Review Detail

We just completed a 10 day stay at Beale – nothing has changed since our last several visits.  As usual, there is quite a cadre of homesteaders and the Wi-Fi is pathetic.  Tangent time:  Every wonder why you can’t get a reservation at a military RV Park during prime vacation time?  Chances are the RV Park has an abundance of homesteaders occupying the best sites.  There is an interesting perspective about homesteaders in the forum section of this website.  Poor Wi-Fi service seems to be the norm at many of the military RV Parks.  RV Park management response is always the same: “We are aware of the problem and are working on it”.  Sadly, nothing ever seems to get fixed.  If you can’t provide a good service, don’t advertise or offer it.  Enough venting.  Let’s move on to some fun and positive things.  We like coming to Beale because we find many things appealing.  The paved and lighted walking trails are great. If you are a shutterbug, you can find many scenic views of the landscape and wildlife without having to travel off base.  For us, Beale offers a great basecamp for playing “day-trip” tourist in the surrounding area.  There are too many great attractions in the local area to mention all of them.  During this stay we took a trip to the quint little downtown of Placerville, CA., hometown of the late Thomas Kinkade.  Our mistake: we should have planned at least a two-day venture.  You can get to Placerville quickly by going to Roseville and travel east on Highway 50 to Placerville.  That approach will give you plenty of time to wander around the town, have lunch, and browse through the shops.  We took a different route to Placerville and regret that we didn’t do a good job with our homework.  We could have easily spent multiple days traveling and stopping along the 48 miles from Auburn, CA to Placerville on Highway 49.  The scenery along the route is very picturesque. There are several parks that offer easy and challenging hiking trails, as well as, access to the American River.  If you are the adventurist type, there are businesses offering river rafting trips on the American River.  River rafting looks like a lot of family fun, but at our age we think we’ll pass on that adventure.  Sutter’s Mill, where gold was discovered in California, is another highlight along Highway 49 and the American River.  If you are into quint little historic downtowns then you may enjoy visiting Nevada City, CA.  Easiest way to get there from Beale is to use the Grass Valley Gate, go east on Highway 20, then north about 7 or 8 miles on Highway 49.  For us, it was a day-trip to Nevada City that was fun and interesting.