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.

Came here a few years ago & could not get into the tunnels because the entrance was frozen over…read more Well today it's a different story. Beautiful place & something the kids will enjoy. Only thing you should definitely have is... Boots, water, protein bars, portable charger. You have those few things & you will have a good time.

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.)

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

While all the Amber Alert signs on Hwy 80 read, "AVOID travel, stay home and beat COVID-19" - I'm…read moresure like most of us, I've bean suffering from a form of "Island Fever" while SIP'ing at home! I needed a change of scenery one that consisted of fresh air and a view... so Hub's found me Emigrant Gap. This historical landmark can be found in the beautiful Tahoe Valley! On this cool, overcast morning - the view were still ohhhh, so beautiful. The clouds with the sun trying to peek out, provided some cool blues and grays against Bear Valley. It was nice to imagine what all those Gold Rush travelers had to experience back then, and really makes you appreciate what we have now (aka cars instead of wagons). The entrance of this landmark pit stop, can only be accessed if you're traveling WB on Hwy 80 towards Auburn/Rocklin. I would highly recommend a quick stop for some pretty scenic views.

Great museum! Lots of history about Donner Party, Indigenous people, and the Lincoln Highway. Movie…read moreneeds an update...

We have always loved coming to Yankee Jim's! Unfortunately…read morethe swim hole is closed for the next 4 years due to construction of the new bridge on top. So sad but so excited to go back!

Ok...my sister came here yesterday...and I love waterfalls so I asked here where it was…read more This place is located in colfax ca. If you type in Yankee Jim's bridge...it will come up on Google maps...please download the map...BECAUSE YOU WILL LOSE SERVICE. Once you get on Yankee Jim's road...it is paved...then turns into a dirt road for about 3 miles. You need to drive slow...no rails...and a long drop.. some places are narrow...and yes a car can drive on that road. I have a civic and had no problems. But drive slow...some people go a little faster...there are little pot holes here and there. You can drive across the bridge...I did...my mom was scared...but not me... Once you arrive at the bridge...there is a portapotty...and a few places to park. If you drive over the bridge...there is additional parking...and stairs that lead to a path to the river. If you keep driving just about .25 miles more...you will see a beautiful waterfall on your left... There is a 3 mile hike to a beautiful swimming hole...I did not go there...but you can see pictures on Google. This place is so beautiful...I saw people with kayaks and fishing poles. The path to the river can be accessed from a trail to right of portapotty...or by stairs across the bridge. I would recommend coming here if your looking for a day trip...or something to do.

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.

If you are ever in the area, be sure to check out one of the tallest bridges in the US. Sweeping…read moreviews and amazing architecture. You can drive walk or bike across. Super close to the Clementine Dam lookout if you want another "instagram " photo op.

Tallest bridge in California. Walk across was hot w/ cars driving past hecka fast. View is amazing…read more Better from the trail view. It a spot u should check out when in the area. "It's cool...."

Great hike, the tunnels were so cool. I think the part people "miss" is they are walking over what…read moreis considered China Wall. If you are walking the tunnels you can't see this engineering feat from the trail. You need a side quest or to start from a lower vantage point to see the actual wall.

This place is super unique!!! No idea why they don't advertise this place more. There's a parking…read morelot on your left shortly before you hit the rainbow bridge. If the weather is nice, you'll see a bunch of climbers right here. From the lot, proceed uphill for a short distance and you'll see the petroglyphs on the rocks to your left. Proceed up these and you'll hit the tunnels! Go to the left for the best ones. I'd recommend going with someone as it can be a bit creepy in the darker areas and you never know what can happen. A flashlight or headlamp is a good idea but you're phone will suffice. There are openings every now and then so it's not like a cave or pitch dark. Tons of graffiti everywhere in a tunnel view which make for some awesome photos (reason 2 to have a partner or IG BF on hand). Enjoy!!

Background On Donner Summit Bridge: The Donner Summit Bridge, also known as the Rainbow Bridge, is…read morenamed after the Donner Summit, a high point in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Donner Summit is significant because it was the location where the Donner Party struggled to survive the winter in 1846-47. Background On Visit: Might as well visit the place if i'm already in the area. Location/Parking: The bridge is located on Donner Pass Road and is next to Donner Lake Overlook. There's parking before the bridge and if parking has been taken, you can park over at the Donner Lake Overlook. Ambiance/Decor: Nice ambiance with great views of Sierra Nevada Mountains and Donner Lake. You can also visualize how tough it was for the Donner party to maneuver through the tough terrain with the freezing temps. Luckily on the day that I visited, the weather was absolutely beautiful and there was some snow that hasn't melted on the Sierra Nevada mountain. Donner Summit Bridge For Thought: I would like to come again and drive on the bridge.

Also known as the Rainbow Bridge [Truckee CA]…read more As we were making our way up Donner Pass Road we had a good view of the bridge from below and in my mind it reminded me of the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur as it was built around the same period and has a very similar style. Donner Pass Road is a scenic road that runs through the Sierra Nevada mountains between Truckee and Reno NV. As we arrived at the bridge we pulled off onto the parking lot on the side and enjoyed stunning views of the mountains, Truckee River and Donner Lake below. A plaque on the bridge read "Dedicated to the pioneers who blazed the overland trail through these mountains." This beautiful bridge was restored in 1995 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Review #3558

Located inside The Placer County Courthouse building, this museum houses some of the historic…read moreartifacts from the early Nisenan inhabitants. It also includes the Pate Collection of American Indian artifacts and the original Thomas Kinkade painting "Auburn Centennial". The Placer County Gold Collection is also on exhibit here. Free admission and located on the first floor. Second floor is an active superior courthouse. We had a great time exploring this museum.

Gone day tripping to check this out. Found myself confused as we went thru metal detector and…read moresecurity entrance. It was a small room museum and a part of the lobby you can look into inside a courthouse. It is rich in local history. There were artifacts on judges clothings, native Americans history, jail cell and reward system. Medicine and Nursing related technology evolution. There were lots of information to read on along each possible spot. Good museum if you are killing time, not much enjoyable for small kids other than the pretend jail prisoner props you can use for picture taking and the phone code transmission you can try. Free museum.