Page 167 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

WINTER WAGON RIDE, above; Sutter Creek, below right;
Sacramento State Capitol, opposite.
DRIVE
»
TOUR
NAVIGATING A TOUR through
the Gold Country couldn't be
easier: HIGHWAY 49—named for
the original 49ers—traverses the
entire region. It stretches nearly
300 miles through the Sierra
foothills, from DOWNIEVILLE in
the north to OAKHURST in the
south, linking all the Gold
Country’s major towns and sights.
Allow at least two days for the
journey. Start with a mountain-
biking excursion in DOWNIEVILLE,
poke around the galleries and
antique shops of NEVADA CITY and drop by the site where Marshall and
Sutter found those first sparkling nuggets in COLOMA. SUTTER CREEK,
with a bounty of inviting B&Bs and restaurants serving the local wine,
is a good place to spend the night. On your second day, explore ANGELS
CAMP—perhaps pausing to wager on a frog if it’s jumping season (the
third week in May)—try your hand at panning for gold at COLUMBIA
STATE HISTORIC PARK and take a ride on the historic steam train in
JAMESTOWN’S RAILTOWN 1897 STATE HISTORIC PARK.
»
MUST
SEE,
DO
» All Aboard Rail buffs will want to lay tracks
for the California State Railroad Museum, one of
the best of its kind in the nation. It’s located in Old
Sacramento, which preserves a district of the state
capital pretty much as it looked in Gold Rush days.
› csrmf.org
» Going Underground Rappel into the dark-
ness and explore a chamber large enough to hold
the Statue of Liberty in Moaning Cavern.
› caverntours.com/MoCavRt.htm
» Historic Hotel In the picturesque old
mining town of Murphys, the Murphys Historic
Hotel has hosted everyone from Mark Twain and
Ulysses S. Grant to Black Bart. Look for their sig-
natures in the guest book on display in the lobby.
› murphyshotel.com
» Apples and More Apples Allow the aroma
of freshly baked apple pies, fritters, turnovers and
strudel to lure you off Highway 50 east of Placerville
to a place called Apple Hill. More than 50 growers
participate in a celebration of the apple harvest—and
of autumn itself—with cider, hay rides, pumpkin
patches, hay mazes and other family fun. It runs
from Labor Day to Christmas.
› applehill.com
» Eureka! Start your own personal Gold Rush
as you pan for nuggets at Marshall Gold Discovery
State Historic Park.
› parks.ca.gov/?page_id=484
2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 165