Page 152 - 2020 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, from
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.
MYLES MCGUINNESS/GOLD COUNTRY VISITORS ASSOCIATION; ERIC BERGER. OPPOSITE: MARC VENEMA/SHUTTERSTOCK
150 2020 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA