Eden Vale Inn

Retreat to Eden. This Luxury B&B offers five exclusive and very private rooms. Each room is decorated in a unique style and, each is built to a modern luxury standard. Located in a superb Sierra Foothills setting, the pond and extensive grounds feature gardens that invite wandering, sitting, reflection and reading. Romance is always in the air at Eden Vale Inn.

In this superb Sierra Foothills setting, just minutes from Placerville, the California Gold Discovery site, and local wineries, the rich natural colors of the accommodations are reflective of the lush gardens and surrounding natural beauty. Eden Vale is truly a Garden of Eden.
 

Complimentary At Eden Vale

• Delicious full breakfast featuring fresh, non-processed (slow) foods
• Gourmet coffee and hot tea bar
• High-speed wireless Internet and Ethernet
• Phones with free unlimited domestic calling
• Access to the Eden Vale Estate, which includes 10 acres of both cultivated and natural gardens.
• Lounge by the spring-fed pond that is ringed by a natural wildflower meadow.
• Concierge services

Wander the extensive grounds and experience the intimacy of the beautifully landscaped gardens. Join in the evening ritual of feeding the rainbow trout in the spring-fed pond. Feed your romantic spirit by soaking in your own private two person outdoor tub or sip wonderful local wine in front of your own fireplace. Eden Vale Inn personifies the new El Dorado - a place whose richness and abundance is now in spirit rather than gold.

Many local attractions and activities are available in the area: Fine Dining, Shopping in Old Town Placerville, over 80 Wineries to choose from within an hour's drive, White Water Rafting on the American River, the California Gold Discovery Site, Ballooning, Hiking, Biking, and Skiing.

Breakfast at Eden Vale Inn highlights the bounty of local produce, much of which is grown along the El Dorado County Farm Trails. California cuisine is inspired by fruit fresh from Apple Hill and local El Dorado County farms. An Eden Vale breakfast will satisfy all palates from hearty to light fare or on the go. Each morning a seasonally changing full breakfast is served in the dining room that fills with the morning sun.

Or you can enjoy a private breakfast on your own garden patio. Specials of the house are many but include tender, hot out of the oven scones, scrumptious buttermilk pancakes covered with warm Pink Lady apples from the Apple Hill Harvest, fresh squeezed juice from locally grown mandarin oranges, and flaky quiches made with just picked tomatoes and herbs from the garden. A rich and rewarding cup of gourmet coffee helps start your day right. Coffee, tea, and hot chocolate are available throughout the day. Regional and global newspapers delivered daily.

Unlike any other bed and breakfast inn, Eden Vale Inn offers a luxury retreat that emphasizes a thoroughly sophisticated style and comfort in an intimate atmosphere. An elegant destination bed and breakfast getaway in California's Gold Country, Eden Vale Inn is nestled in a timeless rustic landscape. Here you will stay in one of five exclusive private rooms, each with a unique style designed to soothe the senses and invigorate the spirit. No matter what season you come, you will leave recharged and regenerated. Whether you seek romance or a fresh new spiritual grounding, you will leave nourished and renewed from your stay, relaxed and replenished in body and spirit.

Evenings, you may want gather at the Big Dipper Pond, a great place to watch the stars come out perhaps while sipping wine from the nearby Shenandoah Valley or Fairplay regions. You will discover that romance is always in the air at Eden Vale Inn B&B as you stroll through the beautiful gardens right outside your door.

Overlooking a series of ponds in the foothills of the California Sierra Nevada you will find a lush and inviting garden to stroll and relax in. You will be soothed by Eden Vale's many water features and discover flower and vine covered pavilions. Under a mature canopy of conifers and deciduous trees, the garden highlights grasses, small conifers and flowering shrubs. No matter what the season there is always something to discover in Eden Vale Inn's ever changing paradise. A large vegetable and fruit garden provide year round fresh produce for Eden Vale Inn's guests. Locally created art pieces hanging throughout the Bed and Breakfast provide a sense of discovery to your wanderings.

The Big Dipper Pond is kept full and typically clear by a spring and well. Surrounded by a lush wildflower garden and walking trail, the pond is a great place to stroll. The Big Dipper Pond is wonderful for swimming late spring through early fall and, supports a lively population of rainbow trout.

All Rooms Feature:

• Private garden patio entrances with outdoor seating
• Luxurious and elegant private bathrooms.
• All rooms carefully designed and built for the specific needs of B&B travelers
• Romantic gas fireplaces
• Private interior and exterior access doors in every room.
• Computerized Lutron lighting system, sets a mood like no other B&B.
• Luxury Grohe plumbing fixtures
• Gilchrist and Soames' Verde Collection bath amenities
• Quiet soundproofed rooms
• Individually controlled, super quiet air conditioning

At the heart of the Eden Vale Bed and Breakfast Inn in Placerville is a classic California hay barn built in 1919. The Eden Vale Inn B&B owners, Mark and Gayle, purchased the property in 1985. First they converted the barn into a warm and inviting home; that home is now the main building of this luxury bed and breakfast inn. And, to anticipate the question, no they did not plan it that way from the beginning. The place has steadily grown and evolved over the last 25 years. By 2006 they began to think of turning their estate into a B&B. In the process they consulted with many experts including architects, a B&B consultant, engineers, a biologist, a lighting designer and many more. They even took a class for aspiring innkeepers put on by CABBI, the California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns. Now this Coloma-Lotus Valley B&B is like no other perhaps anywhere??

Eden Vale Inn is carved into a hillside. The old barn gives it unmatched character. The bones are the rugged rough sawn beams and timbers cut in its day from the virgin Sierra pine forests. Those barn features have been carefully and tastefully preserved with renovations that are both modern and authentic. For example, the large slate fireplace, quarried from Chili Bar on the nearby American River, dominates the main living area and enhances the rustic elegance of the timbered soaring ceilings. Just minutes from the South Fork of the American River, Eden Vale Inn is part of a historic Gold Country homestead acquired by the Williamson family in the late 1880’s. The hay barn was a central feature of their dairy farm. The B&B Inn sits in a valley surrounded by the lovely signature Sierra Foothills.

It will take you about 45 minutes to reach Eden Vale Inn from Sacramento in non rush hours.

From downtown Sacramento get on Highway 50 east towards South Lake Tahoe.
Continue on through the valley on Highway 50 until you get up into the foothills (about 30 miles) from downtown Sacramento. Go past El Dorado Hills exit, Bass Lake exit, Cambridge Rd exit, Cameron Park exit. The next exit will be Ponderosa Road exit. Take this exit and get into left lane. Turn left at light and go north (left) across the freeway. Get into right lane and turn right after second light onto N. Shingle Spring Road (sign says Rescue/N. Shingle Springs Rd.) that fronts the freeway for a ½ mile or so. Continue on this road for about 7 miles. The signs will say Coloma/Lotus. After about 4.5 miles the road name changes to Lotus Road.

The land mark that is readily observable, when you are near, is a large firewood operation on the right. There you turn left onto Springvale Road and go .2 mile to 1780 Springvale Rd. Eden Vale Inn is the third driveway on the left. Watch for the sign at the driveway.

If you miss Springvale Road, you’ll continue uphill on Lotus Road then descend down the other side toward the American River and Lotus/Coloma. Turn around and come back. Springvale Rd. will be a U turn now at the bottom of the hill.

From Auburn take Highway 49 heading south.
It takes about 30 minutes by car. You’ll cross the Middle Fork of the American River at the bottom of the canyon and then you go up through Cool. About 25 minutes south of Auburn you’ll come to Coloma. The important turn is coming up. Turn right on Lotus Road immediately after crossing the South Fork of the American River. The Sierra Nevada House is a landmark old hotel on the corner. Go through Lotus on Lotus Road, up steep grade past Sutter Mill School on the right. Then you begin a long descent down a hill (about 1.5 miles). At the bottom of the hill you see a big firewood operation on the left. Here is where you will turn right onto Springvale Road (it’s almost a U turn). Eden Vale Inn is the third driveway on the left. Watch for the sign at the driveway.

From South Lake Tahoe/Placerville heading west.
Go west through Placerville on Highway 50 and in about 4 miles take Greenstone Road off ramp (exit right before Red Hawk Casino). Go right (north) until you dead end into Green Valley Road. Go left and continue about 3 miles until you come to a stop sign. Turn right onto Lotus Road. Go approximately 3 miles, then turn left onto Springvale Road before the road ascends a hill. Eden Vale Inn is the third driveway on the left. Watch for the sign at the driveway.

El Dorado County is one of the most diverse, exciting and beautiful places you will ever experience. Nestled in the Sierra Foothills, the region provides an incredibly rewarding escape for anyone who enjoys food and wine, nature, outdoor activities, and Gold Country history. It has served as the backdrop for dozens of movies, including The Horse Whisperer, White Mile, The Bodyguard, Out of the Woods, and The Valley of Light.

The spring, summer, and fall seasons in the Gold Country provide for wine tasting, whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, fishing, antiquing, gold panning, and exploring the historic towns of Placerville, Coloma, Diamond Springs, Jackson, Grass Valley and Nevada City.

Winter brings a fresh range of new activities. Perhaps the snow sports of the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range will tempt you. Because of the milder winters at our elevation, many activities are available year-round. This includes most of the hiking and biking trails and the local wineries are always open.

El Dorado Wine Country Seasons: The spring, summer, and fall seasons in the California Gold Country provide for El Dorado County and Amador County wine tasting, American River whitewater rafting, hiking, biking, fishing, antiquing, gold panning, and exploring the historic towns of Placerville, Coloma, Diamond Springs, Jackson, Grass Valley and Nevada City. Winter brings a fresh range of new activities such as snow sports at the nearby Lake Tahoe, NV resorts. Yet, because of the milder winters at our Sierra Nevada Foothills elevation, many activities are available year-round including most of the hiking and biking trails. The more than 80 wineries are always open.

Wineries
El Dorado County and Amador County is home to over 80 family-owned wineries that beckon visitors. As compared to Napa you will find much more intimate service at fraction of the cost. You can choose from a diversity of award winning wines. You’ll love the friendly tasting room staffs idyllic views vineyard and mountain views. Winter is a beautiful time of year to visit El Dorado's wine country. Weather is mild and the tasting rooms are uncrowded, giving you even more opportunities to talk with our winemaking families. Special annual events at the wineries are Passport Weekends (March/April) and Barrel Tasting Weekend (January). Some of our favorites are: DK Cellars, David Girard, Gold Hill, Venezio, Lava Cap, Dillon, Cedarville, Holly Hill, Sierra Vista, Vino Noceto, Windwalker and many more. There a so many good wines we can’t list them all.

For more information Sierra Foothills Wine visit these regional websites:
El Dorado County Wines
Fairplay Wines
Amador County Wines
Sacramento Wine Region, 197 Wineries

Specialty Shopping
Historic Main Street in downtown Placerville offers a variety of shops and will no doubt have something for everyone; tiny gift shops, art galleries, antiques shops, clothing stores and hand crafted jewelry to name just a few. Some of the more popular Placerville events have been the Art & Wine Festival, Bell Tower Brewfest, Craft and Antique Fair, Classic Car Show and the Festival of Lights that signals the start of the busy holiday season.

Make sure you especially check out: Placerville Clothing Company, Violets Are Blue Consignment, Placerville Hardware (in business since 1851 – they have everything!), The Bookery, Raven's Tale Books, Winterhill Olive Oil, Tony Matthews Housewares, Placerville Antiques & Collectables, The Lighthouse and Dedrick's Cheese.

Agri-Tourism:
El Dorado County is one of the last great places to find family run wineries, orchards and farms. Check out these resources when planning a tour:

El Dorado County Farm Trails
El Dorado County Visitor Authority
Apple Hill

Nurseries/Gardens
Gayle is an avid gardener and has scoped out all the best in gardens and nurseries. Her garden features plants from many of them and she is more than happy to share her gardening successes and challenges. Visit the nearby Gold Hill Olive Oil Company to taste excellent olive oils and to see one of the newest agricultural ventures. For the gardener Gayle recommends visits to:

Lotus Valley Nursery and Gardens
Lotus Bonsai Nursery
Amador Flower Farm
Golden Gecko Garden Center

Art Galleries
Many artists have come to this rich fertile area to follow their passion. You can visit several artist collectives that showcase some of the best. A few we recommend:

Gold Country Artists Gallery
El Dorado Arts Council
Bennett Gallery

Whitewater Rafting (April thru October)
Cascading down from the Sierra Nevada runs the West’s most popular whitewater river - the South Fork of the American River. An intermediate (Class III) river, the South Fork American River is suitable for kids aged 7 to 75! In nearby Coloma, on the American River is where James Marshall discovered gold. An El Dorado County white water rafting trip combines the river’s natural beauty, rich historical background, and exhilarating rapids into one great whitewater vacation experience. Half and full-day trips are available.

For more information on the river and the many good rafting companies see The American River

Hiking, Biking and Horse Trail Riding
Cronan Ranch Regional Trails (hiking and equestrian), Monroe Ridge Trail (hiking), Auburn State Recreation Area (hiking, biking and equestrian), Tahoe Rim Trail and the Western States Trail all offer a multitude of outdoor activities within easy driving range of Eden Vale Inn.

Additional Resources:
American River Conservancy
Cronan Ranch Trail Map
Dave Moore Nature Area
Henningson Lotus Park
Monroe Ridge Trail
Tahoe Rim Trail
Western States Trail Equestrian
Western States Trail Run

Dave Moore Nature Area is located approximately two miles west of the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park at Coloma on Highway 49 along the scenic and popular South Fork American River. One of the main features of the Dave Moore Nature Area is a loop trail about a mile long which goes from the parking lot trail head to the South Fork American River and back again passing through several habitat types.

Explore the spectacular Tahoe Rim Trail as it follows the ridges and mountain tops that circle Lake Tahoe. Winding for 150 miles, the TRT was built to accommodate hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians, and to showcase breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe, California's High Sierra, and the Great Basin of western Nevada.

Bring your bike to explore on road and off road adventures. Several local bike shops will help you with routes and equipment. Golden Spoke Bike Shop and Gold Country Cycling are some of the best. Check out their websites for touring maps and advice on the local area.

High Country
Desolation Wilderness in the El Dorado National Forest is 12 miles long and 8 miles wide and is accessed by 15 named and numbered trailheads. The relatively small 63,960 acre Desolation Wilderness contains many small streams with about 150 alpine and sub-alpine lakes. Many high country destinations, including the Carson Pass area are reasonable day hikes from Eden Vale Inn.

Gold Panning, Mining, and History
Rent a pan or bring your own. There is an area just across the South Fork of the American River from Marshall Gold Discovery State Park where you can settle in and try your luck. If Rodney is around, he is a fixture in the park, you might be lucky enough to get a lesson in gold panning from him. The Gold Bug Mine and Parkin Placerville hosts Hattie’s museum, a 362-foot hard rock mine, gift shop, stamp mill, hiking trails and gold panning and makes for a terrific outdoor adventure. Bring a picnic and enjoy a day of history and fun at the park.

Golfing
Apple Mountain Golf Course
18 holes over 6,450 yards with a par of 71 (Public)
3455 Carson Rd
Camino, CA 95709-9595
(530) 647-7400

Ski Resorts
Within 2 hours drive of Eden Vale Inn are a number of top notch ski resorts:
Sierra at Tahoe,
Heavenly at Tahoe,
Kirkwood (downhill and cross country)
Royal Gorge (cross country)

Nightlife
The fabulous new Red Hawk Casino is within five miles. Five restaurants are featured some with great views of the Sierras and Foothills.