-Mart in town, seldom a chain grocery store, nor a main street full of fast food restaurants. Although, they might be located next to a National Park, National Forest or State Park. Hike, bike, kayak and camp!

Backwoods, back roads and backcountry. Wildfires are often an annual threat. Higher in elevation means less smog and more stars. Altitude also means snow is quite possible, at least half the year.

If you moved to California to avoid snow, then skip a winter visit (DEC-APR) or find elevations below 3000 feet.

California

California Small Towns under 100 people

Aspendell
Belden
Blairsden
Bucks Lake
Butte Meadows
Darwin
Duncans Mills
Fish Camp
Hope Valley
Kennedy Meadows
LaPorte
Nipton
Randsburg
Twain
Twin Lakes

snow

California Small Towns under 500 people

Amador City
Angelus Oaks
Bear Valley
Benton
Camp Nelson
Caspar
Cazadero
Crescent Mills
Gazelle
Kirkwood
Knights Ferry
Lee Vining
Lemon Cove
Markleeville
Mill Creek
Mineral
Olancha
Paynes Creek
Petrolia
Ponderosa
Seide Valley
Stirling City
Valley Ford
Volcano

star

California Small Towns under 1000 people

Adin
Alleghany
Avery
Bass Lake
Bridgeport
Cedarville
Cobb
Dorrington
Dorris
Douglas City
Downieville
Elk Creek
Etna
Fall River Mills
Fawnskin
Forest Falls
Fort Jones
French Gulch
Gasquet
Gazelle
Happy Camp
Independence
Isleton
June Lake
Klamath
Leggett
Meadow Valley
Miranda
North San Juan
Oak Glen
Orleans
Philo
Pinecrest
Pioneertown
Plymouth
Point Arena
Ponderosa
Scotia
Shasta
Sierra City
Sierraville
Springville
Somerset
Taylorsville
Walker

pinetree

California Small Towns under 5000 people

Ahwahnee
Alturas
Angels Camp
Angwin
Arnold
Berry Creek
Big Pine
Bishop
Camino
Cayucos
Challenge
Chester
Colfax
Coloma
Columbia
Copperopolis
Coulterville
Covelo
Dunsmuir
Ferndale
Forestville
Frazier Park
Georgetown
Greenville
Guerneville
Hayfork
Jackson
Jamestown
Joshua Tree
Kelseyville
Kernville
Lake Almanor
Lake Isabella
Laytonville
Lewiston
Lone Pine
Lucerne
Mariposa
Meyers
McCloud
Mount Shasta
Murphys
Nevada City
North Fork
Oakhurst
Pine Cove
Pine Grove
Pine Mountain
Portola
Quincy
Redway
Running Springs
Santa Margarita
Shaver Lake
Shoshone
Sonora
Strawberry
Sutter Creek
Three Rivers
Tuolumne
Twain Harte
Upper Lake
Weaverville
Weed
Westwood
Willits
Willow Creek
Wofford Heights

oaktree

Small Cities under 10k population

Alta Sierra
Big Bear City
Big Bear Lake
Coarsegold
Colusa
Crescent City
Fort Bragg
Gridley
Groveland
Ione
King City
Lake Crowley
Mecca
Needles
Ojai
Orland
Williams
Willows
Winters
Woodlake
Yreka

hiker

Small Cities under 20k population

Alpine
Arcata
Arroyo Grande
Auburn
Baywood Park
Coalinga
Crestline
Desert Hot Springs
Garberville
Grass Valley
Lindsey
Live Oak
Los Osos
Morro Bay
Oroville
Placerville
Reedley
Red Bluff
Susanville
Tehachapi
Truckee
Ukiah

maindrag
Weaverville, California

fish

Historic Courthouse
Historic Courthouse, Bridgeport, CA

dirtbikes
find rural counties inside Californiahorseback

Markleeville
Markleeville, CA
parks, rural, snow, towns

Destination Unknown

Tent less
Tent-less Car Camping

exploring California – on a budget

destinations
Don’t have any ideas on WHERE you want to go? Never heard of that little town? Follow our links below to explore a variety of California hidden secrets.

This whole web site is dedicated to finding new places to visit within California. Cheap, free, inexpensive options. We concentrate on the back roads, rural areas and park lands. More space, more nature, less people.

California Escapes

Coastal
Mountain
Country
Desert
City

yourfacehere

Budget weekends, outdoor trips, hiking and camping, SUV road trips and much more; all, off the beaten path. Total Escape has California covered.

Explore the Backroads
Find Ghost Towns
Romantic Get-Aways
Seasonal Camping
Snow Weekends
Soak in Hot Springs
Spring Wild Flowers
SUV Vacations
Various Sample Trips
Take the Train

smalltownCA

campfireCar Camping is FREE on the back roads of California. Primitive camping requires that you be a self-sufficient campers, obtain a free camp fire permit, have a shovel, bucket and water at camp to extinguish fire.

back roads in cali

DanaMite has an extensive list of forest roads in California. Guide to the backwoods: find photos, map links, wilderness trailheads, best places to look for a camp. Look on USDA USFS National Forest web sites for Dispersed Camping Areas, also called Open Camping or Primitive Camping. Buy a printed map and then go explore.

worth1000

wildatheart