Removed from Likes. The route takes you through small towns, historic mining areas and along one of the most beautiful rivers of Northern California. At Mocassin, where Highway 49 meets Highway 120, the historic power station standing next to the modern turbines is worth a visit. It is a scenic path taking you through pine and redwood forests, past pristine lakes and rivers, and into historic towns. If you are in an RV, be aware that the stretch between Mariposa and Sonora is extremely winding with a lot of switchback turns and not too many places to pull over. U.S. Route 50 (US 50) is a transcontinental United States Numbered Highway, stretching from West Sacramento, California, in the west to Ocean City, Maryland, in the east.The California portion of US 50 runs east from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento to the Nevada state line in South Lake Tahoe.A portion in Sacramento also has the unsigned designation of Interstate 305. The history of gold mining in this area is closely tied to the town of Coarsegold to the south. Nestled in a tree-lined canyon alongside the North Fork Yuba River and the Downie River on Hwy 49. Rocky meadows, oaks, and piñon pines accent the hills, while tall firs and redwoods stud higher slopes. California Route 49 - The Mother Lode & Sierra Region There’s a great set of adventures for you all along this unique highway (including finding gold). Placerville's downtown is charminkg and historic and if you take route 49 north from there you'd pass through Coloma, another state park right on the spot where the whole gold rush began. , Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, Calaveras County Fair & Frog Jump Jubilee, Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee, California Welcome Centers in Gold Country, Beaches & Hikes Along the Mendocino Coast, California Welcome Centers in Shasta Cascade, Spotlight: Redwood National & State Parks, California Welcome Centers in the San Francisco Bay Area, Spotlight: Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, California Welcome Centers in the High Sierra, California Welcome Centers in the Central Valley, California Welcome Centres in the Central Coast, Spotlight: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California Welcome Centers in the Inland Empire, California Welcome Centres in Orange County, California Welcome Centers in San Diego County. Highway 49 was first established in the Gold Rush Days, connecting the mining towns throughout the Sierra Nevada Foothills. Reminders of this abundantly rich history can be found everywhere along Hwy 49 as it winds and meanders through the Mother Lode mining towns of days gone by. Depending on the time of year, just north of Coulterville you can head east on Highway 120, aka Tioga Pass, into Yosemite National Park (weather permitting, check current conditions for road closure information). Columbia is historic but so perfectly preserved it feels "theme parkish". The road connects gold rush mining camps, ghost towns and historic sites from Oakhurst in the south, to Sierra City in the north. The highway is 300 miles long north to south, but only half that distance involves the major towns. ... One of the best-preserved Gold Rush towns is both a historic park and a thriving small town. A walking tour of the town takes you past the 1879 Imperial Hotel, Mooney Saloon, Koehler Bakery, and the Amador Hotel is one of the city’s oldest structures. Continue on to Sonora, a classic Mother Lode town. California State Highway 49, the “Mother Lode Highway,” can truly take you back to the days of ’49. Historichwy49.com was designed to preserve and share the heritage and rugged beauty of Hwy 49 and the Gold Country, one of California's most precious resources, with everyone, everywhere. Sarsaparilla, gold-panning, and historic saloons along the Gold Rush Trail. In addition to being packed with history, CA-49 delivers on the scenery front, too. Amador City is a small California Gold Country boom town along Highway 49 with a population of around 200 folks. Don't miss Columbia State Park, as well as many other old mining towns worth a stop. It’s three hundred miles of beautiful country along the foothills of the Sierra Mountains. John Menard. Hwy 41, which is not the same as hwy 49, from Fresno to the park goes to the park entrance on the south side, near Mariposa Big trees. Sarsaparilla, gold-panning, and historic saloons along the Gold Rush Trail. Avalon … In my opinion Coloma is more informative than Columbia. Conveniently located off of Highway 49, Columbia is an easy and scenic drive that neighbors other historic towns in the Sierra Nevada foothills including Sonora, Jamestown, and Angels Camp making it a popular destination for day-trippers and weekenders alike. People cross Highway 49 to view the South Yuba River in Nevada City. Begin in Old Town Auburn with a stop at cozy Auburn Coffee Company for a chai latte or kombucha poured straight from the tap. No need to register, buy now! After crossing the border between Oregon and California, we peeled off I-5 just before Sacramento and made our way down Highway 49 visiting Amador City, Sutter Creek, Mokelume Hill, Murphys, Angels Camp, and Columbia. Nevada City is … If you are looking to visit the foothills of the Sierra's in California and Gold Country this is a great route to take. Stop by the California State Mining and Mineral Museum in Mariposa for a quick Gold Rush history lesson, and take a gander at Hotel Jeffrey, a historic spot in Coulterville that claims John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt as past visitors. Travel back to the Gold Rush era on Highway 49, where charming mining towns dot the route, surrounded by the panoramic vistas and bubbling streams of the western Sierra Nevada foothills. Downieville is considered the least changed town in all the Gold Rush towns in California. Highways 49. Then head to the Joss House Museum, a boarding-house and school that served hardworking Chinese settlers during the Gold Rush. The towns that sprung up from it continue to draw me in whenever I get the chance to drive through them. There are many more well documented sightings that will unnerve and captivate you while reading Nancy's "The Incredible World of Gold Rush Ghosts." I think Sutter Creek is the most adorable of gold country towns--small and picturesque. Find the perfect highway 49 california stock photo. There are lots of things / places to see (pre-Covid) but still a nice route on most summer days to take a drive with views. For more Gold Country exploration ideas, continue your journey on the California Gold road trip. Most of Highway 49 is beautiful, especially in spring. However, the Mariposa Grove site is currently closed for renovation. Don't miss Columbia State Park, as well as many other old mining towns worth a stop. There you can actually pan for gold today at the Matelot Mining Company and receive a demonstration of how it was done. Near the end of Highway 49, in Mariposa, is a beautiful jewel to be found at the California Mining and Mineral Museum. To break up your drive with a thrill, strap yourself in for a zip line ride into Angels Camp’s Moaning Cavern—a chamber big enough to hold the Statue of Liberty. The 300-plus mile road—also known as the Gold Rush Trail and Gold Chain Highway—begins in … The small town of Oakhurst marks the southern end of Highway 49. Most of Highway 49 is beautiful, especially in spring. Begin in Old Town Auburn with a stop at cosy Auburn Coffee Company for a chai latte or kombucha poured straight from the tap. California is a state located in the Western United States.It is the most populous state and the third largest by area after Alaska and Texas.According to the 2010 United States Census, California has 37,253,956 inhabitants and 155,779.22 square miles (403,466.3 km 2) of land.. California has been inhabited by numerous Native American peoples since antiquity. The highway meanders through a myriad of mining towns with place names like Chinese Camp, Sonora, Columbia, Angels Camp, Murphys, Jackson, El Dorado, Sutter Creek, Plymouth, Placerville and Coloma, just to name a few. Throughout its length, it twists and climbs past panoramic vistas. By the mid 1850's Downieville was California's 5th largest town. California Highway 49 is Great. It's scenic, but slow. Sarsaparilla, gold-panning, and historic saloons along the Gold Rush Trail, http://yosemitegoldcountry.com/visiting/what-to-do/, https://www.gocalaveras.com/location/california/gold-country/, California State Mining and Mineral Museum, Jamestown’s Railtown 1897 State Historic Park, Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jump Jubilee. Avalon harbour | © Alun Reece / Alamy Stock Photo. Grab lunch under the stamped-tin ceiling at The Farm Table , a charcuterie and bistro serving artisanal house-cured meats and farm-fresh produce, then meander south on State Highway 49 to the heart of … Turning eastward toward the Sierra Nevada, California Route 49 climbs up the Sierra Nevada, passing through Downieville en route to its end point at California Highway 70 in the town of Vinton. Highway 49 passes through multiple counties, including Calaveras County, where a May trip would not be complete without witnessing the frog jumping contest at the Calaveras County Fair and Frog Jump Jubilee, one of the longest running events in California. Columbia State Historic Park is the best preserved of the California Gold Rush towns, seemingly frozen in time. There was a bit of fine gold that was mined from the Fresno River, but Oakhurst was mainly a supply town to bring lumber and supplies to surrounding mining camps. You can continue reading about these and other unexplainable occurrences that have taken place along Historic Highway 49 according to author Nancy Bradley. Dine on New American cuisine in a Gold Rush-era building with exposed stone walls at the Diamondback Grill, or sip a sarsaparilla at nearby Columbia State Historic Park, where costumed docents lead historic tours. The miles along Highway 49 described on this page are the most scenic and historically rich sections of the highway (in my opinion). A road trip on historic Highway 49 doesn’t simply take you from point A to point B—it also transports you to the past. A better route is hwy 41 From Fresno to Oakhurst, then hwy 49 north through Mariposa town, to hwy 140 and this entrance to the park. It offers a unique blend of museums, displays, town tours, and live theater plays. A road trip on historic Highway 49 doesn’t simply take you from point A to point B—it also transports you to the past. Travel back to the Gold Rush era on Highway 49, where charming mining towns dot the route, surrounded by the panoramic vistas and bubbling streams of the western Sierra Nevada foothills. Cool is the Northern Gateway to El Dorado County located at the crossroads of Historic Hwy 49 and Hwy 193. Then head to the Joss House Museum, a boardinghouse and school that served hardworking Chinese settlers during the Gold Rush. Avalon, Santa Catalina Island. Now a museum run by the El Dorado County Historical Society, the building houses artifacts from Placerville’s colorful past, including the original Soda Works carbonation machine. ... California … Amador City California. Travel back to the Gold Rush era on Highway 49, where charming mining towns dot the route, surrounded by the panoramic vistas and bubbling streams of the western Sierra Nevada foothills. Tag #VISITCALIFORNIA on Instagram to have your trip featured on our page. Highway 49. Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF and RM images. Sutter Creek. Reminders of this abundantly rich history can be found everywhere along Hwy 49 as it winds and meanders through the Mother Lode mining towns of days gone by. It runs from Oakhurst, California north to Vinton and State Route 70. Columbia State Historic Park, just north of Sonora off Highway 49, amounts to an entire Gold Rush town preserved and restored. Once an important way station during the Gold Rush, today Cool offers residents and visitors alike the opportunity to enjoy a peaceful rural residential environment, including small restaurants, a brewery, and shops. If you are in an RV, be aware that the stretch between Mariposa and Sonora is extremely winding with a lot of switchback turns and not too many places to pull over. If you look to the steep hillside above the power turbines you’ll see four massive pipes which carry water from the Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir in the bounds of Yosemite, running all the way underground across the state to supply water to San Francisco. The 300-plus mile road—also known as the Gold Rush Trail and Gold Chain Highway—begins in Oakhurst before heading north to a string of historic towns that have maintained their 1850s charm. Or, if your journey continues north, you can dive deeper into Gold Rush history in Jamestown, either on board an antique steam locomotive at Jamestown’s Railtown 1897 State Historic Park or as you pan for gold. A mixture of the old and the new, Sutter Creek offers visitors the conveniences … Scenic Route Highway 49: Old California - See 129 traveler reviews, 22 candid photos, and great deals for Oakhurst, CA, at Tripadvisor. California State Route 49 cuts through Gold Country. 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