i know your area. great hiking trails there. it's at the base of the sierras, right? it's a damed lake that comes from the Yuba River, and it's famous for it's covered bridge (bridgeport bridge). i know CA really well. i was born and raised in newport beach, then we moved to NV but missed newport so bought another home there.
i like driving up into the mountains for camping, or going to a lake. here in tucson, the best mountain to camp on is called Mt. Lemmon another one is Picacho Peak. there's a few lakes you could go to, Lake Powell, Roosevelt Lake, Lake Apache.
