Penryn, CA

Penryn is a small foothill town on Interstate 80 in western Placer County, wedged between Newcastle to the northeast and Loomis to the southwest. Auburn is up the freeway, and Rocklin and Roseville are down it. Granite quarrying gave Penryn its start, and a park and museum on the old quarry site keep that history in view. Fruit came after the stone, and the area is still part of the Loomis Basin's orchard and small-farm landscape. Winding country roads, old shed buildings, citrus groves and fields fill the gaps between homes. Houses range from vintage farmhouses to rural properties on acreage, and horses are a common sight in side yards. The Loomis Basin Equestrian Center sits close by for riders, and the Loomis Basin Community Park has room to roam. For cyclists, getting there is half the point. Taylor Road and the quiet lanes that fan out from it make favorite loops. Loomis Basin Community Park is the closest place for a longer outing on foot, and Penryn Park is a small green at the edge of town. Most of what you need is a few minutes away in Loomis, where Roanie's Coffee & Cafe has a patio near the freeway exit and the downtown strip has the grocery stores. Inside town, the choices are a short list and the pace is slow. Mandarin Country Store and Miller's Citrus Grove, just beyond the boundary, keep the citrus connection alive for people passing through. Services are the cost. The town has a library supported by local volunteers and a few restaurants, but almost everything else, from a big grocery run to a night out, means driving to Loomis, Rocklin or Auburn. The freeway is only minutes away, and the orchard country starts right beside it.