By Twain Harte standards, this is a great park! The play structure/tot lot is decent sized, and…read morenever overly crowded. There's a skate park across the parking lot. The brick & mortar bathrooms are usually clean-ish. There's always space in the parking lot. They have a concrete ping-pong table, and sometimes people leave paddles and balls to use. I've never seen it patrolled by police, but it feels family friendly without a lot of riffraff hanging about. We enjoy coming here. :)

Love our Park, clean nice equipment. Great place to spend the day with your kids. Love all the…read moreevents they have all summer long. Nice bathrooms. Beautiful location.

AVOID this small manmade dirty "lake"- esp if you're a POC outsider. The locals and staff were…read morepretty rude and not hospitable to "outsiders". The Locals next to us reported our 8' umbrella to staff. (Tattle). Staff demanded we take the umbrella down, due to not "standard" size. (Define "standard"?) Pretty humiliating and darn hot in 90+ temps. They really don't care that you paid $100 total or $10 pp admission for 10 people, and have no shade in the heat. Even if one friend has a heart condition fr. Heatstroke? We were just so miserable that we left after 1-2 hrs. Yes, Rules are rules. Except for the white kids using the OVERSIZED unicorn floatie. Double standards much? Also, No fishing that day. Lake did not stock fish we learned when we got there. So kids were unable to use their fishing poles, like the umbrella. Does the lake post fishing updates on their website? . Disappointing lake visit all around. not friendly to outsiders. imo. Maybe the 5 star reviews are from locals.

The beach is in fact a narrow strip of sand between the water and trees. This leaves you in…read moreuncomfortably close proximity to the unwelcoming and entrenched locals. If you are into renting lake houses, consider another lake.

Utica is a gem of a community park in Angels Camp, CA. It's built on the site of the Utica Quartz…read moreGold Mine that operated from 1850s to WW I. In the early 1930s, the townsfolk got together to turn the old site into a community park. It's a lively gathering spot hosting the seasonal farmers market and special events. Local folks can rent the pavilion picnic are and kitchen. I love this park. But there is even more to love about this park after the recent major renovations. The entire park was closed for a few years. It opened up again last summer. It's all spiffed up. The bathrooms are now ADA compliant and the newer paved walkways are as well. The children's play area has a newer modern, safer equipment with bounce play mat and playground chips. The play area is gated which is helpful to corral the kiddos. Even adults get a play area, well it's a covered area with exercise equipment for circuit training. There is a new covered pavilion with picnic tables and bbq grills, this area can be used by reservation only. Right next to the pavilion is a new commercial grade kitchen that can be reserved along with the pavilion. In the other side of the parking lot is a basketball court (which is not new) but the three pickleball court lines are new. Next to the basketball court is an outdoor covered amphitheater stage with a natural grassy sloped lawn. This is where they have live music every Friday evening during the farmers market season. Along the far end of the park are gravel walking paths. The path has a incline and elevated at a higher level than the rest of the park. Along the path are the old mining equipment dating back to the 1800s. Neat. Also there is a memorial from the high school class of 1961 dedicated to local soldiers fallen in the Vietnam War. The machinery and memorial were previous items before the recent renovation. Another memorial is located near the playground. That memorial i no s dedicated to the 17 men that lost their lives in the 1889 Utica mining disaster. An internal avalanche occurred within the mine. As tragic as it was, more men were not hurt due to the fact they were not working full staff at the time due to doing internal structural timber improvements. The old growth sequoia trees in the middle of the grassy lawn area are a site to behold. Classic old growth beauties well maintained providing cool shade. Don't forget to check out the Mark Twain statue on the grassy lawn. If you didn't know, Mark Twain lived in the area in the late 1800s for a brief period and heard bar stories that help him create the short story of the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. The statue is life size and was dedicated in 1944 by the Warner brothers film studio for the film premiere of the Adventures of Mark Twain. In 1957, the statue was vandalized with three frogs removed. Rumor has it that it was removed by a biker (motorcycle) gang. But recently the statue was refurbished, adding back the frogs.

Really pleasant, recently renovated neighborhood park! We walked here but there seems to be plenty…read moreof parking, updated restroom facilities, picnic tables, play structures, as well as grassy fields for sitting or playing. Loved the variety of play structures for kids (and adults) of all ages, including chime-based structures to hit with a mallet, a carousel, swings, slides and exercise activities for adults too. Everything seemed in good condition, clean, and safe.

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."

I had a wonderful hike with the family on Friday after Thanksgiving to work off all the eating…read morewhile feeding our other senses. The Fall foliage colors were in full splendor as we breathed in the fresh air at 5000 ft elevation in the Sierra Nevada mountain, and we smiled to ourselves as we heard sounds on crunchy leaves below our feet.   The Main Tuolumne Canal was originally built to supply water to the gold miners many years ago. Now is still used to supply water to local communities around the area.    Copied from sonoracentral website - The first section of the Main Tuolumne Ditch Trail, Twain Harte to Lyons, is very scenic. It is a five mile one-way hike with a 300-foot elevation gain overall. The trail is mostly dirt single track with eight or so wooden flumes ranging from several yards to one mile in length. These flumes have 2 x 12″ planks in place for maintenance workers so you can use these planks to traverse the flumes but if you are the least bit afraid of heights I would recommend you walk around them. The best way to do this hike is to park at the old Sierra Pines Golf Course parking area and head northeast towards Lyons. In this direction the last mile or so before you get to the dam is all flume so, if you are squeamish with heights do not do this section.

Everything about this walk, hike, views, sounds, was worth every moment of the visit. We had recent…read moreviewed this from someone else's Facebook post and decided it was part of our summer vibes. This was well worth it. FREE access, views, nature sounds, fishing. What more could you ask for. Pack your own snack or lunch even if you wanted too. You won't many benches to sit along the way, but hey, why not utilize one of the many massive tree trunks that were just cut up on the side of the trail. If you have any type of water shoes, bring those alongside your walking shoes. During our visit we did about a good 4 miles of trail visit. The road entering into the location is very narrow, and almost like a one vehicle a time passing.We would DEFINITELY see ourselves visiting here again. No IF, ANDs or BUTS about it.

Minnie Provis Park is a 2.5 acre community park in Sutter Creek, CA. It is in the downtown area. I…read morestumbled upon this while looking for public parking lot. I found two parking lots and side street parking off Church Street and Old Route 49. But lets talk about the park. Community gem. The park has a little league ball park, green grass, children's play area (which face Church Street), and creek access with picnic tables and bbqs. The parking lot behind City Hall is next to the creek access and has public restrooms. The creek access is neat. There is a pedestrian walking bridge that leads towards Eureka Street. Right now the water levels are flowing slightly more than a trickle. Folks (well mainly kiddos throwing caution to the wind) were wading into the pebbly creek bed in the ankle deep water. The water levels will drop more as we progress into summer. Just throwing that out there because this is not a swimming or sunbathing spot.

Sweet little park in Sutter creek. Just loved that there were tables in the shade where littles…read morecould play , dogs take a rest and coffee near by in quaint Sutter creek. Clean! Ez parking and perfect for an hour get together on a no ball games day

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"

Rainbow Falls is a must do if you're in the area! We also stopped at Devils Postpile, and it was…read moredefinitely worth seeing while you're there :) Make sure to bring plenty of water, wear comfortable shoes, and be ready for the hike down to the actual waterfall once you get to the top, you'll go down to the actual water. The hike back up is a bit of a workout, but it's 100% worth it. The views are beautiful! The water is chilly, but we got getting in. Such a fun experience, and one of our favorite stops on the trip!

Pro tip: Take the shuttle (approximately $15 per person round-trip). You take it from the Main…read moreLodge and they run every 20-30mins from 7amish to 730pmish (as of Aug 2025). You want to get off at Red's Meadow and hike to the falls. It's easy-easy/moderate and is the shortest distance to the falls. Do not take it from Devil's Postpile because it will add 1.5 miles of open sun hike to the falls. Once there, reward yourself with glass of wine and lunch. The water is cool to cold (depending on the time of year) and refreshing. Highly recommended

Really cool old building in the center of a classic small California town. Hidden in the mountains…read moreaway from the bulk of Bay Area traffic the residents of Tuolumne get to enjoy a somewhat secluded life from the hustle of busy cali life. A large grass area and town park across the street make plenty of room for the kids to spread out.

Park & Rec department leaving early apparently. Time said 1600 closing time. Called at 1535 to let…read morethem know water fountain in the kid park was running non-stop. Called several times, went to office. Nothing, no one. Unsatisfactory