This refuge, it's for the birds. It's also a wonderful destination for photographers, birders, and…read morenature lovers. Geese, ducks and shorebirds stop here to rest as they journey along the Pacific Flyway. In the winter it is a crowed place Visit early in the morning and watch the geese fly out to feed in the surround grain fields; it's an awesome experience. If you're there in the late afternoon see them fly back and land in the ponds where they spend the night safe from predators. Even during the day there is something interesting on the 3 mile auto tour road. The best time to visit is from mid November to mid February. Even, if you miss the prime bird time, there is usually something to see year around.

Gorgeous wildlife refuge with a free auto tour. If you drive at the speed they recommend and stop…read moreto take a few pictures, Id say its about 30 minutes. Its very beautifully scenic out there and wild migratory birds of all varieties, tons and tons of them. Was relaxing just to turn off the car radio, roll down windows and listen to the wildlife. Bikes are allowed in summer, and there is a walking/hiking trail which i fully intend to check out soon.

Visited August 28 2026. See my receipt as always…read more They had a BBQ with live music today! It was PACKED! The bbq started alittle before 530 pm with live music starting at 630 pm. I had the brisket with potato salad and coleslaw. The brisket was juicy and tender with a good sear! The sides were delicious as well! I tried their new wine called Voodoo I think. It was so good...alittle velvety with a nice finish. You cannot buy a bottle yet unless you open it there and drink it so I bought a glass of wine Instead. I also bought a bottle of Drama to go! The owners have done such a good job on its growth! I hope I have been a part of their success from the first time I found this place a few years ago! Good job! Great food! Great wine!

We stumble across a gem! Shawn & Susan are awesome hosts. We enjoyed talking with them. They are…read morevery personable and accommodating. The view is incredible! We will go back to see a sunset someday. Inside or outside are both comfortable depending on weather. All drinks are amazing and unique. We enjoyed many different flavors - cider, mead, wine, and cocktail. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. Can't wait to bring others and return soon!

Took the guided tour at the Kennedy Gold Mine. Both myself and my boyfriend had not been to the…read moreKennedy Mine other than passing by it when in the area. They have a large outdoor area that has some of the old equipment on display. There is also a small museum area and gift shop. They have a cute little area with trinkets you can purchase. They staff was very friendly, greeted us with a warm welcome when we arrived. We had about a half hour before our tour started so we browsed the museum. There is a restroom located outside the museum in a building just across the walk way. Our tour was just over 90 minutes and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. The tour started in the museum, we watched a video on the mine as well as learned about the placer mining and hydro mining. We visited a few buildings around the property, saw how the large rock grinders work and the machinery used to extract the gold from the sand. How they tested samples. We were able to see the engineers office, the pay station, safe, office and bunk house. They have a small building dedicated to the 47 lost in Argonaut mine. It was really cool seeing all the machines they used and getting a history of the Mine back in its operating days.

Fascinating tour - learned so much about the gold mining industry and the history of the area. Bob…read moredid a great job making it interesting and educational. The foundation has done an excellent job restoring history and making it available to everyone.

I've passed this National Wildlife sign off the I-5 so many times and when I finally got to visit,…read morethe sheer size and uniqueness of this refuge far exceeded my expectations. Driving along the I-5 before, I've always wondered how deep the farms went. Well this refuge must've been hundreds of acres. I had no idea there was both a walking path and a driving tour. We opted for the self-driving tour. Starting out, it was kind of dry in May and I thought it was going to be those lame small areas to explore that takes like 20-30 mins. I didn't see anything but dry fields for a good while, but the deeper in we went, all of a sudden random ecosystems popped up left and right, lush greenery, and wildlife starting showing up. The gravel road took us on turns and it kept going on and on forever! The refuge was so huge it took me over an hour to get thru the whole thing. The driving tour takes you deeeeep into the refuge. It was nice you could stop at the pull-off areas to stretch your legs. There was even a viewing deck with built-in binoculars overlooking the creek and plains. We saw so many variety of birds, some rabbits and even spotted a deer. The whole experience was so amazing that I made a mental note to come back next spring and also take visiting family or friends.

I came across this park while staying overnight in Willows and looking for something to do. What an…read moreamazing place! There were so many different types of birds (we saw thousands) and I even spotted a bald eagle. I appreciated that dogs are allowed and the park is open until an hour past sunset. Purchasing tickets is so easy too. I'll be sure to come back with my SLR camera next time I'm in the area.

We spent the morning with Faith on her mighty pontoon boat. I dare you to spend the morning with…read moreanyone else that is so passionate about our feathered friends on this lake. When you can't, you owe me a drink. Faith had no tours scheduled for today, but she woke up early and was waiting for my wife and I, boat in the water and ready to go. We paid a premium for the private tour but so worth it. I think 4 people per tour would be perfect so if you have another couple to split the costs it's well worth it. Watching Faith get so excited about spotting another species and talking excitedly about the where's and why's is really engaging. She truly cares about the lakes ecosystem and how it affects the birds. There is no script and no trying to up sell. This is a small owner-operator company. We had such a great morning. Before today I would have called this a bird watching trip. Now I will be describing it as a bird engagement tour. We stopped at a dock on the South side to watch even more birds not of the paddling type and use the restrooms. We then headed back across the lake. Our tour ran long as we were just enjoying the lake and the conversation. I recommend this tour just so you can feel Faith's passion for the waterfowl and this lake. My wife and I travel much of the year for work, meeting with customers and we see a lot of attractions, meeting a lot of people. We will be talking about this morning a lot with our friends and family.

More than I expected. Faith is passionate about the lake and its habitat, especially bird life…read more She was enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable about birds on the lake. Breeding habits and migration were explained in detail. We were a family party of five with ages from 3 to 70 and all were well served on this early October morning. We always felt safe. There was a special bathroom stop. Faith is also people friendly and went beyond expectations to accommodate photos. I plan to do this again in late May or early June. in Gratitude, David

Can't believe I haven't left this review sooner! What a fantastic outing, experience, workout and…read moreall around good time! HUGE TIP INCOMING: Bring mouth, nose & eye protection! Read on.... We were staying at the Ione Hotel and saw the flyer. What an interesting concept, but I'll bet they charge something ridiculous for it. Nope! Went to their website and all the details, waivers and booking were easily done through there. $99 for a tandem bike make $48.50 "doable" so we booked "The Golden Hour Ride" for the next evening. Directions were perfect, with vertical flags at the turnoff point, leading to a large gravel parking lot. The small ticket window is on a blue and white, refurbished train car, housing the gift shop as well. Once you're checked in, you can relax under the tent on the Adirondack chairs, play corn hole, watch the crew get the rail cars ready and take pics/video of it! Once the rail cars were ready, we were asked to find our car and stand by it. On the loading side, each car had the name of the Reservation - How cool! And smart - what're gonna do, have John Q Public argue about which car he WANTS to ride? No, a temporary label on the car is perfect. We felt special seeing our names, the company looks organized and everyone wins! After a brief but thorough coverage of safety details and how the cars function, the guides got us underway. Because these inactive rails cross active roads, the guides space themselves ahead, behind and in the middle of the rail cars. I really felt the whole team was extremely safe, professional and personable. The journey up to the Sunnybrook Turnaround (about 30 minutes), was fun and a small bit of a workout - that's coming from someone who has a hard time remembering what a workout is! Put your strongest peddler in the "driver's" seat or, in my case, the one who WANTS to peddle. (Pssst...this also means the person in control of the speed and braking on the return downhill, so chose wisely! Hubs figured this out too late. Sorry, bud, should've volunteered to peddle uphill!) The turnaround was before sunset and it was lovely. There were more red Adirondack chairs dotting the hillside, spread out, to give couples and families some space, but also some clusters a few feet apart, in case you're a larger group or feel like getting to know your fellow riders. We were at the turnaround for 20-30 minutes. Other couples, having done this before, brought some light picnic goodies and a blanket and toasted to the hills. Sláinte! Watching the crew turnaround the rail cars was really interesting. Again, professional and safe! The return was THE BEST! Downhill almost the whole way. Remember that HUGE TIP I mentioned at the beginning? Well, try not to smile as much as I did and definitely DON'T laugh heartily with joy. I think I scraped at least 3 bugs off my teeth and swallowed one more before I remembered to raise my scarf over my nose and mouth. Thank goodness I had my sunglasses! Some little buggers met their timely demise during my euphoric return. When we returned, I quickly bought one of everything in the gift shop, so delighted was I with this experience. I now tell anyone I hear heading north into Gold Country 'You MUST try the Rail Explorers in Ione, CA!' and I, myself, look forward to returning. But also...I just might pack my scarf and sunglasses and head to one of their many other experiences, soaring through the bluegrasses of Kentucky? And elevated train trellis over a gorge in Iowa?? Or maybe creekside in the Catskills??? I could plan whole vacations around this fun way of exploring. Cheers! "CC"

Fun & Unique Railbike Adventure, inspired by Korean drama!…read more Apparently, modern commercial railbike tourism in the U.S. goes back to 2012, when Mary Joy Lu saw a couple riding a railbike on a Korean TV drama. She was so intrigued that she flew to South Korea to meet the designer, which eventually helped bring the railbike concept to the U.S. Pretty cool that a Korean drama helped inspire this whole thing! Parking: Free and plenty of parking in the complex. Restroom: 1 unisex porta-potty. I did not see a large multi-stall air-conditioned restroom at all! They also have a small gift shop in case you forgot your hat or need drinks/snacks. There's a 20-minute break in the middle, then the staff turns the railbikes around and you ride back the same way. The railbikes are custom 2- or 4-seaters with electric pedal assist, so you don't have to work too hard to keep them moving. We even passed through some hidden seasonal sunflower fields! The ride back felt much faster because we were going downhill. There are several railroad crossings along the route. The staff will stop the cars and put up the road barriers/signs so the railbikes can pass. It was actually pretty fun waving at the cars as we went by, and they waved back! For the 4-seater, one person sits in the right-back seat and is basically the designated "driver." They control the brake and have to keep pedaling the whole time, while the other 3 people can take a break from pedaling whenever they want. The railbike was going a little faster than my comfort level at first but after a few miles I got used to the speed and was able to enjoy the ride more. A few things I'd improve: * No shoe/foot latch. My feet felt a little unstable when the railbike was going fast and I had to keep pedaling. * No roof/cover on the railbike. It was scorching hot during summer. * No restroom at the midway break area. * Although the website says small kids and dogs can join, personally I wouldn't recommend it for safety reasons. The railbike can go pretty fast, and there's no shade. Overall, a pretty unique experience in Sacramento County! Definitely worth trying if you're looking for something different and a little adventurous.

River Fox train with Anthony, April and Ashley today was extremely accommodating with superb…read morecustomer service! We took the Old Vine Express and were pleasantly surprised with the cordial attentive treatment, the warm touches and individualized treatment. Anthony cares about his clientele. The Food menu is well-priced. Order the fries! Check out the other train experiences: Boba Tea Train, Brunch Train, Murder Mystery Train.

09/26/2026: My wife…read more& I booked the Yolo Traveller Golden Fox experience. Right as we boarded the train, the direction & guidance to our seats was pretty chaotic & a bit confusing. The staff didn't appear to have a system in place for order-taking so the waiters almost skipped over our table completely at the beginning of the journey. There's supposed to be champagne poured at the tables prior to your food arriving. When the staff finally brought out the champagne, it was quite warm. The food we ordered took a while to arrive at our table. Luckily, the alien themed cheese burger & fries were actually pretty decent & we enjoyed it. They didn't provide any napkins which seemed ridiculous since most of the menu items were greasier finger foods. My wife & I felt like we lucked out receiving our food when we did as there were several other tables that were still waiting a long time for their food to arrive. I overheard at least three different groups of guests complaining about either the food or drinks taking too long or being the complete wrong order. There was honestly a lot of idle time for a short 2-hour train ride & it really felt a bit boring at times with nothing to really do onboard. There were speakers throughout the different train carts, but the music kept cutting in & out with it mostly remaining off possibly due to connection issues to some staff members cell-phone or device. Finally, near the end of the experience, the staff brought us paper review cards to provide feedback to the ride, but they didn't pass out any writing utensils so we were unable to complete their review onboard. Overall, the staff seemed undertrained & there was a clear lack of leadership/structure from the management team. The service was not great, the setting & ambience was only okay, & the experience/activity itself was a bit dull. The one positive was that the specific food we ordered was decent. We won't be returning anytime soon & I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

The Black Chasm Cavern is located in the tiny town of Volcano which really feels like a step back…read morein time. I loved that this tour includes some amazing and beautiful natural wonders as well as a little bit of history. The place was very easy to find and a quick 30 min or so drive from Jackson. There is a lovely little store to check out before or after your tour as well. The chasm is a cool 58 degrees which was nice on this 90 degree-ish day. It is a little on the steep side with lots of stairs and a few areas where you definitely need to duck from the rocks but was worth it! The limestone cavern is just amazing with breathtaking stalagmite, stalactite and very rare helictite formations. These helictites look like they defy gravity and grow in amazing curling directions. Incredibly, there is a blue lake at the very bottom of the cavern that can be seen from way above - unfortunately we are unable to access that far down but man I wish I could! We learned the lake has tiny little shrimp that live in the pure crystal waters and the only place they are known to exist, mind blowing. Our tour guide was great and shared so much knowledge and history. History: The chasm was discovered in 1854 long after the Miwok people had already lived in the area. Of course, the discoverers wanted to try and cash in on their discovery so they began charging folks and would literally lower them by rope into a hole in the ground with some candles precariously balanced on a plank of wood. Luckily we have stairs and nicely built platforms with cave lighting to see this amazing magical national landmark. Definitely worth the visit!

This was such a fantastic day trip for our family! We were staying in Angels Camp, so it was a…read morequick, scenic drive of just over an hour to get there. It's super convenient that it's the only cave tour in the area open every day of the week (minus holidays). Our guide was wonderfully friendly, knowledgeable, and patient with all our questions. The stairs throughout the cavern were easily manageable for all the kids--even our 5-year-old handled them with no problem! The tour wasn't crowded at all, which made the entire experience much more relaxed and enjoyable. **A quick tip for future visitors:** Tours start on the hour, so time your arrival for just before to avoid a long wait. It's first-come, first-served, and while there are benches to relax on, there isn't much to do on-site if you end up having to wait for the next slot. Overall, it was a perfect outing and a memorable experience for the whole family. Highly recommended!