11 Activities
Explore California Gold Country in a Two-Day Trip from San Francisco
Starts from
San Francisco
Transportation
By Car
Guidance
Self-Guided
Activities
11
Duration
2 days
Length
283 mi
Guide details
Starts from
San Francisco
Transportation
By Car
Guidance
Self-Guided
Duration
2 days
Length
283 mi
Christina Mueller
Travel Expert
- Pan for gold in a preserved Gold Rush town.
- Tour Sutter's Fort and learn about the discovery of gold nearby.
- Stroll a beautiful rose garden at the state capitol before having dinner at one of Sacramento's best restaurants.
It is impossible to spend time in Northern California without learning about some aspect of the Gold Rush and its impacts on the area. The wealth brought from the hills of the Sierras to San Francisco lead to the explosion of services: mining companies, bankers, and home builders, plus the charlatans and odd characters who followed the money. This itinerary takes you to the heart of Gold Country, known as the Mother Lode, for the wide seam of earth that pushed gold in abundance close to the surface.
On this two-day trip, we dig into this piece of California's history. The focus is on Columbia, a business district built at the peak of the Rush and preserved as a state historic park by Governor Earl Warren in 1945. Day One will focus its time in and around the park. On Day Two, you will move on to Sacramento, an important fort and stage coach stop before and during the Rush. Gold was first discovered nearby.
On this two-day trip, we dig into this piece of California's history. The focus is on Columbia, a business district built at the peak of the Rush and preserved as a state historic park by Governor Earl Warren in 1945. Day One will focus its time in and around the park. On Day Two, you will move on to Sacramento, an important fort and stage coach stop before and during the Rush. Gold was first discovered nearby.
Categories
It is impossible to spend time in Northern California without learning about some aspect of the Gold Rush and its impacts on the area. The wealth brought from the hills of the Sierras to San Francisco lead to the explosion of services: mining companies, bankers, and home builders, plus the charlatans and odd characters who followed the money. This itinerary takes you to the heart of Gold Country, known as the Mother Lode, for the wide seam of earth that pushed gold in abundance close to the surface.
On this two-day trip, we dig into this piece of California's history. The focus is on Columbia, a business district built at the peak of the Rush and preserved as a state historic park by Governor Earl Warren in 1945. Day One will focus its time in and around the park. On Day Two, you will move on to Sacramento, an important fort and stage coach stop before and during the Rush. Gold was first discovered nearby.
On this two-day trip, we dig into this piece of California's history. The focus is on Columbia, a business district built at the peak of the Rush and preserved as a state historic park by Governor Earl Warren in 1945. Day One will focus its time in and around the park. On Day Two, you will move on to Sacramento, an important fort and stage coach stop before and during the Rush. Gold was first discovered nearby.
Christina Mueller
Travel Expert
- Pan for gold in a preserved Gold Rush town.
- Tour Sutter's Fort and learn about the discovery of gold nearby.
- Stroll a beautiful rose garden at the state capitol before having dinner at one of Sacramento's best restaurants.
Travel itinerary
5 Activities
Day 1
153 mi
From San Francisco to the Mother Lode and Sacramento
On this two-day trip, you dig into California's Gold Rush history. Today, you will focus on Columbia State Historic Park, a preserved Gold Rush town that enables visitors to step back in time and possibly even find some gold.
20:30
6 Activities
Day 2
130 mi
Sutter's Mill, Sutter's Fort, and Sacramento
Johann Augustus Sutter's land is where gold was first discovered and the man's name is everywhere on today's journey, which takes you to Sutter's Mill, Sutter's Fort, and downtown Sacramento before heading back to San Francisco.
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