Great place to go on an adventure! It is well maintained by nature and well kept by visitors.read more

This was a drive through in May of 2019. We missed the snow fall, but there was plenty of snow on…read morethe sides of the road and in the trees. The streams were running swiftly and they sky was cloudy. Picturesque in every way and from every angle. The roads are well maintained so driving was a breeze and allowed me to take in the scenic wonders. We did stop at the Donner Memorial Park and spent some time looking and exploring. We managed to find a spot where we could play in the snow for a little bit. Any time of year would be a good time to come and visit such a grand forest. From the Bay Area it's a wonderful day trip.

From my separate City of Auburn review:…read more Auburn is an attractive city, especially Old Town Auburn, which attracts passersby on the highway between Reno and Sacramento with the quaint architecture on a hill flanked by a giant sculpture. Its small-town charm is likely why movies like Rocky and Bullwinkle, Breakdown, Wisdom, and xXx had scenes shot here, but the town relates most to the 1996 John Travolta movie Phinome Phenomin Phenomm Look Who's Talking. The guy who discovered gold here in 1849 was memorialized by Ken Fox with a 45-ton concrete (rebar and wire mesh) statue at the entrance of Old Town. Ken Fox was a dentist able to do this in between teeth cleanings and forcing customers to look at super close-up pictures of their teeth in order to sell "special deep teeth cleaning" by the quadrant. This dentist has more "Great Statues" in the area which you'd likely find ful-"filling". Get it? Anyway, it's right off the highway, so stop there and check out Old Town. (Check my reviews on Edelweis 2 and the California Club)

Quality/Quantity - What a cool active town, see pictures…read more(and/or their website) of some current events. This might be our new pit stop...? Or a designated location? We usually go to downtown Auburn, so I am glad we came to Old Town this time. Atmosphere - Cool historic town. Lots of locally owned shops. Plenty of places to eat. Walk friendly but not sure if ADA friendly. Dog friendly, at least at the brewery. :) Service - Good, everyone we met was friendly. Price - Depends on where you shop, eat, and drink. Owner Comment - What a great fun town, looking forward to coming back soon when I have more time.

Visited for the 4th of July parade and saw charming historic buildings on Main Street (between…read moreSacramento and Stockton streets) in Dutch Flat, California.

Me being of Japanese decent, I felt the need to visit Wakamatsu Tea and Silkworm Colony Farm in…read morePlacerville, and to pay my respect to all the courageous men and women whom traveled thousands of miles to a foreign land (America) for a dream of a better life. There are no words that can express my heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifices and hardship the " Isei " (First Generation ) must have gone through ! They paved the way for people like both of my grandfathers whom came to the United States in 1906. On May 20th, 1869 a group of 22 samurais and one women arrived in San Francisco on board the SS China with 50,000 (Mulberry Trees) (Silk worm cocoons) (tea plants and seeds) ( cooking utensils) and (swords). Thus the Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony Farm was established on 160 acres in Gold Hill Placerville on June 8th, 1869. The life of the colony was short lived (1869 -1871) due to inadequate funding and a severe drought in 1871. Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony was considered to be the first Japanese Settlement in North America. In 1969 Ronald Reagan (governor at the time) proclaimed the colony to be a California Historic Landmark No. 815. The land is currently owned and operated by the American River Conservancy. The farm is on private property, so visitations can only be made by arranging a private tours, attending certain festivals on the property or schdueled events. Next year (2019) marks its 150th anniversary celebration !!! See web site for more details. Thanks for reading !

Have been to a couple of American River Conservancy events at Wakamatsu Farm. Such an historic &…read moreinteresting place. The volunteers & teachers are impressive. It is always an interesting & enjoyable experience in a beautiful setting.

Went camping over the weekend at Loafer Creek. Stayed in site 94. They've cleared a lot of the…read moreunderbrush around that site so not nearly as much privacy as in previous years. The a holes in spot 132 decided to party until 4 o'clock in the morning and keep everybody up. Thanks for that. Lots of clean bathrooms, and a central shower area in the first loop provides reasonably priced showers with both hot and cold water. Apparently, there are no evening patrols in this particular campground. No enforcement of the reasonable time to be quiet. When we informed the people at the gate on the way out, they just looked at us blankly. I guess we'll have to contact the district office. Cell phone reception was mixed. People with AT&T did not seem to have good cell phone reception in most places. I have T-Mobile and got two bars in most places. My friend who had Verizon had full service and 5G If you get a chance, go to the waffle shop in town. That's literally the name of the restaurant. See Rachel at the counter for excellent service. Also in the area not to be missed is Jake's burgers.

This place is so cleaned up and so nice it has everything it has the lake going through it it has a…read moreplay array with these little bears in it that the kids can sit on kind of thing it has toys they can ride on it's beautiful it's clean it's monitored with some security driving through once in awhile I was so impressed after seeing the other place the bedrock place and I was so disappointed this place was a thing of beauty

We had out of town family in town last week and we made it back to the Donner (Railroad) Tunnels. I…read morelove the tunnels! It's SO beautiful. And as it was a railroad, it's level and easy, and as it's in the tunnels, you're mostly protected from the weather. Bring good trail walking shoes and a flashlight. (And park across from the Donner Ski Ranch.)

I've lived in Reno since 1979, and I've never been to the tunnels?! It was so fun! Incredible…read moreviews. No snow yet, making the tremendous rock formations visible. A lot of people, and dogs. A few bikers, of which, I was one. Everyone was friendly and courteous with their pups, and kids. Parking was easy in the lot by Sugar Bowl Ski Resort. If biking, I recommend a fat tire bike as the gravel is deep in random spots in the tunnels. Water trickles through in several spots. I recommend a head lamp in addition to your fully charged bike light, some tunnels are really dark, and long!

We've done the Thunderbird Lodge tour a few times now and it is always an amazing experience…read more The stories vary by the guides, but we always learn something new (this most recent time we learned about the Disney & Hemingway connection) and everyone we've brought with us, has been amazed this treasure exists. It's SO beautiful and such a cool experience! The tour begins (and ends) at the Lake Tahoe Visitor Center in Incline Village. On the bus ride to the Thunderbird Lodge, a recording plays explaining some of the history. Then you're met at the lodge and get more history, stories and a tour, which includes the Lodge, the tunnels, the boat house and grounds. We've done the tour twice this summer, at the end of July and again last Friday (Sept 12), with different visiting family members. Everyone was seriously impressed, especially as many of us grew up in the area &/or have lived here for years and were unaware this gem existed. Check out this great article on the Thunderbird Lodge https://www.carsonnow.org/09/12/2018/nevada-lore-series-captain-and-the-bizarre-history-of-thunderbird-lodge-at-tahoe

What an amazing piece of history! Thanks to George Whittell, Jr., much of the Eastern Shore of Lake…read moreTahoe has been preserved. This beautifully preserved historic landmark is a must see! Don't miss the tunnels!

The fishies weren't out today, but we normally love Fanny Bride and the dam for feeding them, you…read morecan buy the fish food across the way at the information center. It was still a beautiful day, the water was incredibly clear, and the information on the dam side is always fun to read.

Nice short walk from the Information center with free parking. Walk across the dam bridge and read…read moreabout the history.

Despite the name, Nevada City is actually not in Nevada. I have never heard of this place until my…read morefriend suggested that we visit. I was like, uh, are we crossing the state line today? I didn't think we will be driving this far... So Nevada City is in fact in California. Located in Nevada County, 60 miles northeast of Sacramento. It looks and feels like a small town with cute shops and restaurants. Quaint and slightly more expensive or on par with some of its surrounding areas (E.g. Lake Tahoe). This area is very outdoorsy with hiking and kayaking being top draws in the summer. The Nevada Theatre is one of the oldest existing theater building in this county. Lots of other museums and culture to explore. During Christmas, this little town celebrates with Victorian-era flair with holiday themed lights and lots of holiday food. During the rest of the year, they have film festivals, summer nights street festivals, etc.

Nevada City is a charming town, even more so, each fall, when the town becomes ablaze in fall…read morecolors. Broad street is the heart of it all with unique shops and restaurants housed in historic buildings. This seems to be a very close knit community with all sorts of events posted in the shops, a Saturday farmers market and many locally owned shops. I've been coming here for the fall colors for a few years, now, and it's always stunning. Definitely a favorite small town in Nor Cal, made even more lovely when the leaves turn colors and the whole town has peak fall vibes. This past weekend, I had the chance to not only take in the colors but also caught a magnificent sunset. Wonderful place for day trip!