Corlieu Falls, Sierra National Forest: 2025 Feb 17 (4 of 5)…read more Named after Charles Clifford Corlieu, an early pioneer of the region, the falls here are a prominent feature along Lewis Creek Trail. The walk took 3.8 miles. Though the hike is relatively short, the steep incline towards the ridge is not for the faint-hearted. Why 4 and not 5? There was graffiti along the rails which was a distraction for visitors. These are writing on a public surface without permission, and is considered vandalism and an eyesore. Accessible via Highway 41

Many trails for all types of hikers. I took a very short 15min trail to see the water falls here…read more Just ask around and follow signs and they will tell you where to go.

For all you Cali history buffs, here's a little story worth telling:…read more Once upon a time a long time ago there were these peeps called, "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Nope-wrong story! Doh! My daughters, Joy & Kris hate the Three Bears Story-just ask them! ANYWAY . . . sorry-I am definitely going off a major tangent . . . Focus! There's this guy named, John Charles Fremont who hung out with Lewis and Clark. All three guys explored from back East all the way to Cali. They were very good buddies who loved to explore and find what's out there beyond the 13 states. In San Diego County outside of Cuyamaca many miles after the sleepy town called, Alpine, you will find the Lewis and Clark Trail . . . with John C. Fremont leaving his mark in tow-literally! Wells Fargo wagons used Lewis and Clark Trail continuously for money and mail deliveries from back East to the Wild, Wild West. Fremont married Jessie Benton, who is the daughter of a prominant MA Senator who funded all Fremont's US explorations. Through Senator Benton's private funding: Well-renown mountain peaks were founded by John C. Fremont's other buddy, Pike who founded Pike's Peak to well-traveled roads which were used as wagon trails in the past are the direct result of John C. Fremont and his good ol' buddies' explorations. Fremont decided to call Cali his home and settled in a little town called Mariposa. Fremont found and owned four huge GOLD mines and settled outside Mariposa near Bear Valley Road and Highway 49. Fremont was always having problems with greedy peeps trying to raid his gold mines in the wee morning hours which vehemenently pissed Fremont off lividly. Fremont was always in Mariposa Court getting countless court injunctions to ward off any greedy peep encroaching on his mine ownership and helping themselves to Fremont's gold mine fortune. While becoming restless mining for gold, continuously fighting protecting his gold mining rights in court in Mariposa, Fremont began exploring WEST and founded a sleepy town called, Fremont CA. Fremont traveled on horseback from Mariposa all the way to these following familiar roads we drive today: El Camino Real, Mission, Foothill, Highway 580, Highway 680, Highway 24, Highway 880, Highway 280, Highway 35, Highway 1, Highway 120, Highway 41, Highway 49, Highway 5, Highway 101, Highway 80 . . . etc.! Fremont used to hang around Mare Island in Vallejo CA which was the first state capital of Cali. Check out the pics I took of the Mare Island Golf Course. That building I took a pic of was built in the mid-1800s. Incidentally, that building is the same building Fremont hung out with Lewis and Clark looking out at the Bay admiring the thousands upon thousands of birds nesting making ear-deafening sounds. Awesome, eh? From all Fremont's explorations, thankless hours were spent where Fremont had a sore bum and ______ from riding his horse everywhere. No wonder John C. Fremont never got Jessie Benton pregnant and Senator Benton stopped funding Fremont's explorations. So sad . . . The END. -30-30-

Well my review can't do justice like Shirley M.J.'s-but I will say this. The view is great-you can…read moresee the river and the bridge, and lots of mountains! Yep, what else can I say? Oh yeah, there's a lot of views of mountains!

We love this place! We always stop here to walk the trails amongst the giant Sequoias…read more You need to park and take a shuttle to the Grove. The shuttle runs pretty frequently so the wait isn't very long but the line can get long during the weekends. We like to go early in the day when it's not so busy. The main loop has a wide wooden boardwalk. The trails are well maintained and busy. There are restrooms at the start and benches along the main loop. Highly recommend.

Firstly, if this is a must see, be sure and ask the ranger for a pocket trail map when you drive…read morein. The ranger handed us one when we arrived at the Wawona Gate and told her we hoped to find parking at Mariposa, since the weekend proved too crowded (folks were parking along the main road and walking uphill to the Welcome Plaza, something that would have been too much of a challenge for us in the midday sun). She assured us it was much less crowded this Monday morning, and handed us the pocket map, which became very helpful, once I remembered it was actually IN MY POCKET! This is the first time I've been able to see this grove of Giant Sequoias in Yosemite. It reopened in June 2018 after a long closure and refurbishment to allow better access while protecting the trees in their ideal conditions - meaning, keep humans at bay. When you arrive at Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza, there are nice bathrooms and a small bookstore, sundries, souvenir shop and information about the various hikes, maps of trails(I suggest taking a pic of, if you don't have the pocket map), and volunteers happy to guide you through hiking options, or easy routes to just see the largest of the popular Sequoias, Grizzly Giant. You catch the shuttle here for the 6 mins ride to the trailhead for Mariposa Grove, Big Tree Loop and Grizzly Giant Loop trails. We opted for the "moderate" hike along the Mariposa Grove Trail to Tunnel Tree, in which we saw the famous Grizzly Giant as well as the notable Bachelor and Three Graces trees. Our elevation gain was about 300ft. We then continued .2 miles to Tunnel Tree. After queuing for our turn to take pics, we added on treks to see Faithful Couple and Clothespin trees and still found it mildly challenging, but not strenuous. I believe we hiked a total of 1.25 miles up, then it was all an easy downhill back. This total visit, with shuttle rides up and back, took 3 hours. We did not find this to be "moderate," but rather enjoyable and only slightly more challenging than a level walk around a forest. My friend often has to stop periodically for heart rest breaks when hiking, but didn't need any breaks on during today's hike. Take plenty of drinking water with you and maybe a light snack. If you need a restroom, try holding out for the ones at the Welcome Center. The set up at the shuttle pickup/drop-off were not as well maintained, lacked TP, had on stall marked "Closed for the Season," like THAT would be a thing, and defunct hand dryers, but no paper towels. All in all, if you're a fan of Giant Sequoias, you'll want to add Mariposa Grove to your list. We are hitting all the Giant Sequoia areas we can during this road trip, so I would say, comparing the 2 so far, Calaveras Big Trees Park was more enjoyable and an easier tour of these amazing Goliaths, but soon we will add Sequoia Ntl Park & Kings Cyn, so THEN we will know definitively which park towers above the rest. Cheers! "CC"

Do the moonlight dinner train! We chose the cuppola (second story of the caboose). If I did it…read moreagain I would just choose the caboose. Padded, forward facing seating and a private guide make it worth it. The price point is worth it when you consider dinner & dessert , beverages (including beer/wine), plus the train experience and campfire singers at the stop. We had an amazing 4 hours (5:30-9:30pm). Pre-dinner we strolled the grounds, gift shops & museums and watched some folks pan for gold. Dinner at 6:30 and then you're off by 7:15pm. The train ride and history lesson aboard the train plus a lively sing along at the campfire stop take you through to 9:30 return to the depot. Highly recommend!

We were excited for this little train excursion. We arrived at about 10:45am. The next train was…read moredisembarking at 11am. We were able to get tickets fairly quickly. They also give a Senior discount if you are 55 years young and or older. Luckily they helped us find 2 seats as all of the trains looked at capacity. The train is a little herky and jerky when it brakes and takes off on the first half of the ride. The ride itself was just amazing. Being in the middle of the forest was awesome. The scenery was fantastic. We came across many "Perfect" Christmas trees. We are used to seeing the Douglas Furs about 6 feet tall at the Christmas Tree lots where we are from. But these beauts were super tall. Like up to 50 feet tall and taller. The train horn sounds amazing especially when the Steam Engine is working as it climbs. If you have kids or grandkids they will really like it. The train stops about half way through to fill up the Steam Engine with water. Fun fact....The steam engine itself runs on recycled motor oil. We had a great time.

With water so blue and the tan sand nice and warm, this is my new favorite lake. The entrance…read moreadjacent to the parking lot has two picnic tables, just before the trail we hiked. Though unsure of the lake's depth elsewhere, we were grateful as we enjoyed this beachside with shallow waters. Hoping to return before the roads close for the winter.

The scenery of Tenaya Lake is absolutely stunning from every angle, attracting photographers to…read morevisit and press shutters. However, tons of mosquitoes were assembling here, chasing and attacking you. Repellents are useless under such situation. Be careful!

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"

What an amazing story and terrific guide. We thoroughly enjoyed the visit and would highly…read morerecommend to everyone

Shoutout to Kelsey, our awesome tour guide. She walked us through the Forestiere's underground…read moregarden and spoke proudly about its history. My family came here to visit not knowing what to expect. It was a great experience learning how Forestiere built these tunnels so intentionally and with innovation. The guided tour is about 60 minutes and includes a lot of walking with some stairs, so be prepared with comfy shoes. However, there's also benches in the tunnels if you need a quick seat. The tour ends in the grand ballroom which connects to the gift shop. There you can find citrus sorbet made from the fruits of this garden. I had to give that a taste and it was sweet and zesty. I went home with some postcards to send to friends too. This place is also California State National Landmark No. 916! You must add it to your bucket list of adventures.

Ever since we made our return reservations almost a year ago; I've been looking forward to this…read moreroad being open! Usually it's open from late May to October or November directly depending on the amount of snowfall. Once we turned onto the Glacier Point road it was roughly 16 miles until we reached the spectacular viewpoint area. There are numerous places to pull over. Some are viewpoints, other's are hiking trails. Plan on bringing your own food & water. Can't beat the views for a nice bag lunch! It has been many moons since I first laid eyes on the beautiful snow flower. Imagine my surprise and delight in spotting the snow flower (sarcodes sanguinea) along the edges of the roadway! For those of you unfamiliar these plants are located in montane areas of the California Floristic Province, above 5,000 feet. Since I don't live in elevations above 5,000 feet it's rare that I see them. A large parking lot, some port a potties, a gift shop plus numerous hiking trails await you at the viewpoint area.

I was there on a weekend. I took the Grand Tour bus and it stopped at the glacier point for about…read morean hour. The scenery was breath taking. There were multiple trails of multiple length. I took the shortest one. Also there were multiple scenic points. There was also a small giftshop. But I didn't get time to explore.