• Leave Chico on Highway 99 South
• Take Highway 149 to Highway 70
• Take Highway 70 to Woodruff Lane
• Turn left onto Woodruff and continue on as it turns into Highway 20 (there will be a little jog at Browns Valley Road)
• Arrive at Grass Valley



Search Browse all properties

• From Grass Valley, take Highway 20 to Highway 49
• Arrive at Auburn


• From Auburn, take Lincoln Way to pick up Highway 49/193
• Arrive Coloma/Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park


• From Coloma, get back on Highway 49
• Arrive Placerville



To make a quicker trip of getting home:

• Take Highway 50 out of Placerville
• Take Highway 5 out of Sacramento and either Highway 99 or Highway 70 back to Chico - and welcome home!

• Stroll the Historic Downtown to get a flavor of the Grass Valley of the 1800s; Victorian homes, the Holbrooke Hotel, the Oberon, the Grass Valley Museum
• Browse the shops
• Have a pastie at Cousin Jack's
• Explore Empire Mine State Historic Park

1. Take a detour to the tiny community of Rough and Ready on your way to Grass Valley - it's not very big, but it dates back to 1849. It was the only mining town to have seceded from the United States (although it voted itself back in a few months later), and the drive is lovely
2. Before heading out for Auburn, follow Highway 20 up to Nevada City for more Gold Rush Era history in the form of historic buildings like the Nevada Theater, Firehouse No. 1, the National Hotel, and the Narrow Gage RR Museum
3. Stay at one of these historic hotels: the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley or the National in Nevada City

• Take a self-guided historic walking tour of Auburn's Old Town
• Browse the shops
• Don't miss the Bernhard House Museum Complex (originally the Traveler's Rest stage stop) and the Courthouse Museum
• Have lunch at Bootleggers Old Town Tavern and Grill - we did and loved their small plates!

1. Spend a day exploring the American River
2. Pan for gold
3. Take in an old fashioned melodrama at the Olde Coloma Theater, complete with hissing, booing, and throwing popcorn at the actors

• Explore Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park for historic buildings from the 1840s, and a replica of Sutter's Mill
• Browse the Gold Discovery Museum for dioramas and exhibits showcasing the area's history
• Shop for a souvenir or items for your picnic lunch at one of the local shops in this very much still alive little town
• Pan for gold in the American River just as the Argonauts did
• Participate in any of the various interpretive programs held throughout the year

• Tour Placerville's version of Old Town, including Gold Rush homes from the 1850s and turn-of-the-century Victorians, and the oldest hardware store west of the Mississippi
• Visit Gold Bug Park and Mine (as in "He's caught the Gold Bug!")
• Explore the El Dorado County Historical Museum and find out why Placerville has had so many different names
• Visit the Hangman's Tree Tavern, the Pony Express marker, and the Snowshoe Thompson marker

1. Visit Apple Hill - it's nothing to do with the Gold Rush, but this is a wonderful way to spend some time, especially in the Fall
2. Stay at the historic Cary House Hotel

Big Sur to Salinas
County seat of Monterey County, birthplace of John Steinbeck, Salinas still hasn't received much respect. But, as you'll see from this Big Sur day trip, Salinas is worthy of another look!

Chico to Sutter Buttes
Looking for an interesting Day Trip you can take from Chico, CA? Try Chico to Sutter Buttes! Drive or bike the circumference, or arrange for a guided hike! Either way the Buttes are amazing!

Sonoma to Glen Ellen and Jack London SHP
You don’t have to give up your Sonoma wine to go on this Sonoma to Glen Ellen to Jack London SHP – enjoy the sights, the wineries, & the beauty of Jack London’s final home.