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Gold Country, CA Adventures
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items Located in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains is Gold Country, the area of CA that became famous after gold was discovered here in 1848, thus sparking the California Gold Rush of 1849. There are lots of adventures to be had here fro...
Map
Sections
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Fun Gold Country Attractions
Gold Panning Equipment
Outdoor Fun in Gold Country
Gold Country Historic Hotels
Let's Go Camping!
Camping Fun
Fun Gold Country Attractions
There are lots of interesting attractions to visit in Gold Country. Here's a look at some of the most popular. They really give you a feel for Gold Country and the old mining days.
Located in Coloma near Placerville, this park is the site where gold was first discovered. You can see take a tour, (or not) pan for gold, check out historic buildings, hike or have a picnic.
Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
Placerville is home to Gold Bug Mine where you can take a self-guided audio tour of the mine.( Kids will have fun wearing the hard hats.) There's also a small museum, hiking trails and picnic tables.
Gold Bug Park
Old Sacramento is the historic part of the city that was built during the Gold Rush Days. There are lots of historic buildings, museums, shops and restaurants, not to mention horse drawn carriage rides. You can also take a scenic train ride or a boat...
Old Sacramento Waterfront
One of the oldest mines in CA, the Empire Mine has guided tours of the estate, mine yard and gardens as well as historic buildings you can see. It's located in Grass Valley, which is next to Nevada City, both very historic towns.
Empire Mine State Historic Park
At one time the deepest mine in North America, Kennedy Gold Mine offers both guided and self-guided surface tours. You can't go in the mine itself as it isn't safe, but there's lots to see on the surface. I do the self-guided tour as there's lots of ...
Kennedy Gold Mine
You can get a real feel of the old mining days at Malakoff Diggins which has many historic buildings and even miners cabins you can stay the night in. This was California's largest hydraulic mine. If you're there on a Sayurday I highly recommend taki...
Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
For a real look into the area's past, plan a visit to the El Dorado County Museum which includes both indoor and outdoor displays including mining and Native American displays.
El Dorado County Historical Museum
If you're looking for a quieter experience, a trip to Dutch Flat will bring you an old west Gold Rush encounter in a laid back semi-ghost town. There are lots of historic buildings, mining artifacts, informational plagues, a museum and a cemetery dat...
Dutch Flat
Check out the incredible stalactites and stalagmites, as well as helictites at Black Chasm Caverns. They are truly breathtaking. If open, take a walk along the Miners Trail as this area used to be popular for hydraulic mining during the Gold Rush day...
California Cavern & Black Chasm: Gold Country Adventures
Gold Panning Equipment
Although you can rent gold panning supplies at some locations, I find it easier to just have your own and in the long run it saves money as you don't have to keep renting. Here are some essentials I recommend.
You've got to have a good pan to capture your gold and two things I really like about this one is that it's larger than most pans, so it can hold more and the color makes it easier to find the gold particles.
Garrett 14" Gold Trap Pan
You can save a lot of time when looking for gold by using a pinpointer first. This will let you know if there is any gold in the dirt before you try to pan it.
EKIEUDL Professional Waterproof Handheld Metal Detector Pinpointer Wand High Sensitivity Probe for Adults Kids Orange EE096PH012
You'll need some kind of a bottle to put your gold in. This snuffer bottle will help you hold on to the maximum amount of gold you find.
Snuffer Bottle | 3oz
You might want to consider a gold panning kit. This has everything for the amateur gold hunter including pans, a sleuth box, sifter, and more and everything fits in the backpack that comes with the kit.
Compact Gold Prospecting Kit with 12" Sluice Box
Outdoor Fun in Gold Country
Experience some outdoor adventures in gold country whether you're adults or a family. These are some particularly fun things to do which I have enjoyed with my family.
A fun way to cool off during the warmer weather is a river rafting trip. These have different levels of difficulty depending on who's going and the time can last from a few hours to a few days. My family has done one for a few hours and had a blast!
American River Rafting
If you like scenery and exercise, consider renting a railbike. You pedal these down tracks and it's about an hour round trip. The vehicles hold two people and helmets are provided.
Railbikes through the Countryside - River Fox Train
This park commemorates the ill fated Donner party who were trapped here in the winter of 1846-47. There are lots of outdoor activities including hiking, fishing, skiing in the winter, swimming in Donner lake in the summer, picnicking and more.
Donner Memorial State Park
If you enjoy spending a day at a lake, check out Folsom Lake. There are multiple entrances, but I like the one located in Granite Bay. It has watercraft rentals, a snack bar, picnic tables and areas where you can play volley ball. It's particularly g...
Folsom Lake State Recreation Area
From May through September you can enjoy an authentic cowboy cookout at Roaring Camp in Pine Grove. It's a 5 hour adventure that includes a barbecue steak dinner, live entertainment, gold panning, a museum visit and more. You will get full!
Saturday Night Cookout - Roaring Camp Gold
A really relaxing way to catch some views of Sacramento is on a historic river cruise. This one hour narrated tour takes you along the Sacramento River and some of the scenery is so beautiful.
Historic River Cruises in Sacramento | City Cruises™
There are lots of historic cemeteries in Gold Country, but I feel the Old Sacramento City Cemetery is one of the best. There are lots of historic graves, beautiful grounds and different tours are offered.
Old City Cemetery
Placerville has its fair share of ghosts and this ghost tour takes you to some of the most haunted places in the city. You'll hear lots of stories and mayne even experiemce a ghost yourself.
Moonlight Tours
Gold Country Historic Hotels
If you want to feel a part of the history in Gold Country, then consider staying at one of these historic hotels.
Located in the heart of historic Placerville is the Historic Cary House with antique charm and modern conveniences. Some very famous people have stayed here in the past including Buffalo Bill, Mark Twain, Black Bart and Ulysses S. Grant. The hotel is...
Cary House Hotel – Hotels in Placerville, CA | Hotel in Placerville California
If you're looking for a place to stay in the Nevada City/Grass Valley area, then by all means look into the National Exchange Hotel. This was built in 1856 and has a Victorian flair to it. Like many historic buildings in Gold Country, it's haunted an...
National Exchange Hotel, Nevada City
You'll feel like you're back in the Old West at the Dutch Flat Hotel. This place is really cute and each room and cabin is completely unique. This is one of the oldest operating hotels in the state of California.
Dutch Flat Hotel & Restaurant | Historic Gold Country Stay Near I-80 & Tahoe
For something truly unique, stay on the Delta King River Boat in Old Sacramento. This is an authentic river boat built in 1927. Besides accommodations, it also features two restaurants and a murder mystery.
The Delta King | Hotel | Dining | Entertainment | Sacramento CA
Let's Go Camping!
For those of you who like to camp, there are lots of campgrounds all over Gold Country. Here's a few I recommend that a;; have fun activities to do.
Located just outside of Placerville is the Placerville RV Resort & Campground. Pitch your tent, park your RV or stay in a rustic cabin. The campground has a swimming pool, spa, fishing pond, miniature golf course, outdoor games and more.
Placerville RV Resort | RV Camping & Cabins Shingle Springs, CA
Gold Country Campground is located in Pine Grove, not far from Black Chasm Caverns and has swimming, water elements, miniature golf, basketball, horseshoes, a game room and additional activities. Check out their calendar of events for more.
Gold Country Campground Resort | Pine Grove RV Camping
For RV camping, there's the Grass Valley RV Resort which is convenient if visiting the Nevada City and Grass Valley area. It has swimming, bocce ball, horseshoes and pickleball to keep guests entertained.
Grass Valley RV Resort - Grass Valley RV Resort
About halfway between Sacramento and Nevada City is the historic city of Auburn which has the Auburn Gold Country RV Park which has both tent and RV camping. There's a swimming pool. spa, playground, and fishing pond, as well as ping pong and pickle ...
Auburn, CA RV Park with Top Amenities | Auburn Gold RV Park
Camping Fun
You can enhance your camping experience even more with some of the following entertaining things to do.
Add some color to your campfire with these color changing packets. It makes the fire look so pretty.
MEKER Fire Color Changing Packets - 12 Pack
I can't imagine camping without making smores and this kit has all the goodies you need to make them.
Astor Chocolate S'mores Kit - Marshmallows, Graham Crackers & Belgian Chocolates
This is a super fun game for all ages and this one is made especially for camping. It's a favorite with my family.
Would You Rather - Campfire Edition: 300+ Questions
Sometimes kids can get bored at night when there's nothing to do, so when that happened to me, I got the family a beginner telescope and my kids went crazy looking at everything in the night sky. OK. I really like it, too.
80mm 600mm Refractor Telescope for Adults & Kids