Buck Meadows is a census-designated place in Mariposa County, California. It is located east-northeast of Smith Peak, at an elevation of 3015 feet. The population was 31 at the 2010 census. Buck Meadows lies just south of the Tuolumne County line. It is on State Route 120 east of Groveland. The current population, as listed on the sign, is 50. The ZIP Code for this community is shared with Groveland: 95321 and wired telephones work out of Groveland's telephone exchange with numbers following the format 962-xxxx. The official U.S. Geological Survey coordinates for the community are. The area is named for Buck's Meadow which lies at the corner of SR120 and Smith Station Road. According to The Big Oak Flat Road, a variant name for the area was Hamilton's Station. This may have referred to the name of a stagecoach stop. east of U.S.F.S. Buck Meadows Fire Station, "Rim of the World" overlooks the canyon containing the South Fork of the Tuolumne River. Further east, visitors on hot summer days can cool off at a Stanislaus National Forestpicnic area called "Rainbow Pool". The area is on the south side of SR120 2.25 miles east of U.S.F.S. Buck Meadows Fire Station. This community is home to Buck Meadows Restaurant on SR120. Southwest of town, the U.S. Forest Service, Stanislaus National Forest fire lookout at Smith Peak overlooks the area. A U.S.F.S. campground and fire station are also present in the community. The Pines campground is located at.
History
Buck Meadows started as a stage stop called Hamilton's established by Alva Hamilton in the 1870s. A post office operated at Buck Meadows from 1915 to 1925.
The 2010 United States Census reported that Buck Meadows had a population of 31. The population density was 17.8 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Buck Meadows was 23 White, 0 African American, 0 Native American, 0 Asian, 0 Pacific Islander, 5 from other races, and 3 from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7 persons. The Census reported that 31 people lived in households, 0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0 were institutionalized. There were 15 households, out of which 2 had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6 were opposite-sex married couples living together, 0 had a female householder with no husband present, 1 had a male householder with no wife present. There were 0 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 0 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 8 households were made up of individuals and 4 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07. There were 7 families ; the average family size was 3.29. The population was spread out with 7 people under the age of 18, 0 people aged 18 to 24, 9 people aged 25 to 44, 8 people aged 45 to 64, and 7 people who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 210.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 200.0 males. There were 37 housing units at an average density of 21.2 per square mile, of which 4 were owner-occupied, and 11 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0%; the rental vacancy rate was 63.3%. 5 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 26 people lived in rental housing units.
