Kirkwood California Map

About Kirkwood, California

Kirkwood is a locality in Alpine County, California, United States. It is a small community with a population of 218. The population density is 36.0 people per km². Kirkwood is located at 38.7027°N, 120.0727°W. It observes the Pacific Time (America/Los_Angeles) timezone. ZIP code: 95646.

Kirkwood lies high in the Sierra Nevada, a place where granite shoulders shrug off the sky and the air bites with a clean, alpine sharpness. It lies 35.8 miles south-south-west of Carson City, NV (from Carson City, NV: bearing 207°T), and is situated 17.2 miles south-south-west of Lake Tahoe. The landscape here is a study in raw, unyielding beauty: steep slopes cloaked in dense pine and fir, their dark green boughs dusted with the perpetual snows of winter, even into the height of summer. Below, glacial cirques hold lakes of startling, impossible blue, their surfaces like polished obsidian reflecting the jagged peaks that ring them. The ground underfoot is often a mosaic of scree and resilient alpine meadows, dotted with wildflowers that bloom with a fierce, transient brilliance against the backdrop of ancient rock. Even in the warmer months, a certain stillness pervades, a quietude broken only by the whisper of wind through the trees or the distant cry of a hawk circling on thermals. The history of Kirkwood is inextricably tied to the hardy souls who sought riches in these formidable mountains, though its modern character is defined by the winter sports that draw crowds eager for its legendary snowfall and challenging terrain. This is a place that has learned to thrive through the seasons, its economy shifting from the quietude of summer hiking and fishing to the vibrant, bustling energy of ski season. The very air seems to carry a faint echo of the prospectors and loggers who first carved a path here, a testament to the enduring human spirit that has grappled with and ultimately embraced the wildness of this high alpine country. Kirkwood, in its stark grandeur, offers a profound sense of remoteness, a feeling of being at the edge of the world, where nature reigns supreme and human endeavors are but small, persistent footnotes in a vast, enduring narrative.

About This Kirkwood Map Page

This page provides an embedded street and satellite map of Kirkwood, California — switch between views using the small square in the bottom left-hand corner of the map. Coordinates: 38.702686, -120.072686. Live weather conditions are sourced directly from the National Weather Service, with current observations and a 7-day forecast also powered by Open-Meteo. Real-time local news and world news feeds keep the page current, while a Wikipedia summary or an editorially written description provides background on Kirkwood and Alpine County.

Detailed location data for Kirkwood includes the ZIP code (95666), telephone area code (530), county seat of Alpine County (Markleeville), and school district assignment (Alpine County Unified School District). These are among the most commonly searched location details for any US city or town.

Location data is drawn from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) and cross-verified against 2020 US Census records by coordinate proximity — ensuring the correct Kirkwood is identified even where the name is shared across multiple counties or states. Population figures are sourced from the 2020 US Census.