Page 110 - 2024-2025 Travel Guide to California

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 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.
The Great Outdoors
From May to mid October, the American
River is California’s top venue for white-
water rafting. The river flow is controlled
by releases from upstream reservoirs, so
rafters are assured of good conditions.
Outfitters offer half-day, full-day and
multi-day journeys through a choice of
108 2024-25 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
THE HISTORIC GOLD RUSH ERA TOWN TRUCKEE,
California, left; fly-casting for trout, bottom;
kayaking on the Salmon River, opposite.
INSIDER’S TIP
The signatures of everyone from
Mark Twain to Ulysses S. Grant to
Charles Bolles (better known as Black
Bart) are on display in the register of
the historic MURPHYS HOTEL, one
of the oldest continually operating
hotels in California.
murphyshotel.com
several classes of whitewater. In the
northern Sierra, the town of Downieville
has become a center for mountain biking.
Local bike shops offer rentals and shut-
tles on old mining roads and single tracks
from the casual to the technical,
including a 15-mile ride with a 4,000-foot
descent. Houseboaters flock to vast,
sprawling Gold Country reservoirs such
as New Melones Lake, Don Pedro Lake and
Lake McClure.
MATT GUSH/SHUTTERSTOCK; MYLES MCGUINNESS/GOLD COUNTRY VISITORS ASSOCIATION. OPPOSITE: DANIEL LANE NELSON/SHUTTERSTOCK