Cameron Airpark Estates, Cameron Park, CA

Cameron Airpark Estates is the part of Cameron Park where the garage is a hangar. More than a hundred homes here have a hangar attached and a direct taxi route to the runway, and the streets are wide enough to share with small planes. Street signs are mounted low and stop signs sit near knee height so wingspans clear them. Houses in Cameron Airpark Estates are mostly three or four bedrooms, from about 1,500 to 4,400 square feet, on lots that start a little under a third of an acre and stretch to several acres. A plane in the driveway often sits next to a classic car. Residents set up their own bond to pay for repaving, kept separate from the airport itself. The runway is 4,051 feet long, and the airport district's office is on Mira Loma Drive. Each September the neighborhood hosts Props, Cops and Rodders, a day of aircraft, vintage cars and live music, with flyovers around early afternoon. Cameron Park Lake is close by, with a walking path and a disc golf course, for anyone who wants to stay on the ground. The Airport Saloon on Cameron Park Drive is the neighborhood bar, known for burgers, a loaded Bloody Mary at weekend breakfast and karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Just down Cameron Park Drive, Cameron Park Coffee & Deli opens at 6 and does smoothies, pastries and gluten free options. Thai House, nearby, has been feeding the area for years with crispy wings and red curry with duck. Groceries and most errands mean a hop over to the shops on Coach Lane. Highway 50 leads west toward Sacramento, and the El Dorado Transit loop covers Cameron Park on weekdays. An active runway next door means aircraft noise is part of an ordinary day. Wide pavement, low signs and a hangar in place of a garage door are the things a visitor remembers first.