Pine Mountain Club, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pine Mountain Club
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Location in Southwest Kern County and the state of California
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 Pine Mountain Club, California
Location in California
Pine Mountain Club, California
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern |
| Area | |
| • Total | 16.860 sq mi (43.667 km2) |
| • Land | 16.853 sq mi (43.649 km2) |
| • Water | 0.007 sq mi (0.017 km2) 0.044% |
| Elevation | 5,554 ft (1,693 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 2,315 |
| • Density | 137.3/sq mi (53.0/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| ZIP code |
93222
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| Area code(s) | 661 |
| FIPS code | 06-57240 |
| GNIS feature ID | 254419 |
Pine Mountain Club is a special community in southwestern Kern County, California. It's not officially a city, but it's a place where many people live. In 2010, about 2,315 people called Pine Mountain Club home. It's known as one of the Mountain Communities of the Tejon Pass.
Contents
Exploring Pine Mountain Club's Location
Pine Mountain Club covers about 16.7 square miles (43.25 km2) of land. It sits high up, between 4,901 to 6,400 feet (1,494 to 1,951 m) above sea level. This community is nestled in a deep valley within the San Emigdio Mountains. It's also located right on the San Andreas fault, a famous crack in the Earth's crust.
The area is surrounded by the beautiful Los Padres National Forest. You can find Pine Mountain Club between Apache Saddle and Pinon Pines Estates. It's along the Mil Potrero Highway, west of towns like Frazier Park, Lebec, and the big Interstate 5 highway.
A Look at Pine Mountain Club's Past
How Pine Mountain Club Began
Pine Mountain Club was created in 1971 by a company called Tenneco. They announced their plans from Houston, Texas. Tenneco wanted to develop a lot of land in Arizona and Southern California.
About half of this land was in Kern County. This included building homes near the new California State College. They also planned to develop 3,200 acres in the Los Padres National Forest for homes. This forest area is where Pine Mountain Club is located.
The plan was to set aside 1,000 acres for vacation homes. Another 2,200 acres would be kept natural. John E. Sommerhalder, the president of Tenneco West, led this project. The land used to be a private preserve.
Tenneco West was a part of the larger Tenneco company. It managed all of Tenneco's land in the western part of the country.
The company planned many fun things for the community:
- A nine-hole golf course.
- A heated swimming pool.
- Areas for archery, volleyball, and basketball.
- A lake filled with fish.
- A community barbecue spot.
John E. Sommerhalder said Pine Mountain Club was one of the largest all-electric family resorts in California. They offered different types of homes:
- One to three-bedroom houses.
- Modular homes (pre-built homes).
- Spaces for mobile homes.
The community also planned to have:
- Hiking trails.
- Horse riding trails (16 miles long).
- An equestrian center with stables and corrals for horses.
- Later, a general store and a laundromat.
In 1971, homes and lots were expected to start around $13,500. Before opening, they had already dug four deep wells. They also built a large network of water pipes and reservoirs. A water filtration plant was near the town center.
The developers worked with Simon Eisner, a well-known environmental planner. Eight months after opening, many people who bought lots planned to build vacation homes. The final part of the development opened in March 1973. It was on a plateau about 1,000 feet higher than the clubhouse.
Building the Mil Potrero Highway
Tenneco West also improved a road called Mil Potrero. It used to be a "winding, steep, one-lane dirt road." They turned it into a "comfortable, convenient and safe way" to see the beautiful Southern California scenery. This 6.5-mile road cost almost a million dollars.
John E. Sommerhalder said the road made a large part of the Los Padres National Forest easier to reach. Before, it was almost impossible to get to.
Building the road was hard because of the mountains. Also, they had to be very careful not to harm nature. The project followed strict rules from both Kern County and the U.S. Forest Service. The road became a public road after Tenneco maintained it for a year.
To protect the forest, workers had to stay on the existing road path. They couldn't build temporary roads. Fire safety equipment was always on hand during construction.
Pine Mountain Club Today
By 1988, Pine Mountain Club had a small shopping area. It had about 40 businesses, from a gas station to unique shops. Many stores were closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. This was because many people had weekend homes and visited mostly on Saturdays and Sundays.
On July 31, 2021, the community celebrated its 50th birthday. They had a barbecue picnic by the golf course. They also celebrated 50 years of the Mil Potrero Mutual Water Company.
Who Lives in Pine Mountain Club?
The 2010 United States Census showed that 2,315 people lived in Pine Mountain Club. Most residents, about 89.8%, were white. There were also people of other backgrounds, including African American, Native American, and Asian residents. About 10% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.
There were 1,062 homes in the community. About 21.3% of these homes had children under 18. Most homes (55.1%) were married couples. The average household had 2.18 people.
About 17.8% of the people were under 18 years old. Many residents were older, with 22.2% being 65 or older. The average age was 51.6 years. Most homes (82.9%) were owned by the people living in them.
How the Community is Managed
The Pine Mountain Club community is run by the Pine Mountain Club Property Owners Association, Inc. This group has a board of nine volunteers. They follow a set of rules called the Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&R's [1]). They also have bylaws and other rules, including an Environmental Control (EC) code [2].
The association takes care of several fun places [3]. These include a nine-hole golf course, a swimming pool, a clubhouse, and stables for horses. They also manage the Pine Mountain Patrol [4]. The association publishes a monthly newspaper called the Condor [5].
Learning in Pine Mountain Club
Pine Mountain Club is part of the El Tejon Unified School District. Students take buses to local public schools, like Frazier Mountain High School. The community also has a charter school called Peak to Peak Mountain Charter. It serves students from kindergarten to seventh grade. There's also a private school, Mountain Community Christian School [6], for kindergarten through sixth grade.
Getting Around Pine Mountain Club
Kern Regional Transit offers bus service on Thursdays and Saturdays during the summer. The buses go to nearby towns like Frazier Park, Gorman, Lake of the Woods, Lebec, and Pinon Pines.
All year round, they offer a dial-a-ride service. You can connect to other bus services in Frazier Park or Lebec. These services can take you to Grapevine and Bakersfield. From Bakersfield, you can connect to Greyhound buses and Amtrak trains.
Local Businesses and Economy
The businesses in the area are supported by the Mountain Communities Chamber of Commerce. This group helps local businesses grow and work together.
Wildlife in the Community
Around 2014, black bears started to become a common sight in the community. They would sometimes break into homes and cars looking for food. Wildlife experts consider this area a "human-black bear conflict zone." This means people and bears often come into contact. It's especially a challenge in the spring when bears wake up from winter and are very hungry.
News and Media
- The Mountain Enterprise
- Bakersfield Californian (This newspaper stopped delivering to the Mountain Communities on May 1, 2009. Source: Mountain Enterprise, April 3, 2009)
Picture Gallery
Click the images to see larger versions of the photos, all from 2008.
See also
In Spanish: Pine Mountain Club para niños
