Pine Mountain Lake, California

Pine Mountain Lake
census-designated place
View across a calm Pine Mountain Lake toward the Dunn Court area
Country	United States
State	California
County	Tuolumne
Area
• Total	19.252 sq mi (49.864 km2)
• Land	18.972 sq mi (49.137 km2)
• Water	0.280 sq mi (0.726 km2)  1.46%
Elevation	2,431 ft (741 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	2,796
• Density	150/sq mi (56/km2)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP Code	95321
Area code	209
GNIS feature ID	2633170
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Pine Mountain Lake, California

Pine Mountain Lake (PML) is a private gated community and a census-designated place (CDP) in Tuolumne County, California. It is located eight tenths of a mile to the north and east of Groveland. Pine Mountain Lake sits at an elevation of 2,431 feet (741 m). The 2010 United States census reported Pine Mountain Lake's population was 2,796.

The ZIP Code is 95321. The community is inside area code 209.

The "Gateway to Yosemite", PML is an all-seasons vacation and retirement community. PML boasts a private 202-acre (0.82 km²) lake with 6 miles (9.7 km) of shoreline. The community also hosts an 18-hole championship golf course, golf shop, lake lodge, tennis, hiking, horseback riding, swimming, fishing, an airport, and close proximity to local shopping, medical, and government services. PML is 26 miles (42 km) west of Yosemite National Park on highway 120. It gets a light dusting of snow in the winter, warm summer days, a green spring, and colorful fall.

About

The lake is spring fed and is also fed by the Big Creek. The lake level has never dipped lower than 4 feet (1.2 m) even in low rain fall. It has 210 acres (0.8 km²) of water and 6 miles (10 km) of shoreline. It affords water skiing, sailing, swimming and fishing. It has three sandy swim beaches a boat launch marina and a fisherman's park. Pine Mountain Lake Association stocks the lake with trout. The lake is surrounded by pines and manzanitas, and most homes cannot be seen from the lake, preserving its wilderness feeling.

The Pine Mountain Lake Subdivision was developed by Boise Cascade in the late 1960s with about 3,600 homesites averaging about one third to one half of an acre each. PML offers an equestrian center (homesites near the center are larger, about 1 to 2 acres (8,100 m²) and allow your own horse), tennis, a PGA rated golf course with a full time Golf Pro, "Country Club" and full time mobile security patrol. The Lake is about 2,500–2,550 feet above mean sea level. The highest points in the community are about 3,100 feet (940 m) AMSL. Altitudes range from about 2,600 to 3,100 ft (940 m). It's above the fog and below the snow line. Temps range from the 20–30 °F in winter to 80–90 °F in the summer. Snow in the winter usually is light, and while the streets are plowed, you will not likely need to shovel your driveway. Land line phone service is available with high speed internet in most areas. Cell phones have a little trouble is this area. US postal service offers P.O. boxes in Downtown Groveland and delivery to Pine Mountain Lake's many neighborhood lock box centers within the gated community. UPS and FedEx delivery is very good. Furniture deliveries and other tradesmen need the owners to call in a pass for them at the Main Security Gate to gain entrance. Nobody gets in without a pass or an owner's card.

The community comprises a combination of year round residents and seasonal residents, retired folks and families, young and old. With a very small year-round population base, the town has a small-town atmosphere, with residents alway quick with a wave and a hello. Most lots in the development are developed, and most of the homes are unique in their design, ranging from log cabins and cute A frames to grand stately homes. Some homes are rented as seasonal resort homes. Many Realty companies in the area handle the rentals of private homes in Pine Mountain Lake.

Groveland has Tenaya Elementary School grades K–8 and Tioga High School grade 9–12, part of the Big Oak Flat-Groveland Unified School District. Columbia Junior College is about 25 miles (40 km) down the hill in Columbia, 2 miles (3 km) from Sonora (about 22 miles (35 km) from Groveland). The community hosts a wide variety of churches .

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP covers an area of 19.3 square miles (49.9 km²), 19.0 square miles (49.1 km²) of it land and 0.3 square miles (0.7 km²) of it (1.46%) water.

Demographics

The 2010 United States Census reported that Pine Mountain Lake had a population of 2,796. The population density was 145.2 people per square mile (56.1/km²). The racial makeup of Pine Mountain Lake was 2,596 (92.8%) White, 18 (0.6%) African American, 25 (0.9%) Native American, 24 (0.9%) Asian, 7 (0.3%) Pacific Islander, 21 (0.8%) from other races, and 105 (3.8%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 183 persons (6.5%).

The Census reported that 2,796 people (100% of the population) lived in households, 0 (0%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 (0%) were institutionalized.

There were 1,346 households, out of which 200 (14.9%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 776 (57.7%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 84 (6.2%) had a female householder with no husband present, 44 (3.3%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 66 (4.9%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 7 (0.5%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 369 households (27.4%) were made up of individuals and 216 (16.0%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.08. There were 904 families (67.2% of all households); the average family size was 2.45.

The population was spread out with 372 people (13.3%) under the age of 18, 95 people (3.4%) aged 18 to 24, 340 people (12.2%) aged 25 to 44, 973 people (34.8%) aged 45 to 64, and 1,016 people (36.3%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 60.0 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males.

There were 3,048 housing units at an average density of 158.3 per square mile (61.1/km²), of which 1,117 (83.0%) were owner-occupied, and 229 (17.0%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 5.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 20.7%. 2,239 people (80.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 557 people (19.9%) lived in rental housing units.

Politics

In the state legislature Pine Mountain Lake is located in the 14th Senate District, represented by Republican Tom Berryhill, and in the 25th Assembly District, represented by Republican Kristin Olsen. Federally, Pine Mountain Lake is located in California's 19th congressional district, which has a Cook PVI of R +10 and is represented by Republican Jeff Denham.

Airport

The Pine Mountain Lake Airport is five miles (8 km) from the intersection of Ferretti Road and SR120. The facility has an FAA identifier of E45 and features a roughly-3,600-foot (1,100 m) runway.

See also

• Groveland-Big Oak Flat, California
• Buck Meadows, California

Sources

• Map: "Stanislaus National Forest, California," U.S. Forest Service, 1979.
• Map: "Groveland, California," U.S. Geological Survey, 1987.
• Airport Facility Directory: Southwest U.S., U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, unknown date.

External links

• Pine Mountain Lake Association home page
• Pine Mountain Lake Aviation Association
• Friends of the Lake