Must-see attractions in Gold Country

An otherworldly testament to the mechanical determination of the gold hunt, Malakoff Diggins is a place to get lost on fern-lined trails and take in the…

This state park comprises a fascinating collection of buildings in a bucolic riverside setting at the site of James Marshall's riot-inducing discovery…

Two miles southwest of Volcano, this sacred area for the local Miwok comprises a museum in a traditional wooden roundhouse, a village site, a limestone…

On the El Dorado County Fairgrounds west of downtown (exit north on Placerville Dr from Hwy 50), is this complex of restored buildings, mining equipment…

Atop 367 miles of mine shafts tunneling almost a vertical mile beneath the surface, Gold Country’s best-preserved gold-quartz-mining operation is worth a…

Cool off with a dip at South Yuba River State Park, which has popular swimming holes and hiking trails. It's near Bridgeport, which has the USA’s longest…

This is a park of deep gorges cut by the rushing waters of the North and Middle Forks of the American River, which converge below a bridge on Hwy 49, 4…

Home to giant sequoia trees that reach as high as 250ft with trunk diameters of over 25ft, these leftovers from the Mesozoic era are thought to weigh…

Five blocks east of Jamestown’s Main St, this 26-acre collection of trains and railroad equipment is the photogenic sister to Sacramento's rail museum. It…

You can't miss the ominous steel headframe of the mine from the road, rising to 125ft. Its pulleys lifted ore and miners from the bowels of the earth…

This small, painstakingly curated museum is run by the Nevada County Historical Society from a unique white wooden building with a tall bell tower. From…

In the former 1857 Tuolumne County Jail, you'll find this great little museum with a fortune’s worth of gold on display in the form of nuggets and gold…

The so-called ‘Gem of the Southern Mines’ is like a miniature Gold Rush Disneyland, but with more authenticity and heart. Four blocks of town have been…

In its prime, Sutter Creek was Gold Country’s main supply center for all things forged. Three foundries operating in 1873 made pans and rock crushers, but…

The 1st floor of the domed 1898 Placer County Courthouse has Native American artifacts and displays of Auburn’s transportation heritage, including a…

This museum of tribal history is built on the edge of an ancient Maidu village, where families thrived for over 3000 years. Exhibits of beautiful…

This building goes back in time to when the general store was the center of the town’s social and economic life, represented by the chairs that circle the…

A museum for those who ache when they see machinery set aside to rust. The engineering-minded docents here have polished and oiled their extensive…

California Cavern has the mother lode’s most extensive system of natural underground caverns. Regular tours take 60 to 80 minutes, or get a group together…

Built by the Yue family in the 1920s, this clapboard residence stands on 'Chinese Hill,' one of many Chinese communities established during the gold rush…