Golden Chain Highway

在萨克拉门托东北60英里处，这个森林环绕的小村庄拥有漂亮的维多利亚时代房屋和绿树成荫的街道，是黄金之乡最美丽的城镇之一. Originally settled in 1849 as a mining camp, Nevada City features a well-preserved core of historic buildings, 包括加州最古老的运营结构，最初是为表演而建的, the 1865 Nevada Theatre从马克·吐温到Mötley克雷. Just around the corner, on Main Street, 一座带有维多利亚姜饼造型的钟楼消防站是一座紧凑的历史博物馆的所在地，在那里，尼塞南印第安人制作的复杂的烹饪篮子与早期居民和中国拓荒者的手工艺品一起展出. 带有木制阳台的19世纪完美建筑如今成了餐馆的所在地, gift shops (look for nature-lover treasures at The Earth Store), wine-tasting rooms, and antiques shops.

Download a self-guided walking tour from the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce.

Get a one-two punch of experiences with a visit to Grass Valley’s remarkable Empire Mine State Historic Park. At the visitor center, learn about one of California’s oldest, largest, deepest, longest, and richest gold mines. In the course of a century, 5.6 million ounces of gold were mined. To get a sense of the size of the mine, 请看这个代表五平方英里矿区网络的比例模型, 然后走到外面，来到真正的竖井入口，一瞥长达367英里的惊人地下迷宫.

去游览伯恩小屋，从精神上和身体上换挡, a magnificent country estate, 不惜重金仿照19世纪英国的贵族庄园建造了一座两层的石头城堡, comes complete with redwood interiors, and leaded-glass windows.

Guided tours are offered May through September.

Auburn has plenty to enjoy—Gold Rush history, great food and wine, 户外运动——号称是世界上最具挑战性的耐力运动项目的举办地, 比如著名的100英里西部州耐力赛. The area also draws mountain bikers, hikers, and horseback riders, all taking advantage of trails lacing the Auburn State Recreation Area, 它保护了美国河的北叉和中叉的汇合处(两个受欢迎的激流漂流目的地).)

随着越来越多的葡萄酒商加入“淘金潮”——当地的一种说法 Placer County在附近的品酒室放松的机会也越来越多, 倒酒的人往往也是酿酒师. Good wines attract good restaurants, and Auburn’s Old Town is lined with them. Art galleries and antique shops abound. And get your citrus fix at the annual Mountain Mandarin Festival该活动于秋末在奥本的黄金乡村游乐场举行.

在蜿蜒的49号高速公路上行驶 Auburn and Placerville, 很难相信这个地区是加州历史上最重要事件之一的蓬勃发展的中心. 在这里，融雪形成的美国河的一段河段，从永不停歇的小镇 Coloma, 一位名叫詹姆斯·马歇尔的锯木厂员工首先在河流的淤泥中发现了这种贵金属的闪光. The 1849 Gold Rush was on.

Coloma mushroomed into a town with some 10,000 people, and up went a schoolhouse, a general store, and a tin-roofed post office. 这些和其他的历史建筑现在作为一部分受到保护 Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. There’s an interesting Gold Discovery Museum, and kids can give gold-panning a try. 沿着河边绿树成荫的小径，找到一个阴凉的野餐地点.

西部最受欢迎的激流漂流河 American River tumbles through Gold Country, an inviting jumble of churning rapids, deep pools, and tumbling cascades. 而旧采矿设备的残余物仍然在河中或河附近冒出来, 对黄金的追逐基本上已经被对肾上腺素的追逐所取代. 美国人的三把叉子都有自己独特的水的乐趣, 户外用品商提供各种服务，从适合家庭的半日花车到令人紧张的多日冒险.

南福克是最受欢迎的，它的II-III级激流非常适合家庭和第一次来的人.

虽然一日游总是很热闹——尤其是在炎热的夏天，椽子之间善意的水仗会频繁爆发——但没有什么比在河边过夜更好的了, 夜幕降临，鳟鱼在银色的水面上游动，星星点缀着夜空. 一些户外用品商全力以赴创造独特的度假方式; O.A.R.S. 在一些过夜旅行中提供精酿啤酒品尝.

California produces 81 percent of U.S. wine, 因此，在整个州有几十个引人注目的葡萄酒目的地也就不足为奇了. A number of Amador County wineries near Plymouth 自19世纪50年代以来，你一直在质朴的葡萄酒之乡酿造屡获殊荣的葡萄酒吗. 品酒室和餐厅的爆炸式增长为黄金之乡的山麓增添了一股以葡萄为燃料的活力, where wineries, many of them family owned and operated, now produce a wide range of varietals, most notably Zinfandel. To sample the new boom, head to Plymouth for stylish tasting rooms and sleek restaurants like Taste.

Columbia State Historic Park presents the Gold Rush in living, breathing color. Costumed docents do more than lead tours of this carefully preserved Mother Lode town; they actually live and work here in a variety of period-appropriate shops and trades. Catch a ride on an authentic stagecoach, order a cold, locally made sarsaparilla in a Western-style saloon, or feel the heat in a working blacksmith's forge. 这里还有富国银行(Wells Fargo)的快递办公室，以及加州早期采矿时代的其他遗迹. 这个小镇听起来甚至很真实——这里不允许有汽车，尽管你会听到马蹄声.

Free historical tours  depart from the museum weekends at 11 a.m. (weekdays too, mid-June until Labor Day). Gold Rush Days take place on 2nd Saturday afternoons; costumed docents lead hands-on crafts and special tours, and kids can try their hand at gold-panning. 夏天会很热，周末会很拥挤，所以如果可以的话，争取在工作日的清晨上班.