Lake Natoma is basically a roughly 5-mile section of the American River flooded beyond its natural banks by a dam on either end — Folsom Dam to the north and Nimbus Dam to the south. And yet there is so much more to this lake embedded in suburbia. Mornings are my favorite time to visit, and I never get tired of the view, pretty much no matter where I’m standing.

Look closely, and you might spot a pair of juvenile eagles in the center tree