Sacramento lake communities, such as Greenhaven Lake? (Folsom, Laguna: HOA, homes)

[rdane1010]

I am going to be moving to Sacramento from the north bay area and have been driving around the area a lot. I have seen that there are some areas that have small lakes in the neighborhoods, for example, Greenhaven Lake in the pocket area. I like the idea of living in a place where I would have access to this and am curious if anyone can tell me more about these lakes and what they are used for...

do people swim in the lakes?
are there fish, can you fish in the lakes?
I saw some small, non-power boats so I am assuming this is all that is allowed on these small lakes.
also what is the water like? clean?, bottom substance (sand? dirt?) I am guessing they are man-made lakes?

any info is appreciated.

[CityGirl72]

Not a real lake - it's a man made "mini lake" built for the community to feel prestigous and fancy

Folsom Lake is a real lake

[rdane1010]

do people swim in the small lakes.. just wondering since I like to swim and it might be cool to swim there as opposed to a pool but unless other people do it it would seem kind of weird.

[wburg]

Folsom Lake is just a very big man-made lake; it was the American River until the dam was built (first a small dam for hydroelectric power in the 1890s, then a major dam for power and reservoir in the 1950s.) Greenhaven Lake was a clay pit; there used to be a brickyard in the Pocket area, back when the Pocket was still farmland, and the Lake was the gigantic hole left after decades of digging out clay to make into bricks. I think most of the lake backs up onto backyards, so it is mostly private use. There are a couple of deliberately-manmade fake lakes, like the one in Laguna West. One of the more interesting manmade lakes is the one next to the old decommissioned Rancho Seco nuclear powerplant--originally intended to cool the plant, it is now used as a recreation area (the nuclear plant is now a solar and natural gas facility.)

There are some nice places to swim, boat and raft along the American River, and where the American meets the Sacramento. Boating is a pretty popular activity along the Sacramento and down into the Delta.

[rdane1010]

I looked at the water temps for the american river.. even this time of year looks like its around 60 degrees which is pretty cold to swim in for more than a few minutes.

[edwardius]

You might want to be careful about swimming in the rivers in this area. There are a lot of under currents that can cause even fairly strong swimmers to drown. Its an especially big problem where the American and Sacramento Rivers meet. In this area is a much better idea to your swimming in the lakes and pools and swim in the river only with a life jacket.

Regularly you have quite a few drownings every year because of the currents.

[wburg]

rdane: I'm told it is pretty refreshing on a 105 degree day.

[kiwilover70]

A relative lives on the fake lake in the greenhaven neighborhood and I live around the corner from the one in the pocket area.No one swims in these. They will ride their little paddle boats or fish from the docks.The ducks are the only swimmers in these bodies of water.

[DontKnowIfImComingOrGoing]

Originally Posted by kiwilover70

A relative lives on the fake lake in the greenhaven neighborhood and I live around the corner from the one in the pocket area.No one swims in these. They will ride their little paddle boats or fish from the docks.The ducks are the only swimmers in these bodies of water.

There are a few lake communities in Elk grove as well on the west side
near I5.

No one swims in them, they are just for astetic purposes. Many homes back onto
these lakes and have private docks for their boats.

Many HOA also stock the lakes with fish as well.

[Phil Minor]

The American River is fed by water released from the bottom of Folsom, so the river tends to be much cooler than the Lake.

Right now .the water temperature in the river is in the high 60's and the water temperature in the lake is 77 F. For swimming, I prefer going to Folsom because the warmer water just makes it more pleasant. For water skiing, I tend to prefer the smoother water along the Sacramento River in the Delta.

Water Quality Information

Folsom Lake, California Fishing Report - fishingnotes.com