On the sleepy, little villages scale, Calpine rates high. Thriving during its lumber mill heyday, the community is now tucked quietly into the pines on the western fringe of the Sierra Valley.
...Calpine is a place that residents love and travelers only find when they’re looking for it
Less than three miles out of town, Calpine Lookout has been renovated by the Sierraville Ranger District for public rental.
One lodge and a big community room, Calpine is a place that residents love and travelers only find when they’re looking for it. When that’s what you’re looking for, Calpine is perfect.
In October 2004, the Tahoe National Forest gave us a reason a great reason to look for Calpine.
Less than three miles out of town, Calpine Lookout has been renovated by the Sierraville Ranger District for public rental. Availability will begin October 20, 2004. Rental is $45 per night for up to four people. There are two single beds with mattresses. The other two would have to sleep on the floor. It’s worth it even if you draw the short stick and have to sleep on the floor.
Cross-country skiing is great in the soft hills surrounding the community. The pine forests on the gentle slopes down to the south have been thinned for fire protection and the open stands are great for cross-country skiing. A trail is proposed for construction that will drop down to downtown Calpine. The lodge is a warm, homey place for dinner or drinks. Carmen Valley to the north of Highway 89 has several open meadows hemmed in by gentle slopes and open stands of trees. Campbell Hot Springs outside Sierraville are only minutes away driving south on Highway 89.
The lookout is just below 6000 feet and the valley floor below 5000 feet elevation; so prime season for cross-country skiing is a shortened period of late December through February.
Mountain biking is also catching on as the Carman Valley untrammeled back-country roads are being discovered. There are dirt road options for a choice of in-and-out rides or you can slip by the west flanks of Beckwourth Peak and drop into Sierra Valley’s biggest megatropolis, Portolla.
| Population: | 0 | Links: | Visitor Center: www.sierracounty.org |
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From Truckee and then Sierraville continue northwest on Highway 49/89 to a mile or so from downtown Sattley and veer right (north) on Highway 89 to Quincy. The community is about 3 miles north of where Highway 89 leaves Highway 49.