Yes, Placerville is quite nice, lovely little place.
I spent a week at Lake Tahoe in July this year. The water is nice and clear clear however, a little on the cold side, but we went swimming anyways. Once your in it is not that bad.
The only problem we had one day was the smoke from the Redding fire was settling over the valley, just one day....
I live in Woodland, about 20 mi. West from Sacramento.
Urban