Visited on 2/17/2018 - Jeff and I took advantage a unusually warm weather we were having during the three day holiday weekend to take in the beauty of some lakes in the Mother Lode Gold Country Sierra Mountain foothills area. We loaded up the truck camper for a long weekend of camping and our first stop on our way up the hill was Rancho Seco Lake. This small 165 acre Lake is located 30 miles southwest of Sacramento, California and 8 miles east of Galt, California near the small town of Herald at an elevation of 255 feet above sea level. This lake and surrounding park is owned and operated by SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District). Nice small clean campground, picnic areas and hiking trails surround this wonderful little fishing lake. The area surrounding the park was operated by Sacramento County. In the early 1970s, the pond was expanded into a lake to act as backup emergency cooling water supply for the two nuclear towers located on site. In 1992, SMUD took over responsibility for operating the park. The park sits in the middle of an oak woodland with oak trees dominating the horizon when looking away from the lake. Below the oaks, a variety of grasses and flowering plants grow especially near the vernal pool locations. The lake shore has a thick barrier of blackberry bushes everywhere except the dam and the picnic/camping areas. Ducks and geese swim in the recreation areas where the shore is clear. Some people are observed feeding them. Great blue heron eat the fish from the lake. Bald eagles and hawks nest in the trees surrounding the lake. Many insects are present including dragonflies and grasshoppers. Raccoons are a notable mammal using the lake as a water source, with their droppings dispersed along the narrow animal trails cutting across the park.
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