CALIFORNIA--Visitors will flock to the California Gold Country to discover an area rich with history. California's lively beginnings can still be seen first hand in the ten counties that make up the Gold Country. All are within a short drive from both the San Francisco and Sacramento International airports where all major rental car companies are within easy reach, all can readily accommodate large groups, and all are accessible by motorcoach.

The early settlers of California came in search of one thing: GOLD! After James Marshall discovered the first gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in El Dorado County in 1848, an amazing migration began. By 1849 people were coming from everywhere in search of quick riches and prosperity, settling the Gold Country, and creating a period in history like no other. Today, visitors can see these actual places as modern witnesses to the famous "California Gold Rush."

Visitors will delight in creating an exciting vacation filled with historic places when they visit the Gold Country. The area is literally brimming with State Historic Parks, like Marshall's Gold Discovery State Historic Park and Columbia State Historic Park. Museums are abundant, and give interested visitors a peek back 150 years into the days of the Gold Rush through historic pictures, actual mining equipment, and large gold nuggets on display.

Even the towns in California's Gold Country offer something special to those in search of the state's famous beginnings. Most of the towns began as small mining camps that catered to the needs of the 49er's. Today, many of these same towns have been restored and the original buildings still stand. For those who are interested in seeing the process by which the areas riches were actually extracted from the earth, tours of early hard rock gold mines are available all throughout the area.

Visitors will feel as if they are stepping back into the past when they discover the Gold Country's historic museums, state parks, walking tours, scenic drives, gold panning lessons, mine tours, and the list goes on and on. Visitors to this area will find the "Golden Mother Lode" of California history.