1/5/2019: I wrote several reviews for James Marshall Monument and Coloma State Park; however, all…read moremy reviews mysteriously disappeared! Yah~YELP! Where ARE my reviews, eh? July 17, 2026: THEREFORE, I searched ALL the YELP! photos I posted: I found a few photos dated 1/5/2019 as PROOF I did write my reviews for both locations. Disappointingly, ALL my photos AND reviews for James Marshall's Monument and Coloma State Park's 1800's Gold Rush Community Event MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED AFTER 2019! UNHAPPY! Since and AFTER 2019 to present date--July 18, 2026, I have returned exploring James Marshall's Monument--countless times--reminiscing my US Army friend's Military funeral presided at James Marshall's Monument, used the clean restrooms countless times traversing from Placerville to Beal's AFB /Marysville CA via Highway 49, visited James Marshall's humble abode, checked both St. John's Catholic Church and Emmanuel Church construction completion updates, skulked Sutter's Mill, gold panning the American River, hiked along the American River, sent snail mail from the Coloma Post Office, ate at my friend, Noah's Argonaut Cafe, and hiked the trails, too! BTW: Coloma CA is ONLY seven miles from my humble abode, i.e., this is THE CLOSEST State Park from my house. Finally, I just wish, Coloma State Park had a cool, State Park Campground because I would use my 100% Service-Connected Veteran's Distinguished Park Pass more often which equates as FREE CAMPING and NO FEE State Park Entrance! Besides, exploring Coloma State Park, I guess driving to Folsom Lake's Rattlesnake Bar Campground via Cool CA would be the closest State Park Campground from my humble abode which I have camped a few times in the past. Aside, the town of Coloma CA, Coloma State Park, James Marshall's Monument, dipping my toes in the American River, and all the buildings truly emulate the Wild, Wild 1848's Gold Rush Hey Day which is quite the juxtaposition from modern-day City Of Placerville CA located just eight miles down the road from Coloma CA due South via Highway 49.

This was such a great stop on our camping trip. The local history is interesting the local cafe was…read moreamazing and learning a little bit about the area was fun. Def recommend. Parking is $10

Jack is amazing and really knows his history of EDC. We did the Cemetery Tour and were blown away…read moreby all the activity and communication with spirits we had. What an experience and cannot wait to return to visit again and try his other tours . Loved it !

Jack is very knowledgeable about the towns history. I am a local and did not know the whole history…read moreof the town. Jack was informative and very knowledgeable. I will definitely be going on more moonlight tours .

Very enjoyable tour. Definitely on the short side (45 mins.) because I wanted to see more! It got a…read morelittle tight in spots but that made it more adventurous. Our guide Addison "Addie" was very knowledgeable and funny. Glad I finally saw it after many years of living in the area. Highly recommend!

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!

I had family coming into town, and wanted to give them a fun experience in Sacramento. My nieces…read more(13, 11, 8) were a great age for this...and as a bonus, the two oldest had just studied the gold rush in school. We scheduled a private tour (VERY reasonably priced, $100 for a group up to 5 and then $17 for each person after that). Our tour guide, Rich, was very passionate about gold mining, and was entertaining for the adults and the kids. In a little over 2 hours, we had his complete attention for historical information and ask any questions we wanted, and were able to tour two mines, get lots and lots of history behind it (there were so many little tidbits learned it was pretty awesome!) and then we got a lesson on how to "pan for gold" and keep what we found. The tour includes that everyone will get gold (flakes) and possibly gemstones (we found peridot, garnet, something that looked like emerald but I can't remember what he called it, if not emerald, and quartz). Everyone left with a 1/2 ounce vile of their findings--and the kids were beyond excited about that. My 2 year old didn't have to pay, but Rich even got a pan out for her and she was able to take away her own treasure from the tour. During the tour, Rich also let the kids get interactive and do some hammering, and also pushing of the cart - pretty awesome. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this tour! You can go tour the park without a private tour, but Rich made our experience so wonderful, everyone was raving about how much fun we had and how interesting it was in the car on the way home. My family is new to California, we have been here a year, and I felt so pleased to have found this park, and be able to share this experience with my family visiting from the midwest. I have another family member coming next month and am considering taking the tour again! Thanks for a fantastic morning, Rich!

Super informative little museum with the sweetest little old lady working in there…read more Lots of cool old artifacts from the mining days and cool pictures. We learned a thing or two :)

Take the historical walk through downtown placerville. We had such a nice time at the museum and…read morewas so inspired that we joined the society.

My friend and I stopped here for a ride in a kayak for an hour. Neither of us have ever done that…read morebefore so we figured it would be something fun to do. The verdict? It was a lot of fun. Relaxing, relatively easy, and a decent early morning workout. The lady at the counter was amazing. Great customer service and a joy to talk to. We definitely plan to come back next time we come out and likely might even charter a boat for fishing or something.

Absolutely incredible experience with Capitan Andrew! He…read morewas so knowledgeable, his expertise really shined throughout! Laid back & friendly attitude. We caught the limit in less than 2 hours. He ensured helping us make memories & was a great photographer capturing all our moments. Can't recommend him enough! If you're looking for a charter to have the best experience, Captain Andrew is your guy!

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!

Mt. Murphy Road Bridge - narrow bridge located at the Coloma Historical town. Watch out for cars…read morewhen you're at the bridge, The view from the bridge is stunning.

This historic one lane truss bridge was built in 1915 and is located in Coloma - Lotus, Eldorado…read moreCounty, California. It crosses over the South Fork of the American River, connecting Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park with Mount Murphy. Many bridges have come and gone at this location. The first foot bridge was built by Jim Stephens in 1849. A short time later Edward Raun constructed a wagon bridge. In 1852 California's first covered bridge was built at the site of the current structure. I was sad to learn that current studies of the bridge found the bridge to be structurally deficient and beyond repair. Plans to build a new bridge are in the works. I feel blessed to have walked across this bridge with my bestie today. It may be our one and only time ! Thanks for reading ! Live/Love/Travel !