California Getaways - Where to Go Around Sacramento

I had the excellent stroke of luck to receive an article from Christopher Pyle, a Californian raft guide. He’s put together an excellent article about local getaways for the summer.

Affordable Vacations with Something to Crow About

Summer is nearer and for many of us, this means some time off: time off from packing lunches for the kids, time off of work, time off of carpool or simply some time off from the daily grind that is our routine.

Isn’t it always so that we forget how incredible the place we live? To remember can remind us not to take for granted those who support and love us; too often, we can take them for granted as well.

From the oldest standing redwood grove, to massive ports of call, to one of the deepest lakes in the world, some of the best rivers to be rafted and surf to be rip-curled, California is as good as it gets and tens of thousands of people flock to its land yearly.

Here are some adventures you can have in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.

We’ll start with the area responsible for the Gold Rush, The Coloma / Lotus American River Valley.

El Dorado County is host to the American River Valley and Coloma, it’s only 2-hours from the San Francisco Bay Area, 1-hour from South Lake Tahoe and thus has some excellent vacation choices. This is a good choice for a cost friendly break from the daily grind and one that offers a bounty of vacation options. Within a reasonable drive from anywhere in the State, this is a solid option rich in US history as well.

The History:

As noted on the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park website -James W. Marshall discovered gold in 1848 on the South Fork of the American River in the valley the Nisenan Indians knew as Cullumah. This event led to the greatest mass movement of people in the Western Hemisphere and was the spark that ignited the spectacular growth of the West during the ensuing decades. The gold discovery site, located in the still visible tailrace of Sutter’s sawmill, in present day Coloma California, is one of the most significant historic sites in the nation.

It seems true that we have a tendency to not see that which is part of our everyday and thus so many Californians are missing the great offerings of their State. The very Gold Rush you studied, the very Gold Rush all Americans have to study, took place right here. The State Park is one of the most heavily visited in all the United States. The Park is replete with historic items on display, buildings still stand from the era, including a jail cell, a replica of the mill, a few building are still employed that were part of the town during it’s boom time, etc.

Before you make your way to Coloma and the Gold Rush site, you have a decisions to make. Are you making a day of this? Is it just you and the family coming into town for a little history and picnic on the banks of the South Fork of the American River or are you planning a big family get together, reunion style, and you’re planning to employ some of the built in barbeques they have available for your use. Is the family going to stay a day or multiple days?

Lodging includes campgrounds, such as Camp Lotus or American River Resort, an RV park called Ponderosa Park (please call them as they have membership requirements I’m not familiar), a local historic Hotel, The Sierra Nevada House and bed and breakfast opportunities such as The Albert Shafsky House in Placerville. After you’ve decided how you’ll settle in at night, there are a variety of daily excursions you could look into: hot air ballooning, whitewater rafting and even excellent wine tasting!

South East El Dorado County is recognized by the Viticulture Society as some of the best land for specific wine-grape varietals. Thus, some of the best wineries can be visited and tasted while you’re right here. Personal favorites are Oakstone and Windwalker wineries both in Fairplay!

Nothing wrong with enjoying the spirits of wine tasting and relaxing into the warm; however, if you want to mix it up, check out rafting. It’s a great adventure for most age ranges and fitness levels. The local river offers great excitement for a seasoned adventurist but is not so intense beginners cannot venture onto a raft. The American River is one of the most rafted rivers in all the United States, and it’s ability to accommodate such a wide variety of guests is a big reason why.

You’ll definitely have your choice when it comes to a rafting outfitter, there are some 33-companies on the river. The best way to chose which is right for you is to go with the one you feel most comfortable with when you book. There are differences between the companies but the environment is so competitive they all have to mind themselves pretty well.

You really shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to raft. The majesty of the river canyon is cathartic in so many ways. Since there are so many things to do in the area, if you do come on a large family outing, there are plenty of things to do for those that absolutely won’t raft.

Ever wonder what the oldest hardware store in the west looks like? Or perhaps you’re into newspapers and you’ve long pondered where the home of the oldest western newspaper is. Well, wonder no more, visit historic Hangtown, now known as Placerville. The main street is lined with shops, eateries and real life local businesses.

Stretch yourself a bit more by driving up to South Lake Tahoe and visit the beautiful lake, play a few games, hike through Desolation Wilderness.

Perhaps wed all love to cruise the Mediterranean for a few weeks but its simply not in our cards right now. You can head to the foothills of Northern California from anywhere in the State and be there within a days drive. Once here, with some simple planning, you can have as fulfilling and diverse holiday as nearly anywhere in the world. Tens of thousands of people a year come to visit, shouldn’t you?

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Christopher Pyle is the owner of Action Whitewater, long a river lover, Christopher has been commercially guiding for 24-years and has grown up in El Dorado County. Since 1989 Action Whitewater Adventures has offered quality rafting on the on the South and Middle Forks of the American River. Curious, want to see rafting video, then please, click on over to our home on the web.

Thanks for that excellent Californian tour, Christopher! See what you have to look forward to in Sacramento?

If you’re planning to move to the Sacramento area, you should drop us a line and we’ll put you in touch with the best mortgage brokers in the area.

Thinking About Moving to Sacramento? Don’t Miss These Highlights…

For those of you unfamiliar with the beautiful Sacramento area, we’re featuring a little tourist information for your enjoyment. We asked American historian Priscilla Faith Rhodes to write this guest post. Enjoy!

Discover Sacramento, California - Regional Tour Highlights

Sacramento, California’s beautiful capital city at the junction of the American and Sacramento Rivers is disarmingly deceptive. Tranquil boulevards lined with gracious Victorian homes shaded by leafy old trees, charming neighborhoods, and river parks mask a mercantile metropolis and political hotbed that thrive below the surface. The capital city of the largest state in the union, by population, and the third largest state by area, Sacramento is like a sweet-tempered, smartly dressed matriarch of undisclosed wealth and power.

Things to See in Sacramento

• California State Capitol

The California State Capitol was constructed and furnished between 1860 and 1874 during a period of US cultural history known as the American Renaissance, a time when artists, artisans, architects, craftsmen, and philanthropists set out to equal or exceed the greatest achievements of preceding civilizations. Its pristine white architecture looks like something straight out of the Holy Roman Empire. Eight Roman Corinthian columns on the front portico lead the eye to the elaborate rooftop sculptures, beyond the shining copper dome punctuated by a glittering 30 inch gold ball set against a clear, Sacramento sky.

Inside, are beautifully restored massive wooden doors, magnificently carved stairways and a fabulous Carrara marble statue of Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus. Other features include a circular room of murals depicting early California life, and furnished rooms of the restored turn-of-the-century Governor’s office, Secretary of State’s office, and Treasurer’s office. The Secretary of State’s office has old files stacked up and tied in red ribbon, showing the origins of the governmental term “Red Tape.” The Senate is decorated in red as in the British House of Lords, while the Assembly is green, as in the House of Commons, and both chairs for each head of the chambers are symbolic of the British monarchy—themes borrowed from the British Parliament from which the United States bases its two-house system.

Tip: Grab a meal at the statehouse restaurant located in the basement. Warm red brick walls, arches and the cool cellar atmosphere give the ambience of an Italian grotto. Note the walls and arches made from old bricks retrieved during the massive 1970s restoration when the building was, as the
tour guide says, “carved out like a melon,” then recreated to its original beauty, based on old photos and furnishings found in storage. Notice the old pictures on the restaurant walls, particularly the photo of the “Insectuary,” a building dedicated to “breeding beneficial insects” affectionately called the “Bug House.”

Check it out . . . Take a walk through the 40-acre Capitol Park and enjoy the sweet scent of rose gardens and over 400 exotic plants and trees from all over the world. Two intriguing 20th century war memorials are also on the grounds. The Vietnam War Memorial has many sculptures of men in battle, and a rare sculpture of POW’s. The plaque reads: “To the memory of those who died or remain
missing.”

• Old Sacramento

Old Sacramento is an old Western town encompassing ten blocks with two main streets flanked by wood plank sidewalks. Plenty of side streets loaded with two- and three-story picturesque buildings from the Gold Rush days make a fascinating walking tour. Listen to echo of shoe heels clapping along the wooden sidewalks, as pedestrians stroll past shops and restaurants that once housed rowdy barrooms and gambling halls during the heyday of the 1849 Gold Rush. Today the smell of grilled steaks and homemade candy fills the air, competing with the sounds of nearby trains and laughing children carrying gigantic pinwheel lollipops of rainbow hues. The restored 1876 Central Pacific Railroad Station is in the center of town and the California State Railroad Museum nearby houses
more than 20 restored locomotives and passenger cars.

• Downtown Plaza

A pedestrian tunnel from Old Sacramento leads visitors to Downtown Plaza, a modern mall complex with an open-air market, a megaplex cinema, specialty stores, clothing stores, ethnic restaurants and minstrels from all walks of life: peripatetic musicians, jugglers, mimes and other street performers entertain shoppers and diners. A recently restored Art Deco vaudeville theater several blocks east
shows independent and foreign films.

• Sutter’s Fort State Park

In 1839 while California was still under the Mexican flag, Captain John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant received a 50,000-acre land grant at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers. Nine years later, while building a sawmill, Sutter’s partner, John Marshall, saw gold shining through the river. Walking back to his workmen, he remarked, in possibly the understatement of the century, “Boys, I believe I found a gold mine.” But when Sutter heard the report, he feared ruination for his mill businesses. His fears were not unfounded. The scent of easy money attracted thousands of desperate people who flooded the new American territory, launching one of the greatest gold rushes in history, and establishing a new city, Sacramento, to serve the influx of prospectors. As Sutter suspected, mill workers deserted their jobs in search of gold, while invading goldseekers tore Sutter’s fences to build ramshackle housing on his land. Both Sutter and Marshall died penniless. Sutter later wrote, “By the sudden discovery of gold, all my great plans were destroyed . . . I should have been the richest citizen on the Pacific . . . Instead of being rich, I am ruined.”

The state park is the site of the first white settlerment in this region. An 1839 adobe structure, faithfully reconstructed, now houses mementoes from the pioneer period and the Gold Rush era. (The original gold nugget Marshall found is now at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.)

California State Tourist Info: (800) 862-2543

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Priscilla Faith Rhodes is the author of DISCOVER AMERICA DIARIES: 50 STATES, 50 STATES OF MIND, and co-publisher of the award-winning website, Postcards from America, http://www.postcardsfrom.com, a edu-travel site that helps students and families learn about America through postcards.

Thanks for sharing that excellent background on our beautiful city, Priscilla!

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