Family Vacations to California's Gold Country By Rich Herman Relive the 1849 Gold Rush by visiting California's Gold Country Region. You'll be delighted to see that a great deal of our gold rush heritage has been well preserved, with many old restored mining towns. Take a mine tour, pan for gold, visit ghost towns, ride a stagecoach or a historic steam train, enjoy beautiful scenery, camp, hike, swim, explore caverns, go river rafting, see a spectacular grove of giant sequoia trees, or maybe even strike it rich. With so much to see and do there is bound to be something for everyone. The discovery of gold here in 1848 touched off the largest gold rush in history. Reminders of California's Gold Rush era can be found everywhere along historic Highway 49. California's Gold Country stretches over 320 miles from Sierra City to the foothills of Yosemite, and connects many of the old mining towns of the Motherlode. One of the best preserved towns near the center of Gold Country is Sutter Creek. It is approximately 55 miles southeast of Sacramento, and would serve you well as a base while exploring the region. There is so much to see and do that you could literally spend weeks exploring the area. However, here are some good ideas if you only have a few days to spend: Sutter Gold Mine Visit the Sutter Gold Mine, a modern hard rock mine located on Highway 49 just north of Sutter Creek. It was originally developed for gold extraction in the late 1980's, and now operates exclusively for underground mine tours. The 1 hour tour provides a great lesson on gold mining. Your real mine experience begins with gearing up in hard-hats and tagging in like a real miner. Enjoy a wonderful mine tour and then be sure and do some gold panning afterwards (www.caverntours.com/sgmt.html). Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park Located in Coloma, just 36 miles north of Sutter Creek, Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is the place where James W. Marshall found shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he was building for himself and John Sutter. See a replica of the original sawmill and over 20 historic buildings. Try panning for gold in the American River and enjoy hikes and picnics here (www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=484). Calaveras Big Trees State Park Around 55 miles southeast of Sutter Creek, you have the opportunity to see a spectacular grove of giant sequoias in their natural setting. Other attractions in the Park include the Stanislaus River, Beaver Creek, the Lava Bluff Trail and Bradley Trail. The Park also houses two main campgrounds with a total of 129 campsites, six picnic areas and hundreds of miles of established trails (www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=551). Railtown 1897 State Historic Park Located in Jamestown, about 46 miles south of Sutter Creek, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park is home to the Historic Jamestown Shops and Roundhouse--an intact and functioning steam locomotive repair facility, portions of which date back to 1897. In spring, summer, and fall, climb aboard a vintage steam-powered excursion train. Trains operate every Saturday and Sunday, April through October, departing from the Railtown Depot on-the-hour 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Enjoy a six-mile, 40-minute roundtrip ride through the scenic Sierra foothills (www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=491). Yosemite National Park Located a little over 90 miles southeast of Sutter Creek, Yosemite National Park is truly a 'must see' with spectacular waterfalls, mountains, cliffs, redwoods, wildlife, and incredible vistas and trails (www.nps.gov/yose). No trip to California's Gold Country is complete without going on a serious gold mining or gold panning outing. There are a number of well established companies in the area that can provide you with just the gold prospecting trip that you need. Several top rated companies are listed below: California Gold Company Located near Jamestown, geologist Joshua Vick provides gold mining trips and gold panning tours on the famous Woods Creek. His trips have been featured on television, and are fun for the entire family (www.goldfun.com). Gold Prospecting Adventures In Jamestown, the 1849 Gold Mining Camp is an exact replica of the original, and is located on the site of the original camp. They offer gold prospecting courses, family trips, and other packages. The camp has over 25 attractions so there is something fun for everyone (www.goldprospecting.com). Roaring Camp Mining Company Located in Pine Grove, California, Roaring Camp is an old gold mining camp on the Mokelumne River. Previously only accessible by horseback, most of the gold still remains. Visitors can see the operating gold mine, plus they can mine their own gold by panning, sluicing, dredging, or dry washing (www.roaringcampgold.com). Hopefully, this short article has given you a little taste of California's Gold Country, and provided you with some good ideas for your next family vacation. Our family really enjoys the great outdoors. There is nothing like being out in the fresh air, enjoying beautiful scenery, and having fun together as a family. Have fun, stay safe, and good luck prospecting. About the author: Rich Herman loves the outdoors and enjoys panning for gold with his family. For more information on gold panning trips or other family vacation destinations visit his website: www.FavoriteFamilyVacations.com Article Directory: Article Dashboard
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