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Community Spirit On The Rise
As you travel up Hwy. 49 from Auburn, the first Nevada County "community" encountered is an area known as South County, which has been undergoing some impressive changes.
A shopping center at the corner of Combie Road and Hwy. 49 has added to the variety of services and retail stores. It is anticipated that another center will be built nearby. Also in the planning stage are two new housing developments for the area.
Still under development is DarkHorse, a golf community which will be the site of a Street of Dreams in the spring of 2006. Featured will be five showcase homes that are completely decorated and landscaped. The event will be held for six weeks in April and May, and is open to the public.
Completed two and one-half years ago, the 18-hole public golf course at DarkHorse continues to receive attention. It is now rated in the top 100 among 16,000 public courses nationwide. A 30,000 square foot clubhouse is expected to be completed in 2006 - in the meantime, a temporary facility has a restaurant which services breakfast, lunch and dinner. Already completed is an amphitheatre available for special events.
Golf Courses in South Nevada County
South County is also home to Lake of the Pines (LOP), a gated community with approximately 2,000 homes surrounding a 230 acre lake. There are six parks and beaches on the lake, an 18-hole championship golf course and clubhouse. Begun as a retirement community, today LOP has as many families as retirees.
Further up Hwy. 49 is the area known as Alta Sierra. Located on 2,500 acres, it offers residents a range of home designs and settings from starter homes to view ranch properties. The community features the Alta Sierra Golf Course and Country Club. The 18-hole course is open to the public for limited play.
In recent years, there has been an increasing sense of community in South County, due in part to the growing South Nevada County Chamber of Commerce. Besides monthly mixers and luncheons, the 130-member chamber sponsors events including a Golf Tournament scheduled for September 30. A Holiday Fair, designed primarily for children, is held in early December and plans are under way for a community-wide art and wine festival in May of 2007.
Attractive to families are the area's quality schools and recreational opportunities with Bear River High School serving as a community hub. The active local chamber of commerce sponsors such events as the annual spring plant sale which serves as a fundraiser, and contributions to the beautification of the South County community.
A current project of the chamber, which will benefit the entire county, is the construction of a stone monument that will read "Welcome to Nevada County, Established 1851," flanked on either side by a gold miner. Located near the county line, the monument will be seven feet tall and 15 feet wide, and will set the tone for a visit to Nevada County.
South County Activities, Recreation
Over the past 20 years, Bear River High School in South County has evolved and changed to meet the needs of an area that continues to grow. Not only have the young people benefited, but so has the community as a whole.
As the largest facility in South County, Bear River has helped attract families to the area, and has become a center for an increasing number of activities from weddings to college classes and business meetings. It is home to a county library, and its athletic fields are used for girls soccer, little league and lacrosse.
Two new facilities scheduled to open in the summer of 2006 are a swimming pool which will be available for public use, and a Performing Arts Center with a 412-seat theatre, and state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems. Organizations are already making plans to use what will be one of the finest theatre facilities in the area.
One beneficiary of the high school facilities is the Bear River Recreation and Park District which has a strong summer program including swimming lessons at the new pool. Also on the schedule are summer sports camps, a kids activity camp, Spanish language program, theatrical performance based camp and an exercise activities camp.
Not only is the Recreation and Park District busy during the summer months, but it sponsors a popular winter youth basketball league which attracts over 400 participants.
Adults in the South County area are not left out, for community enrichment program classes are available through the year and include classes in computers, digital photography, hatha yoga, swing dance and tennis. theatrical performance based camp and an exercise activities camp.
classes in computers, digital photography, hatha yoga, swing dance and tennis.
Bear River Recreation and Park District
(530) 268-7275
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