Welcome! I'm a mom of four, navigating homeschool family life in beautiful Folsom, California, and sharing our favorite local spots, events, and family adventures to help other families discover the endless fun our community has to offer. I am the Event & Digital Marketing Specialist for Gold Mountain California News Media (Auburn Journal, The Loomis News, Placer Herald - Rocklin, Lincoln News Messenger, Press Tribune - Roseville & Granite Bay, Folsom Telegraph) and also teach at Wild Roots Learning Center in Folsom. Please email me if you are interested in working together and reaching more families in our community.
Placerville RV Resort & Campground: Where Learning Adventures Begin Right in Our Backyard
You know how Marine World will always be Marine World to those of us who grew up with it? Well, this place will forever be "the KOA in Placerville" to our family, no matter what the sign says!
Living in Folsom means we're blessed with incredible outdoor adventures practically in our backyard, and Placerville RV Resort & Campground (formerly our beloved KOA) proves that you don't need to travel far to create those magical childhood memories that stick forever.
Why We Keep Coming Back
As a family without an RV, we absolutely love their cabin rentals. When you're this close to home, there's no point in hauling all the tent supplies when you can have the camping experience with a few more comforts. Our kids get the thrill of "camping" while mama gets a real bed – everyone wins!
Natural Learning Playground
This place is a masterclass in hands-on education disguised as pure fun:
The Fishing Pond becomes our biology classroom where kids learn patience, ecosystems, and the thrill of catching their first trout or catfish. Watching their faces light up when they feel that tug on the line? That's worth more than any textbook lesson on marine life.
18-Hole Mini Golf transforms into geometry in action – angles, trajectories, and problem-solving skills all wrapped up in giggles and friendly competition. Our kids don't realize they're doing spatial reasoning; they just know they're having a blast.
The Goat Petting Zoo offers lessons in animal behavior, responsibility, and empathy that no classroom could replicate. There's something magical about a child learning gentleness through the soft nuzzle of a friendly goat.
Kids' Fun Train provides geography lessons as little engineers navigate the track, learning about transportation, cause and effect, and taking turns – all while squealing with delight.
Budget-Friendly Family Fun
The amenities here make it easy to stay entertained without breaking the bank:
Swimming pool and hot tub for year-round water play
Playground equipment that actually challenges kids instead of bubble-wrapping them
Friday and Saturday movie nights under the stars
Arcade games, foosball, and ping-pong in the rec room
Horseshoes for unique fun
The on-site camp store stocks everything you might have forgotten, from ice cream treats to camping essentials, so no need for emergency runs to Placerville (or back to Folsom).
Perfect Home Base for Sierra Foothill Adventures
What makes this location gold (pun intended, given Placerville's history!) is its proximity to incredible learning opportunities:
Historic gold-rush sites where kids can literally touch California history
Apple Hill farms for seasonal learning about agriculture and food systems
Mountain scenery that changes with every season, teaching kids about natural cycles
Red Hawk Casino's family-friendly Apex racing and arcade (because sometimes mama needs a coffee and kids need to burn energy in climate-controlled comfort!)
The Practical Details
Address: 4655 Rock Barn Rd, Shingle Springs, CA 95682
What We Love Most: The combination of structured activities and unstructured exploration time. Kids can follow their interests – whether that's perfecting their mini-golf swing, making friends with goats, or simply lying in the grass watching clouds drift over the Sierra Foothills.
The Real Learning Happens
While other families rush through scheduled activities, we've learned to slow down and follow our children's natural curiosity. Maybe that means spending an hour watching fish in the pond instead of rushing to the next activity. Maybe it means letting them figure out the physics of the train track through trial and error. This place gives families the gift of unstructured time in a safe, contained environment.
The fact that this family-run business has evolved from its KOA roots while maintaining that community feel speaks to something important – places that truly serve families adapt and grow, just like our children do.
Disclosure: Some aspects of our stays may have been hosted or paid for by the establishment, but all opinions are entirely our own and reflect our genuine family experiences.
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