El Dorado County, officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. The county is part of the Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located entirely in the Sierra Nevada, from the historic Gold Country in the western foothills to the High Sierra in the east. El Dorado County's population has grown as Greater Sacramento has expanded into the region. Where the county line crosses US 50 at Clarksville, the distance to Sacramento is 15 miles. In the county's high altitude eastern end at Lake Tahoe, environmental awareness and environmental protection initiatives have grown along with the population since the 1960 Winter Olympics, hosted at the former Squaw Valley Ski Resort in neighboring Placer County.
Lake Tahoe is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at 6,225 ft (1,897 m) above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, and at 122,160,280 acre⋅ft (150.7 km3) it trails only the five Great Lakes as the largest by volume in the United States. Its depth is 1,645 ft (501 m), making it the second deepest in the United States after Crater Lake in Oregon.
Castle Peak is a mountain in California's Sierra Nevada near I-80, Donner Pass, and the Nevada border. It is in the Tahoe National Forest not far off the Pacific Crest Trail, and adjacent to Castle Pass. It was originally named Mount Stanford by the Whitney Survey of 1860–74.
D. L. Bliss State Park is a state park of California in the United States. It is located on the western shore of Lake Tahoe just north of Emerald Bay State Park.
Tahoe National Forest is a United States National Forest located in California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the 8,587-foot (2,617 m) peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six counties: Sierra, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Plumas and El Dorado. The forest has a total area of 871,495 acres. Its headquarters is in Nevada City, California. There are local ranger district offices in Camptonville, Foresthill, Sierraville and Truckee.
Eldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California.
Hell Hole Reservoir is an artificial, crescent-shaped lake in the Sierra Nevada mountain range 10 miles (16 km) west of Lake Tahoe in California, United States. The lake is about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long when at full capacity.
Pyramid Peak is a mountain in the California's Sierra Nevada in the Crystal Range to the west of Lake Tahoe. It is the highest point in the Desolation Wilderness. With an elevation gain of almost 4,100 feet (1,250 m), the Rocky Canyon route is the mountain's most popular approach although it is very arduous. To the east, at the base of the peak, lies Pyramid Lake.
The Rubicon Point Light is a small lighthouse on Lake Tahoe in California.
The Sugar Pine Point Light was a small lighthouse located on Lake Tahoe, in El Dorado County, California, in the United States. The Lighthouse was once the highest in the nation; located at over 6,200 feet above sea level. The tower no longer stands, but a small post light marks the site. It is located within the bounds of Ed Z'berg Sugar Pine Point State Park.
Mount Tallac is a mountain peak southwest of Lake Tahoe, in El Dorado County, California. The peak lies within the Desolation Wilderness in the Eldorado National Forest. It is quite visible from State Routes 89 and 28, and U.S. Route 50. A "cross of snow" is clearly visible on the mountain's face during the winter, spring, and early summer months.
Red Lake Peak is believed to be the vantage point from which John C. Fremont and Charles Preuss made the first recorded sighting of Lake Tahoe by Europeans in February 1844 as Fremont's exploratory expedition made a desperate crossing of the Sierra Nevada through what is now Carson Pass on their way to obtain provisions at Sutter's Fort. The peak lies just north of the pass and generally northwest of the small lake east of the pass for which the peak is named. Lake Tahoe and Stevens Peak are visible to the north from the peak. Elephants Back and Round Top can be seen to the south.
Granite Chief is a mountain located in the Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe. The mountain rises to an elevation of 9,010 feet (2,746 m) and receives consistent heavy snowfall during the winter months.
Freel Peak is a mountain located in the Carson Range, a spur of the Sierra Nevada, near Lake Tahoe in California.
Mount Lola is a mountain in the Sierra Nevada of California. Its summit, located north of Donner Pass and Interstate 80, is the highest point in Nevada County. It is also the highest point in the Sierra Nevada north of Interstate 80. A subsidiary peak 1.2 miles (1.9 km) north of the main summit is highest point in Sierra County at 8,848 feet (2,697 m) NAVD 88.
Rubicon is a former settlement in El Dorado County, California. It was located on Lake Tahoe 4.5 miles (7.2 km) north of Emerald Bay.
Meeks Creek is a western tributary of Lake Tahoe which has its source on Rubicon Lake, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) northeast of Phipps Peak in Desolation Wilderness, trends northwest through Stony Ridge Lake, Shadow Lake, Crag Lake, and Lake Genevieve 3.5 miles (5.6 km), continues northeast 3.5 miles (5.6 km) to Meeks Bay on Lake Tahoe. At its mouth is the tiny town of Meeks Bay, California, in El Dorado County, California, United States.
The Middle Fork American River is one of three forks that form the American River in Northern California. It drains a large watershed in the high Sierra Nevada west of Lake Tahoe and northeast of Sacramento in Placer and El Dorado Counties, between the watersheds of the North Fork American River and South Fork American River. The Middle Fork joins with the North Fork near Auburn and they continue downstream to Folsom Lake as the North Fork, even though the Middle Fork carries a larger volume of water.
Dicks Peak is a 9,974-foot-elevation (3,040 meter) mountain summit located in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in El Dorado County, California, United States. It is the third-highest peak in the Desolation Wilderness, and is set on land managed by Eldorado National Forest. It is situated six miles (9.7 km) south of Lake Tahoe, and approximately eight miles (13 km) west of the community of South Lake Tahoe. Topographic relief is significant as the west aspect rises over 2,300 feet above Rockbound Valley in approximately one mile. One-half mile east of the peak the Pacific Crest Trail and Tahoe Rim Trail traverse Dicks Pass, which provides an approach option for those climbing the peak. Inclusion on the Sierra Peaks Section peakbagging list generates climbing interest.
Twin Peaks is an 8,878-foot-elevation (2,706 meter) double summit mountain in Placer County, California, United States.
