Grizzly Flats FAQ

Each month, I receive an unbelievable amount of emails from people who have purchased or are thinking about purchasing homes in Grizzly Flats, asking a number of questions about what it is really like to live up here.  I thought it might be a good idea to include some of the most frequently asked questions, answered as honestly as I can, for the reference of those who wish to know.

How many stores, gas stations, hotels, etc, do you have in Grizzly Flats?

None.  There are no conveniences such as those in our community.  There is a ranger station, a church, a fire station, a post office and a school.  On the other side of our town line, there is a small water company.  There is also a realty office on the corner of Evergreen and String Canyon.  Other than that, the structures within our town limits are all residential.

Then how far away are these amenities?

The closest place to Grizzly Flats where you can purchase ANYthing is the Somerset Store at the intersection of Buck's Bar Road and Mt Aukum Road.  (At this point, Buck's Bar Road turns into Grizzly Flat Road)  The Somerset Store is 15 miles down the mountain from Grizzly Flats and, depending on road conditions and what vehicle you get behind takes around 20 minutes to travel.  The Somerset Store is a convenience store with bare essentials.

Take a right on Mt Aukum Road (coming from Grizzly Flats) at the Somerset intersection and go another 4-5 miles and you will come to a Holiday market that is an actual grocery store.  Across from Holiday, there is a pizza parlor (The Pizza Factory), an Ace Hardware Store, a pet clinic, a hair salon, a book and antique store and a Chinese restaurant (Wonderful Chinese). 

You can get to Pleasant Valley Rd either by following Mt Aukum Rd on to the T (Holiday and The Pizza Factory form two corners of that T) and making a left or by not turning on Mt Aukum and continuing on Buck's Bar Rd.  Pleasant Valley Rd will take you into Diamond Springs and by turning onto Cedar Ravine Road or Missouri Flat Rd, on into Placerville.  Diamond Springs is approximately 25 miles from Grizzly Flats and takes around 40 minutes to travel on average.  Placerville and Diamond Springs have full amenities.  Always remember that weather and other vehicles will greatly affect your drive time.  There are is only *1* place where you can safely pass another vehicle on the road up and down the mountain between Somerset and Grizzly Flats, so unless they pull over and let you pass, if you get stuck behind a slow vehicle, you're going to be there awhile.

So there is nothing closer than Holiday or the Somerset Store?  What about gasoline?

No, truly, there is nowhere closer to get anything in Grizzly Flats.  This means you must be prepared at all times with all of the bread, milk, diapers, gasoline and other necessities that you will need.  There is a gas station just past the intersection of Pleasant Valley and Mt Aukum Roads if you make a left at the T.  There is another gas station and very small convenience store if you turn left on Mt Aukum at the Somerset Store instead of right.  It is approximately 5 miles down Mt. Aukum, just before Pioneer Elementary School and Mountain Creek Middle School.

Are the people there friendly to part-timers?

I am going to be honest here, which does not always please the people who want to glamorize life in Grizzly Flats and at all costs, portray the community only in a positive light.  Just like any other neighborhood, our community has a vast variety of opinions and outlooks.  To some folks, having part time people here is an asset.  Some of the finest people I know are part time people and hey, the more the merrier.  For other people, however, there is a bit of animosity.  A lot of the people (and I truly do mean a good many) who live in Grizzly Flats full time work very, very hard to make this community a wonderful place to live.  They invest countless hours into taking this community forward, keeping it safe and (this is not an exaggeration) taking care of us.  Often, we have people who live here part time who come up and enjoy all the community has to offer, some of which is the result of the hard work of others, without ever giving anything back to the community.  There are some people who live up here full time who consider that to be a problem. 

One concern that has been addressed regarding part-time residents is that having homes that are uninhabited for weeks at a time can result in water leaks, fire safe clearing and other maintenance issues that would be more readily detected and tended to if someone lived in the home full time.  Some of these problems can put us all at risk.  Pretty much, the full time residents have to look after their own properties as well as the ones of people who are opting to live in their other home part time in order to keep all of us safe because the people who actually own the property are not here to do so.  If a property has active electricity and water flowing through it and is unattended for periods of time, that property has a greater potential for problems than one that has a person is monitoring it on a daily basis.

Another issue that has been voiced in the past is that when you have a primary home where you normally reside that is NOT in Grizzly Flats, it is hard to imagine that a person would be as invested in the property and the community as they would be if their only home was in Grizzly Flats.  Those of us who live up here full time have no other choice in terms of keeping our property safe and secure because it's the only home we have.  If we lose it, there are no other options for a place to live.

In the time I, personally, have lived in Grizzly Flats, I have seen part-time residents who were more involved in our community than a lot of our full time residents.  I have seen part-time residents who were disrespectful and loud and careless, taking advantage of the fact that they have a whole other "real life" to go back to when they leave.  My comments above are merely intended to reflect the concerns voiced by some of the full-time residents since this particular question comes up a LOT when newcomers email me.

Overall, the community, however, is very warm and welcoming.

Does the snow really get "that deep?"

Yes, the snow really does get "that deep."  Some years, we will only get a few feet of snow cumulatively through the year.  Other years, it is not unusual for us to get 6-7 feet of snow or more.  I have photos of my husband walking on top of the snow, bending over to light a 6 foot torch.  We have had drifts so high that stop signs cannot be read and mail boxes are behind a 6 foot berm of snow left by the snow plow.  We have had snow deep enough to crush a well made carport or garage roof under its weight.  There are times when the ONLY road out of the community is impassable.  We have lost power and phones for a week or two weeks at a time.  Grizzly Flats is not for the light of heart.  You must be able to take care of yourself well to live up here.  It is highly recommended to have a back up source of heat, regardless of your primary source.  You should never come up the mountain in the winter with less than a half of a tank of gas.  You should have good tires, 4wd and chains (that was "and," not "or") before driving on our snowy roads.  The risk is NOT just sliding off the road, but sliding off the mountain and dying.  If possible, you should have generator power and gasoline for that generator.  You should always have a supply of food that can be eaten without cooking and have a camp stove or other alternative cooking device.  Typically, we have a huge number of houses go on the market after the thaw because buyers did not believe the stories about how extreme the winters can be up here.  Real estate agents WILL lie about snowfall to make a sale.

What about medical and sheriff response?

Sheriff response is usually 30 minutes or more and in emergency situations.  Medical response is via the fire department, CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and MedEvac.  Our CERT was established in 2006 and is now the model on which other CERTs are based.  They are trained responders who handle all types of medical calls.  We have one volunteer firefighter in our town, Phill Dayton, who is a frequent first responder.  Other firefighters from Pleasant Valley and Mt Aukum are quickly on the scene after our Grizzly Flats resonders have rendered aid.  There is a MedEvac helipad on the forest property near the school on Tyler Rd.

Is there public transportation to and from Grizzly Flats?

If you wish to pay for a taxi out of Placerville, sure.  By the way, when Enterprise says, "We'll pick you up," they do not mean Grizzly Flats.  They won't...even though they are in Placerville.

What is the schooling situation?

We have a 2 classroom school house in Grizzly Flats serving grades K-2 in one room and 3-5 in the other.  This school has a limited enrollment.  Those students who are unable to get into Grizzly Pines Elementary School are bussed to Pioneer Elementary School in Mt. Aukum.  The bus ride is approximately 45 minutes one way. 

Next door to Pioneer Elementary School is Mountain Creek Middle School, grades 6-8.  Students from Grizzly Flats go to Mountain Creek.

After Mountain Creek, students go even further down the mountain to the town of El Dorado to attend Union Mine High School for grades 9-12.  (Approximately a 1 hour bus ride)  An alternative is Shenandoah High School, which is next door to Union Mine and is a small charter school.

There is a transportation fee for school bus service.

There are no preschool services in Grizzly Flats. 

Is Grizzly Flats "pet friendly?"

It actually depends on the degree of responsibility shown by the pet owners.  Just because we are a mountain community does not mean that animals can or should have the run of the land.  Human residents of Grizzly Flats are very friendly toward animals that are not intrusive, loud or a nuisance and who are under control by their owners.  There is a leash law in Grizzly Flats and an El Dorado County Animal Control Officer actually resides in Grizzly Flats.  As with most places, residents do not take kindly to the pets of others negatively impacting their lives either through destruction, harassment, noise, smell or intimidation.  Pet owners who clean up after their pets, keep them under good restraint and do not allow them to bark incessantly or breed rampantly will not normally encounter any problems.

The non-human residents of Grizzly Flats are not quite as forgiving.  Animals that are allowed to run lose face a number of risks.  Not only are there a few people up here who are comfortable barreling down the road at excessive speeds, not looking for (at best) or swerving to hit (at worst) pets in the street, but the natural threats of predators is a very real danger to pets.  Mountain lions, bears, coyotes and even raccoons and skunks are an ongoing threats to pets that are not kept indoors.  During seasons when finding food is a challenges for the wild animals, they will pick off pets like popcorn. 

Another factor to consider is that even within a fence, leaving pet food outside on a regular basis WILL attract wild animals to your home, especially raccoons and skunks.  While this might seem cute at first, it does not take long for it to proceed on to annoyance and then to "problem."

If there is a problem with the wild animals finding food, shouldn't I provide some to them?

Absolutely not.  There are many people who do feed the animals, not realizing that it is actually to the detriment of the ecosystem of the area, not to mention the animal itself.  The mostly commonly fed animals up here are the deer and deer will eat almost anything if they are hungry enough.  The deer are biologically suited to eat what grows in the forests here; not what comes from the supermarket.  What our bodies can easily tolerate can be lethal to them for a number of reasons.  Nature takes care of its own and the best thing humans can do is to stay out of it.  While it may sound cruel to say it, there is far more humans have done to junk up the ecosystems of the world with their attempts to "help" than to contribute in a positive way.  This is one of those situations. 

Interesting fact:  A deer can die of starvation with a stomach full of hay.  Because a deer has nutritional needs that are only provided by foods found in its natural environment, filling up on hay or human food scraps (which are tastier, easier to get and therefore more attractive to a deer) can prevent the animal from seeking out the food it actually needs, in terms of nutritional value, to survive.  This is the same thing as giving a child a diet of non-stop junk food and expecting it to thrive.

What utility companies do I use if I live in Grizzly Flats?

It is rare that you will be able to get a cell phone signal in Grizzly Flats.  There are a very limited number of places where you will find bars (cell phone bars, not liquor-serving bars), regardless of your cell phone service provider.  There are no cable TV or cable internet services in Grizzly Flats.  The only high speed internet carrier is AT&T, which provides DSL, and a couple of satellite internet providers.  Satellite internet is dicey up here because of our many trees.  Water is provided by the Grizzly Flats Community Services District or, if you have the requisite amount of property and can sink one, a well.  Electricity is provided by Pacific Gas & Electric.  Telephone services are provided by AT&T.  We do not have natural gas provided in this area except in the form of propane stored in tanks.  Houses are typically heated by propane (there are a few propane companies listed in the yellow pages that service this area) or electricity.  Trash is picked up once a week by Amador Disposal.  Note:  barrel burning of trash is not allowed in Grizzly Flats.  Television signal is provided by Dish Network and DirecTV.

Is mail delivered to my house?

A home is eligible for mail delivery if the house is located on Grizzly Flat Road, Logan's Grade (which is a part of Grizzly Flat Road and has a Grizzly Flats address) or String Canyon Road.  All others must rent a post office box from the Grizzly Flats Post Office to receive their mail locally.  UPS, DHL and Federal Express do deliver to Grizzly Flats, weather permitting.

What are/is Burger Nights?

Burger Nights are a traditional once-a-week community party held at the Fire Station on Sciaroni during the summer months.  Usually beginning in June and ending in August, Burger Nights are a Friday night event, serving from 6 - 7:30pm.  Some of our most notable community gentlemen man a few grills and serve up hamburgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers and polish sausages while the ladies oversee a buffet of potato chips, potato salad, green salad, melon, cookies, chili, iced tea and lemonade.  The cost of providing these meals is carefully calculated and a donation is given "at the door" to cover expenses at cost.