Striking Gold in California
You can always get your kicks on Route 66 or go rollin’ along the Pacific Coast Highway, but 2019 is the year to direct your navigation to California’s Gold Country where the famous Highway 49 will celebrate it’s Centennial—also marking the 170th anniversary of the Gold Rush.
Bumping up against the west side of the Sierra Nevada range, you’ll find a region full of farm-to-table restaurants, charming inns, hilltop wineries, and Old West architecture. Once home to more than 300,000 pioneers who migrated to the area following the discovery of gold in 1849 (the largest mass migration in U.S. history), Gold Country is comprised of about a dozen counties, each with their own attractions from river rafting and panning for gold, to horse-drawn carriage rides and tours of wine caves.
Highway 49—also known as the Gold Rush Trail or the Gold Chain Highway —is a 300-plus-mile road that begins in Oakhurst and continues north past Sacramento and ends in the community of Vinton.
At the southernmost point of Gold Country is Madera country where visitors flock to the beautiful Bass Lake, a short daytrip from the hustle and bustle of San Francisco.
Due north is Mariposa, best known as home to Yosemite National Park but that’s not the area’s only attraction. Stop at the California State Mining and Mineral Museum for guided tours and a look at more than 13,000 mining artifacts, gems, and mineral specimens including the “Fricot Nugget,” a 13.8-pound mass of crystalline gold. For a hearty dinner after mosey on over to Charles Street Dinner House for a surf and turf dinner.
As the journey continues, you won’t be able to help but notice the beautiful blooming wildflowers throughout Calaveras. The road from the village of Murphys to Ironstone is lined with a grand display of daffodils and at Ironstone Vineyard, thousands of daffodils, tulips and more are on display through the end of spring. Native california poppy displays, planted barrels, and rush-era fruit trees bloom all over the historic towns of the historic foothill towns, including Mokelumne Hill otherwise known as “flower town.” Keep in mind, the higher the elevation your destination is, the later in the spring season the wildflowers appear.
Golfers should make a plan to visit to the Saddle Creek Golf Resort, recognized as one of the top places to play golf in the state. When you’ve finished on the green head to Allegorie—a unique art gallery and tasting room in one specializing in a handful of limited-production handcrafted red and white varietals. Don’t miss the water feature built into the bar that trickles into a koi pond.
For more action, check out Moaning Caverns, California’s deepest public cave chamber—so large it could hold the entire Statue of Liberty inside. Descend deep underground on a guided walk tour, tackle a climbing wall, speed down a zip line or embark on a challenging, three hour caving trip.
After plenty of adventuring it might be time to slow down the pace and a visit to El Dorado will be the perfect place to do so. On the way, stop through Amador Wine Country, an area rich with agricultural history, outdoor recreation, and many options for an overnight stay or two, from creekside cabins to the upscale Grand Reserve Inn where you can even reserve your own cottage that sits on a private 40-acre oasis of Zinfandel and Barbera grapes. Daytime attractions include Kennedy Gold Mine (one of the deepest gold mines in the world) and Daffodil Hill aptly named for the 300,00 daffodils that bloom each spring covering fields and hillsides. Before hitting the road, make sure you fill up on breakfast at Element Restaurant, popular for its Hanford House Benny featuring house made citrus hollandaise sauce and soppressata.
While you have food on your mind, add The Farm to Table Restaurant to your agenda once you reach El Dorado where wine trails and tasting rooms abound. Seasonal food sourced from local farms translate to fresh ciabatta bread baked daily and made-from-scratch meals, whether it’s a quick bowl of soup for lunch between activities or a pork osso bucco enjoyed with a nice glass of wine during over a white linen tablecloth dinner.
Along the eastern edge of the county you’ll find the three world-class ski resorts, premiere mountain biking trails, high alpine beaches, and plentiful historic sites that make up Lake Tahoe. Ski resorts generally stay open until April but in an outdoor oasis like Tahoe, the options for fun are truly year-round.
The beauty of the mountains continues through Nevada County where you’ll find several communities like the creatively charged town of Nevada City or a little gem of a place called Grass Valley that is home to funky boutiques, cafes, and the Del Oro, an art deco movie theatre complete with a 70-foot neon tower.
Rounding out the northernmost country of Gold Country is Sierra. Home to both Maidu and Washoe Indians prior to the discovery of gold, the area is still full of historic sites and prospecting adventures but this also might be the time during your visit to stop and take some time to put all of the history knowledge you’ve gained into context, picturing the land as it once was before settlers came in. Both the Maidu and the Washoe tribes, along with the Paiute Indians who were also occupants of the area, found spiritual significance in the beauty of the Lake and surrounding mountains. Consider some ways to take in the natural splendor by birding, hiking, horseback riding, or kayaking. Get to know the land and immerse yourself in all that it has to offer because a trip that’s not only fun but also good for the soul—well, that’s worth its weight in gold.
Leslie A. Bailey is a writer and editor living in Indianapolis, Indiana.
