Name: ThousandTrails Ponderosa
Location: 7291 State Highway 40, Lotus, CA 95651Sewer: Some
Water: Yes
Power: 30A/50A
Cable: None
WIFI: Not yet (Maybe soon?)
Cellular: Overloaded
Comments: Beautiful river side RV park in the California Gold Country.
Date: Winter 2020
This park is a short distance from the location of the original Sutter's Mill gold strike that set off the 1849 California Gold Rush. It is located between Highway 50 and Interstate 80 along CA-49 (Coloma Road).
A word of advice: CA-49, in general, is not RV friendly. This was the old wagon trail used to supply the gold miners and small gold rush towns until it was paved by the state. It is known for being quite twisty turny. When going to this RV park it is strongly recommended you approach from Highway 50 in the south. This is an easy driving mountain route to RV park. The approach from the north can be done, but in our 37 foot motorhome with toad there were some white-knuckle moments when coming down from Interstate-80.
Once in the park there are sites above the American River - some of which have sewer and sites along the river. The sewer sites, like a lot of TTs are hard to get. But the prettiest sites are along the river without sewer and TT charges an extra $5.00/day for those. Sites set back from the river, but still very close to the river don't have a surcharge.
Most sites have water and power (30amp with some 50amp), though there are some "rustic" sites that appear to have neither.
We found that staff here to be very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately Covid kept us for interacting with them very much or enjoying the pool or clubhouse.
We did a lot of dog-walking along the river.
The nearby Sutter's Mill is a state historical park with reproductions of the mill and some restored pioneer village. We were told that the docents there put on demonstrations of pioneer skill and crafts. Unfortunately due to Covid, all the exhibits were closed. It looked like it would a be fun place to take the kids
To the south along an easy section of CA-49 is the rustic town of Placerville (aka Hangtown), the center of the CA goldrush. This town is worth the trip for the shops and rustic buildings. In addition there is a "farm trail" you can drive that has wineries and local produce.
We have quite enjoyed both our stays here and plan to return.
