Page 164 - 2017 Travel Guide to California

Today you can still pan for gold—it’s
often said there’s more left in the ground
than the original 49ers ever took out—but
you can also raft some of California’s froth-
iest rivers, explore caverns and sample
Chardonnay and Syrah in uncrowded,
up-and-coming wineries.
DRIVE
»
TOUR
City & Town
Sacramento was the terminus of the
Transcontinental Railroad—from there,
passengers completed their journey to
San Francisco by ferry and barge—and the
city still plays a vital role as the jumping-
off point for exploring the Gold Country.
Since the arrival of the 49ers, the small
towns of the Gold Country proper have
morphed through several distinct stages,
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.
JASPERDO/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR; DOLCE/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR. OPPOSITE: MARC VENEMA/SHUTTERSTOCK
162 2017 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A