As members if the California State Railroad Museum, we have been here manny times…read more - 10:30 AM Train pulled by 1922 2-8-0 #28 Car #597 - celebration of the movie train's return - roundhouse tours are not to be missed

Of course we arrive a day late, when Summer schedule switches to Autumn and trains only run on…read moreweekends, so we used the VERY CLEAN restrooms at this park and poked around the small museum. From what we saw, there are picnic tables on a green lawn - RARE, in this area of golden hills and meadows, and PLENTY of free parking. Many films and TV shows have been shot here. It's located in historical Jamestown, CA and also less than 20mins from Columbia, CA, another great stop along the 49 in California Gold Country. I look forward to returning and riding the rails at this little gem. Cheers! "CC"

We always love hiking here. It's easy to hike with kids, even though it can get a little rocky and…read morea little muddy. The cave is always beautiful, especially when the water is flowing. Today, there are still descent of people hiking, and we came around 12:30 Easy Hike!Gonna come back again soon. P. S please leave no trace

"stalagmites or stalactites???? " Who knows, but this place is cool…read more Location and parking: kind of out in the middle of nowhere and parking SUCK. Get there earlier or wake up at noon, have brunch, then make your way here and post up for a parking spot. LOL Trail: easy going and plenty of shade along the way. There was people of all ages, sizes, and shape; " Very Do-able". - Secret swim hole: a true gem. Natural, dripping cave filtering the run off from snows above. Water was super cold, but where else can you swim through a natural cave. "Gotta JUMP IN." Very refreshing. Short swim to opposite end of cave. "Safety 1st" - bring a life jacket or floaty. Read sign and follow rules, leave ROVER at home and pick up your TRASH. Adjudication: definitely worth a day trip to check out. "IT's COOL."

Wow way way up there. It was August so the conditions were good albeit. a bit cold this early…read more Awesome views down the West and East sides of the Sierras and quite the steep windy road as well. Its easy to see why this is closed int he wionter as driving conditions would be brutal up here on a normal day let alone during. . storm. There appeared to be several trails but having blasted up there from sea level I did not try my luck

Fun experience ! We cut our first Christmas Tree down today . The kids loved it it was a bit…read morechallenging to find the perfect one. Definitely give yourself plenty of time . It took us 3 hrs to find our tree.

Columbia CA is a find in and of itself, and this gold panning activity is just one of the reasons I…read moresay that so confidently. The attractions here are super affordable and, in some cases, free, and they're truly captivating. For about $20 you get a bag of dirt to pan with guaranteed gold in it, a panning lesson, and access to the panning area for the whole day. That's right. This isn't one and done. It's for the entire day. The lesson is fast and furious, but you get the idea by the end. If you don't, just wait for someone else to get theirs and listen in for a refresher. The speed of the lesson and the fact there's no one there to ask questions after is the only reason I'm taking a star off. That said, you can go inside and ask for help, but that takes you away. The man who taught us was kind and gentle with the lesson, and he made sure the kids found their gold. The look on their faces was priceless! I truly thought they'd be done after that one pan but they were so captivated by the idea of finding treasure that I'm sure we spent at least an hour sifting through the sand for gems. This was money well spent, and if you're vacationing in the area, I would highly recommend this be in your plans.

A good time for all. Grab a pan and start panning. Left with garnets and citrine gemstones (panned…read morereally hard for them). Kid friendly activity, there is a park nearby, a small old town to walk through and plenty of public restrooms and parking available.

For my 100th review, I should be writing about a five star Hotel, restaurant or describing my visit…read moreto Yosemite National Park and here I'm writing and raving about Sonora City Hall. What this tells me is a story about a 57 year old man, sitting at the computer, drinking his morning coffee, Yelping and thinking I better shave and get to work. Sonora City Hall is located on North Washington St, near the "Red Church", there is public parking and over many years I have found all departments associated with city business as positive and offering professional services. As an example the renting of the "Opera Hall" or securing a building permit or attending a city council meeting. The city of Sonora offers excellent services in police & fire and as a Sonora resident, I'm pleased to offer this review that is positive. The street crew are caring and protective of our roads and landscape and parks. All employees have been great public servants. Hats of to the Sonora City Council and Greg Applegate, City Administrator.

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THE CITY OF SONORA. I had spent over $13,000 in that city alone for my…read morewedding. We made sure and bought everything local as to support the dwindling economy up there. Instead of hiring a city worker the clean up the hall by himself after our wedding we used over 10 workers that were in our wedding party. We swept, mopped, scrubbed and double checked everything for over 4 hours the day after our wedding. After we were confident that we left the hall in better condition then we got it we got a call the next day saying we ruined the floors with sand. WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE ANY SAND ANYWHERE NEAR THE WEDDING. The city was so mad that we didn't use their worker to clean (and give them more money) that they blamed regular wear and tear on the hall floor on us and tried to make us buy them a new floor. This was complete B.S. we took care of that hall like it was gold. It's really too bad that they had to do this to us because we thoroughly enjoyed our time, now I highly highly recommend doing business elsewhere.

Omg super adorable store with all kinds of goodies! Candies! Taffy! Snacks!…read more Long line, it is slow moving and takes a while to pay. Obviously a sign of being a sweet popular place. I was interested in a few items but didn't want to wait since I was on my way somewhere after Very nicely set up and decorated, so much character in here!

I needed rice vinegar and didn't want to drive all the way into Sonora again, I tried this gem I…read morewas delighted to see a wide range of groceries and specialty items, fresh French bread, spices, olive oils. I live up the street this will be my go to for now on.. the owners are friendly too.

Came here last minute because I could not find any place on the coast to camp over memorial day…read moreweekend and also to avoid 60° on the coast. I really like this campsite.. close to Sonora, and on the lake. The sites are hilly so you may want to check out which one to get. I got 37 which I really liked because it was down a little bit of a climb, but very secluded quiet with shade. I would not come here in the Midsummer unless you're prepared for the heat. It was pleasant end of May and I suspect it will be after September. There are some bugs in the campsite, so be prepared to fend off ants and mosquitoes - I was not bothered too much. The restrooms are clean, the flush toilets and hot showers. Campsites are well-maintained. Enjoy some time on the lake in a kayak On The Lake kayak will bring it to the Gloryhole Recreation Area across the water (20min drive) the owners are really friendly, great service! Indigeny Reserve has amazing Apple Cider including a couple of hard ones than 5 g of sugar. Standard Pour sports bar has really good beer and amazing burgers. They have two locations I really like the one in the cute hamlet of Standard. If you want a one in a lifetime experience, pay a visit to the llamas at circle home. I had an amazing experience for an hour feeding, tending to the llamas and hugging them! Yosemite is one and a half hours away if you want to make this a stop on your way there.

Watch out for what's in the water…read more... This place is very pretty. Bathrooms and fountains were always cleaned in our area. The ranger was kind and let me switch camp grounds when I realized there was no way I was getting my mother on an oxygen tank up a very steep hill. The map is very deceiving. I picked site 139 because it's pictured very close to the water. It was a good 10 minuet hike through two camp sites before you got to it. I switched to 128. It was better and closer to the bathrooms but still a steep 10 minuets (with small kids) hike down. We drove down to the day use area. The other yelper was right. Something is in the water. I don't know if they're leaches but they were tiny, dark grey, and all over our feet. I had to use my nails to claw them off. I only had them on me in the day use area. Playing in the water the first day near camp I didn't notice anything.

Very nice park. Very well maintained (old buildings, lots of items). Lots of things to see and to…read morelearn. Highly recommended. Many stores to visit and shop, bakery, restaurants, ice cream, museums and more. Air conditioned store rooms. Some rare book editions on sale in the bookstore! Free parking. Dog friendly.

I come here every year! I walk around and enjoy seeing the old, small town of Columbia that…read moresettlers founded. It is now recognized as Colombia State Historic Park. It has a one-room school house where students of different ages, once sat and listened together to their teacher's lectures, in harmony. I always visit the old cemetery where some members of The Donner family, who survived their perilous journey from Missouri to California during the gold rush, are buried. The old mercantile building and the Blacksmith stable where the horses were shoehorned and cared for, still stands. The countryside is beautiful. The hills and rivers are gorgeous. This is a great place for families and especially for children who should know our great history regarding brave settlers who traveled from far and wide, by horse and buggy (wagon trains of home crafted covered wagons). It is always such a nostalgic feeling going back in history for me. Enjoy this great town!

AWESOME 6-day raft trip down the Selway River in N.E. Idaho near Missoula, MT. The river,…read morecampsites, participants, scenery, etc., were great. We had fun and the trip was smooth and went off without a hitch. What made the trip superb were the guides: Izzy, Emma, Kenny, and Woody. The were personable, informatice, accomplished, .... They took care of EVERYTHING! On top of the everyday everything, they made a birthday cake for someone on the trip including the candles.

Amazing tour! I went as a chaperone for a field trip and the guides were so knowledgeable and…read morehelpful throughout the whole trip. We were safe the entire trip and had loads of fun. I would definitely recommend going with ARTA if you get the chance!