Auburn's Dry Creek Road a pleasant trail to residential tracts

Placer County?s backroads don?t have to have a special place in history to be enjoyed. Simply linking stretches of pavement to reach homes north of Auburn, Dry Creek Road is one side street that has plenty to offer, without any memorial markers or five-star attractions.Cinched between Interstate 80 and Joeger Road, this beltway is a meandering two-lane trail that follows alongside its namesake for a few miles before taking off on a roller-coaster ride through the hills.The exit off I-80 brings motorists to Neils Road. Although there are no landmarks here, the name may honor Neilsburg, an early community in the vicinity large enough to warrant a post office by 1860, with a J.C Neil serving as postmaster.Dry Creek Road takes off from here on its westbound journey, cruising past the playground and community clubhouse of the Christian Valley Park residential subdivision. The little concrete block building on the corner doubles as the site of the Tutor Totter Preschool, with the adjoining oak-rimmed sports field operated by the Auburn Area Recreation District.Up ahead on the left is the Halsey Powerhouse and afterbay pond, which is part of Pacific Gas and Electric Company?s hydroelectric system. Collecting snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada in a series of reservoirs and channeling it through ditches, flumes and canals, the network was originally designed by entrepreneurial pioneers in the mid-1800s. It first delivered water to the gold camps in the lower elevations before being converted to an irrigation conduit. In the early 1900s, turbines were added to the network to generate hydro-powered electricity and the Halsey station linked to the chain of powerhouses around 1913. The pond nourishes the blackberry canes that nearly cloak it, providing food and shelter for a variety of native wildlife.Although there are several ditches that feed the power station, the stream drifting westward from the afterbay is commonly known as Dry Creek. Sometimes visible, it is more often hidden under the lush undergrowth of the woodland forest.The Shadow Rock and Shadow Mountain estates neighborhoods are tucked in a valley over the hill on the right, holding large custom homes on small chunks of acreage. All the land Dry Creek Road crosses sits in an unincorporated area of the county, with the majority of homes on two acres or more.There are more clusters of homes in the bowl-shaped vales up ahead, such as Squirrel Creek and Windsong Estates. In-between them is the nine-hole Black Oak Golf Course, which is edged by more one-of-a-kind homes on property once holding family farms and ranches.Dry Creek crosses to the north side of the road before meeting up with Saddleback Estates, another subdivision of upscale homes in a country setting. Beyond this sprawling tract, the homes are older and more modest, sitting side-by-side along the roadway. On the left, newer houses are terraced up the hillside.The Pine View Estates and Park Place neighborhoods are pockets in the seams of Dry Creek Road, stitched together with more small cottages, ranch-style homes and bungalows. After making a big bend, Dry Creek Road slices through commercial territory where fresh gas stations, 84 Lumber, a mini-mart and fast food island mark its intersection with Highway 49.On the other side of the crossing, Dry Creek Road straightens out to rise and fall in rhythm with the undulating terrain. After passing mobile home parks and an apartment complex, it accesses Regional Park where a disc golf course, jogging paths, tennis courts and sports fields adjoin a gymnasium. A scenic pond, playground and woodsy picnic areas make this a multi-function recreational facility.Beyond the park is the newest group of homes along Dry Creek Road, at the Deer Ridge development, which boasts its own picturesque little park. Across the way are more contemporary housing tracts, some bordering Gold Canal.As Dry Creek Road continues on, the homes start to get smaller and closer together, again, taking on a rustic flavor. The last property on the block usually has some waterfowl or sheep at its pond, completing the pastoral picture.There are no pillars, no commemorative markers, no bronze plaques to tout Dry Creek Road?s significance. It?s just another of Placer County?s bucolic backroads that make the ride home a pleasant trip.