Lincoln homes for sale and real estate guide

Living in Lincoln

Lincoln occupies level valley land at the northern end of the Highway 65 corridor, with Rocklin and Roseville to the south and farmland, Sheridan, and the Sutter County line to the north. The townsite was surveyed in 1859 by Theodore Judah along the California Central Railroad, the railroad arrived in 1861, and the city incorporated on August 7, 1890.

Clay shaped the city’s first century. Gladding, McBean and Company was founded here in 1875 to make clay sewer pipe and became one of the country’s major producers of architectural terra cotta, roof tile, and garden pottery; the Lincoln plant still operates on the edge of downtown. The city’s second act began in the mid-1990s, when Sacramento’s growth reached this far north and Lincoln grew by roughly 280 percent between 2000 and 2010.

Lincoln today is a new city built around an old one. Downtown along Lincoln Boulevard and the numbered streets keeps the grid, the brick buildings, and the factory; the neighborhoods that ring it, including Twelve Bridges, Lincoln Crossing, and Sun City Lincoln Hills, are products of the last three decades.

Neighborhoods and housing in Lincoln

Lincoln’s housing is mostly detached single-family homes built since the mid-1990s, which makes it one of the newest housing stocks in the region. Twelve Bridges, on the east side of the city, is a master plan of neighborhoods, parks, trails, and schools around the Catta Verdera Country Club; its gated Catta Verdera section holds custom and semi-custom homes on third-acre to acre-plus lots with golf and open-space frontage. Lincoln Crossing, Foskett Ranch, and the neighborhoods west of Highway 65 are production subdivisions with neighborhood parks and HOAs.

Sun City Lincoln Hills, built by Del Webb and Pulte between 1999 and 2008, is an age-qualified community of attached and detached homes around two golf courses and two large lodges. It is one of the largest neighborhoods in the city.

Downtown Lincoln and the blocks around it hold the oldest housing: early twentieth-century cottages, bungalows, and mid-century homes on a traditional grid, generally without HOAs. New construction continues in several active subdivisions.

Parks, trails, and recreation in Lincoln

Lincoln’s newer neighborhoods were planned with parks and trails built in. Twelve Bridges has a connected trail system through its open space, wetlands, and oak groves alongside the Catta Verdera golf course, and Sun City Lincoln Hills has about 27 miles of trails and eleven parks of its own, open to its residents. The city’s neighborhood parks follow the same pattern throughout Lincoln Crossing and the western subdivisions.

Golf is a theme. Catta Verdera Country Club anchors Twelve Bridges, and Sun City Lincoln Hills has two 18-hole courses, the Orchard and the Hills, designed by Billy Casper and Greg Nash. Thunder Valley Casino Resort, owned by the United Auburn Indian Community and opened just outside the city in 2003, adds an amphitheater, a large indoor venue, restaurants, and a hotel.

Dining, shopping, and daily life in Lincoln

Lincoln’s downtown runs along Lincoln Boulevard, the former Highway 65 alignment, and the lettered and numbered side streets, with local restaurants, shops, and civic buildings in a walkable grid next to the Gladding, McBean factory. Since the Lincoln Bypass opened in 2012 and took through traffic off Lincoln Boulevard, the city has invested in making downtown a destination rather than a highway.

Everyday shopping is in centers along the Highway 65 corridor and at the edges of the master plans, with grocery stores, pharmacies, and services. Roseville’s Galleria district is a straight drive south on Highway 65 for larger retail.

Schools and public services in Lincoln

Lincoln is served by the Western Placer Unified School District, which operates elementary schools throughout the city, including campuses in Twelve Bridges, Lincoln Crossing, Foskett Ranch, and Creekside Oaks, along with Glen Edwards and Twelve Bridges middle schools, and two comprehensive high schools, Lincoln High School on J Street and Twelve Bridges High School on Fieldstone Drive, plus Phoenix High School.

The city runs its own water utility, purchasing most of its supply from Placer County Water Agency, and provides sewer and other municipal services. PG&E supplies electricity and gas.

Getting around and commuting from Lincoln

State Route 65 is Lincoln’s connection to the rest of the region. South, it passes Rocklin and reaches Interstate 80 in Roseville, the route to Sacramento and the Bay Area. North, the Lincoln Bypass, an 11.7-mile freeway segment opened in October 2012, carries traffic around downtown toward Sheridan, Wheatland, and Marysville. State Route 193 leaves the east side of the city for Newcastle and Interstate 80.

Within the city, Lincoln Boulevard and the arterials through the master plans are the main connectors. Amtrak’s Capitol Corridor is reached at Roseville or Rocklin.

What to know before buying in Lincoln

Nearly every Lincoln home built since the 1990s has an HOA, and many of the master-planned areas carry Community Facilities District assessments that appear on the property tax bill; ask for both the HOA documents and a current tax bill before writing an offer. Downtown and the older neighborhoods generally have neither.

Sun City Lincoln Hills operates under the federal Housing for Older Persons Act as an age-qualified community; ask about current occupancy requirements before purchasing there. Lower-lying parcels near Auburn Ravine, which crosses the city, and other creeks may be in mapped flood zones; check the FEMA map.

Buying or selling in Lincoln

Nick Sadek Sotheby’s International Realty serves Lincoln from its Roseville office on Sierra College Boulevard, a short drive down Highway 65, and from offices in Sacramento, Woodland, and Nevada City. Its agents work the full range of Lincoln housing, from Catta Verdera custom homes to Sun City Lincoln Hills to downtown bungalows and new construction. Sellers receive local representation together with the Sotheby’s International Realty global network.

Begin with a search of current Lincoln listings, a home value estimate, a visit with our agents, or a call to the Roseville office. Nearby communities include Rocklin and Roseville, and the wider area is covered on the Placer County page.