Wolf Creek Lodge in Grass Valley, CA, is pleased to announce that they have two one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit currently for sale. Grass Valley lies in the heart of the historic California Gold Country northeast of Sacramento, the state capitol. Wolf Creek’s wooded hillside site in is bordered by free-flowing Wolf Creek, which has a single track trail along it. The property also features a paved trail.

Wolf Creek Lodge is near a shopping center and a short walk or bike ride to historic downtown Grass Valley, a town steeped in Gold Country history. It lies on Highway 49, which winds through the Sierra foothills and has a string of picturesque gold rush towns along it, mostly south of Grass Valley.

The “lodge” houses 30 one- and two-bedroom condominiums on three floors with both above-ground and underground parking and elevator access. There’s a large, state-of-the-art kitchen and dining area for community meals, three guest rooms for family and friends, a laundry and activity space, a beverage/coffee bar, and a sitting area in the 4,000-square-foot common house at the center of the lodge. Outside, you’ll find a hot tub, petanque court, large terrace with barbecue, and inviting, environmentally appropriate landscaping. Whenever the weather allows, community meals take place on the patio.

How the community functions

The community is self-managed, with work organized by a series of committees. Most everyone finds a way to contribute to the work of the community, and outside help is hired as needed. Residents share a common vision of living in community, making decisions by consensus, being good neighbors to one another and sharing resources for living more sustainably.

There are no age restrictions; currently members range in age from their 50s to late 80s. They include current or retired teachers, journalists, engineers, medical/dental professionals, nonprofit administrators, musicians, world travelers, bicyclists and kayakers. Residents participate in activities such as yoga and qigong, walking groups, local film screenings, and numerous other social, cultural, and physical activities.

If you are interested, you can visit Wolf Creek Lodge in person or virtually to learn more. A monthly tour is offered in person or by Zoom. For information about the available units, contact the community at info@wolfcreeklodge.org or visit the website www.wolfcreeklodge.org.

Cohousing communities come in many forms

Currently there are well over 100 cohousing communities in the U.S. They all follow common cohousing practices, but they vary greatly in the land they own, the layout of the community, and the design of the homes. They all do similar work in managing finances and nurturing the community interaction so fundamental to cohousing. However, the work related to their infrastructure can be very different.

Urban communities may have a single structure and fully occupy their property. Washington Commons in West Sacramento is an example. Other communities feature townhouses or cottages clustered together in suburban locations. The senior communities Quimper Village, WA, and Village Hearth, NC, are examples of this type of design.

Still others own substantial acreage which may contain gardens, orchards or even farms. Heartwood Cohousing, CO, is one such example. Getting the work done here involves maintenance of potable and irrigation water systems, septic systems, tractors, and heavy manual labor.

What about Wolf Creek Lodge?

Wolf Creek Lodge is a single structure with a row of detached garages. This style requires much less maintenance than other designs ¾ a big advantage for seniors. The spacious common “house” at the center of the “lodge” is accessible from all units by elevator or walkways ¾  a great feature in bad weather. In addition, Wolf Creek is designed to be low- maintenance. Many members moved there from large homes on significant acreage and were happy to escape the maintenance burden.

If you are contemplating joining a cohousing community, make sure you choose one that fits your appetite for work. Be wary of any romantic notions of farming. Farming is hard work and is financially precarious.

Getting the work done at Wolf Creek Lodge

Wolf Creek’s Participation Team creates and maintains the organizational structure to get the necessary work done. They organize many work teams, including finance and legal, common house management, marketing and membership, common meals, landscape and open space, community process, welfare, e-communications and IT support, coordinating committee, the spa, and garage and parking. Members also sign up for individual tasks that have not been assigned to a team.

Some work is done by appropriate hired help. For example, much of the management of trees in the open space and on the patio is undertaken by arborists. Air conditioning, elevator, window washing, and washer/dryer maintenance are also done by hired technicians. This still requires members to recognize needs, identify responsible companies, and schedule the work.

Members pitch in

Some work is administrative; other work involves elbow grease. The Landscape and Open Space Team does a lot of work in the gardens, and the community certainly benefits from it. The Welfare Team responds to medical needs, helping with transportation, meals, shopping, etc. The Common House Management Team makes sure members fulfill their cleaning duties and that supplies are stocked in the kitchen.

Following are some examples of how individual members help get the work done:

• Deleaua keeps a list of community tasks and those requested by individual homeowners. Wolf Creek Lodge is fortunate to have Gary, a skilled handyman who comes regularly to take care of tasks.
• Jimmy, retired CEO of a credit union, does research needed for an administrative task. He advocates for artificial intelligence, but his natural intelligence is already an asset.
• For various reasons some members contribute more work than others. Gayle is noted for her many contributions, such as vacuuming the mats at the entrance to the common house.
• Jacque mops the dining room floor, done once a week by a rotating team of four members.
• Once each quarter, Sue declares a workday for special work that isn’t done regularly. This mostly involves extra cleaning, such as deep-cleaning the kitchen and removing cobwebs along the walkways.

Getting the work done by working together strengthens connections within the community. Much like common meals, it’s part of the glue that helps build the community.

Upcoming events

September 10 — The Commons, a free monthly gathering for the cohousing curious and experts, too; 10 a.m. MST; repeats on the 10^th of each month; register here.

September 20 — Seniors in Cohousing Q&A, an informal facilitated conversation for those who are interested in senior cohousing and/or senior living in intergenerational cohousing; 10 a.m. MST; repeats on the 20^th of each month; register here. Once registered, you’ll receive an email before the meeting with a link to join the call on Zoom.

Nov. 2 — A Gathering on Collaborative Neighborhoods in Sacramento, CA. Start thinking about it now! A CohoUS regional conference “exploring innovative and people-powered ways to live in community.” Two days of tours before the conference — stay tuned for details soon.

CohoUS offers many live and on-demand courses on a wide range of topic related to cohousing. Peruse them here.

The Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC) also offers a range of on-demand and rerun online courses. Check them out here

Find out about becoming a CohoUS member here.

See the CohoUs mission and vision statement here.