Shingle Springs, Shingle Springs, CA

Highway 50 runs straight through Shingle Springs, the first real foothill stop in El Dorado County for many people leaving the Sacramento Valley, and the town wears that gateway role lightly. The feel is more rural than the highway suggests. Once you turn off at Ponderosa Road, the roads curl through oaks and pines and plenty of properties have room for horses, gardens or a workshop. Homes vary in age and size, from ranch houses on wooded parcels to newer houses on tidy streets nearer the highway. Long driveways and mailboxes at the road are the common sight, along with horse fencing, garden plots and old oaks left standing in front yards. Bradford Park, at 4300 Motherlode Drive, is the neighborhood park, a five-acre park that grew out of a Lions Club project, with a playground, a small field and large covered picnic areas. For longer outings, Placerville is under 15 miles up the highway, and Coloma is not much farther. Coffee is a point of local pride. Wisegal Coffee is known for its honey bear blend, quiches and scones, and Foxwood Coffeehouse serves breakfast burritos and avocado toast. The Breakroom does sandwiches, fish and mac and cheese. Back Forty Texas BBQ, on Durock Road, has fed the area for years at restaurants and catered events alike. Gold Pan Pizzeria turns out pies that regulars compare to New York. Groceries are just beyond the boundary, where Bel Air sits with a cluster of fast food and a Peet's Coffee. Highway 50 is the way to Sacramento, and Placerville and its bigger stores lie the other way, with Main Street there the usual place for a night out. Everything in Shingle Springs is a drive. There is no walkable center to speak of, and the highway noise carries into the streets closest to it. Past the park, the roads thin quickly into trees and fences, which is the real appeal of living here.