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The town has been the setting for a couple of stories, including the children's fantasy book called The Enormous Egg by Oliver Butterworth, first published in 1956 but reissued years later (ISBN 0-316-11920-2). Freedom was also the setting for a 2001 broadcast of This American Life, entitled The House at Loon Lake . That episode depicted an abandoned house explored by young boys, in town for summer camp at Loon Lake.
Freedom – February 5, 2010 – Public radio stations are scheduled to rebroadcast “The House on Loon Laket” this weekend. The program, based on real incidents set in Freedom, originally aired in November 2001 and is considered to be one of the most popular episodes in the long-running radio series a“This American Life.m”
Description: This came out of the desire to find a cool place to ride on a hot summer day. Temps on this ride will generally be about 20 degrees (F) cooler than in Sacramento. What was unexpected was how wonderful this ride is. It is not a loop, there is only one paved road to Loon Lake, however its a beautiful one - and going in both directions, you're bound to see quite a bit that you missed the first time. Definitely bring a camera if you can. Some of the views across Loon Lake are truly spectacular (see the bike photos web page).
Ride Note: This ride can be combined with the Hwy 50 to Ice House Reservoir Ride to create a full day's ride (63 miles with total of 6,800' climbing!). Traffic notes: The traffic on Summer weekends can be moderate. I rode this on a Sunday in June, and was told that traffic can be pretty heavy on late Sunday afternoons when campers return back home (since I was finished by 3pm, I didn't experience this). Road is paved all the way to Loon Lake, but the first part of climbing (at mile 14.5 on the ride) up to Chipmunk Bluff can be a little bumpy (lots of road patches). Little or no shoulder most of the way, but traffic is generally slow, and drivers seem more relaxed up here.
