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E X P L O R E

YOSEMITE

& GOLD COUNTRY

TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDETHE TUOLUMNE COUNTY VISITORS BUREAU • yosemitegoldcountry.com

PHOTO CREDIT: LAURIE CARSON

WILD & MILD ADVENTURESAir Conditioned

VISIT COLUMBIA • SONORA • JAMESTOWN

TROLLEY RUNS WEEKENDS THRU LABOR DAYALL DAY PASS/$4.00SINGLE RIDE/$1.5012 & Under RIDE FREE

when accompanied by adultDIAL-A-RIDE SERVICE TO THE TROLLEY

209-532-0404

Visit www.historic49trolleyservice.com for schedule and details

Trolley Service

PRESENTS

TUOLUMNE COUNTY TRANSIT

Yosemite NATIONAL PARKService from Sonora/Jamestown • Groveland/Yosemite Pines

Smith Station/Buck Meadows Thousand Trails/Big Oak Flat • Crane Flat YARTS.COM • 877.989.2787

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E X P L O R E TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDETHE TUOLUMNE COUNTY VISITORS BUREAU • yosemitegoldcountry.com

No matter what your favorite season is, Tuolumne County

has everything you need to expe-rience the vacation of a lifetime and create everlasting memories! From calm and mild – to wild and spicy, extreme relaxation or adventure begins here! We’ve put together a few detailed Sample Itineraries to help you plan your visit to this amazing county!

3-Day ItineraryYosemite & Gold Coun-try

Here is a great itinerary for a 3-Day Yosemite, Gold Country His-tory & High Country Tour:

Day 1The Yosemite Experience

Visit the Yosemite Gateway Museum in Groveland, see

a spectacular display of the Mi Wok Indian culture, and then continue to the park.

Spend the entire day in awe-

inspiring Yosemite. Use the free trams, shuttle buses, or your car to enjoy the breathtaking splendor of the valley and the diverse wildlife habitat. Climb the world famous El Capitan or Half Dome, hike the same trails as pioneer John Muir, go bike riding, horseback riding, or experience our magni�cent rivers on a peaceful �oat down the Merced River or up to class �ve rapids on the “Wild and Sce-nic” Tuolumne River.

Have a casual or formal lunch in Yosemite Valley. After an un-forgettable day in Yosemite, return to the Highway 120 Corridor and spend the night near the entrance of the park near the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir or in Groveland at a

beautiful, charming historic hotel.No matter where you choose to stay,

a superb dining experience awaits you. After dinner, experience the unique ambiance of the oldest operating saloon in California, the Iron Door.

Day 2True California History

Stop in Jamestown and take a ride through the foot-hills on an authentic old steam train and tour Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and its working Round-house (AKA the movie railroad).

Next stop, Wood’s Creek. Learn to “pan for gold” just as the 49’er miners did.

Have lunch at an

array of popular restaurants in historic downtown Jamestown or Sonora.

On to an informative history lesson at the Tuolumne County Museum in downtown Sonora.

Just up the road, Columbia State Historic Park awaits you. Step back in time and experience the gold rush era of the 1850’s at this thriv-ing restored “living history museum.” Enjoy an educational docent-led tour of the park, go for a ride on a stage-coach (complete with a “hold-up”), go horseback riding, or travel deep into the earth and tour a real working gold mine that has been operating for more than 100 years.

Check in to accommodations in Jamestown, Columbia, or Sonora. From historic bed and breakfast inns and haunted hotels to three-dia-mond comfort, you will be sure to �nd just what you’re looking for in these historic towns,

Continue your historic adventure and top off your day with an outstanding dinner followed by live theatre in Co-lumbia or Sonora.

Day 3The High Country

Head east on Highway 108 and connect to Tuolumne Road.

Stop at an old-fashioned foot-hill Apple Ranch and pick up a piece of “Mile High” apple pie, delicious homemade treats, jams, and fresh-grown fruits and vegetables.

Continue east on Highway 108 to our beautiful High Sierra. Vis-it the Pinecrest area and go for a hike on the- Shadow of the Mi-Wok Trail, Trail of the Gargoyles, Trail of the Ancient Dwarfs, Donnell Vista or the Columns of the Giants

Choose to recreate for the day at Pinecrest Lake and have lunch at the lakeside snack bar or local Resort.

Spend the day swimming, sail-ing, kayaking, or any variety of boating opportunities on a crisp, clean mountain lake. When its time to relax, just hang out on a picturesque beach of Pinecrest Lake.

Check in to accommodations at a country inn or local resort. On the other hand, you may

want to continue east to Kennedy Meadows. Spend your day horse-back riding or hiking and take in the unbelievable, breathtaking views and high country vistas. Plan to picnic in the meadow or try one of the local resort cafes where you will �nd real home cooking! After dinner, spend the evening relaxing under the stars around the camp�re and dream of what you’re going to do the next time you come back to Tuolumne County.

On your next trip rhink about experiencing a cozy mountain cabin for an extended stay.

THE TUOLUMNE COUNTY VISITORS BUREAU • yosemitegoldcountry.com

Photo Credit: Half-Dome, John DeGrazio, yexplore.com

Photo Credit: Briggs Hospitality

Photo Credit: The Historic National Hotel

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4-Day ItineraryWarm Weather Sample ItineraryEve of Day One

Arrive in the historic gold town of Sonora and check into your Hotel.

Stroll downtown antique stores, shops and restaurants. Be sure to visit Legend’s sandwich shop & ice cream parlor for some great food and view awesome mining tunnels dug underneath the city of Sonora by gold-seek-ers in the 1850’s. If you arrive on a Friday during summer, you can walk downtown and catch a

6:00 pm live “Music in the Park” concert performance in Sonora’s Courthouse Park (free).

Day OneTravel approximately 5 min-

utes to Railtown 1897 State His-toric Park in Jamestown to see the “Movie Railroad” where over 300 movies and commercials have been �lmed. Back to the Future III, High Noon, Pale Rider, are among some of the Westerns

�lmed there. Private train rides can be arranged for your group as well. Contact Railtown 1897 State Historic Park for details.

After touring the park, stroll his-toric Jamestown and enjoy lunch at one of its �ne historic restau-rants. Check out their store Gold Prospecting Adventures on Main Street in Jamestown.

Go across the highway from Jamestown to the Jimtown 1849 Gold Mining Camp for a tour and history lesson. See the Long Tom, Rocker Boxes, Grizzly Adams mercantile and many other historical artifacts and replicas. The camp has pic-nic tables and BBQs where you can have your lunch that you brought or bought in town.

Return to your hotel for a lat-er afternoon function or a bit of relaxation before dinner.

For some relaxed �ne dining check out some of Sonora’s top downtown restaurants such as Ta-lulah’s or Christopher’s Ristorante Italiano. Both are available for pri-vate functions as well.

Take in a play (depending on the day of the week at either the Stage 3 Theater in downtown or the nearby Sierra Repertory Theater offerings in East Sonora or Columbia.

Day Two Head up Highway 108 to the Summit Ranger Station at the Pinecrest Lake turnoff where you can get a map that shows �ve interesting trails and vistas that are well marked (free). Try at least one or all �ve (free)::

1) Shadow of the Mi-Wok Trail, easy ¼ mile walk,2) Trail of the Gargoyles, scenic 1

THE

The humble origins of the Historic Gunn House Hotel

Sierra Repertory Theatre’s, ‘Carousel’

Photo Credit: Kennedy Meadows, upper Highway 108

TRAVEL PLANNING GUIDETHE TUOLUMNE COUNTY VISITORS BUREAU • yosemitegoldcountry.com

The Cellar Door R e s t a u r a n T

California-fresh CuisineHistoric Saloon • Cocktails

Savor a lazy morning in the most luxurious featherbed you’ll never

want to get out of, snuggle into one of our cozy bathrobes, enjoy a cup of freshly brewed coffee on our veranda and permit a gracious staff member to indulge your every request. Included in your stay is a morning feast we nicknamed the Innkeeper’s Breakfast.

The Groveland Hotel

18767 Main StreetGroveland, CA 95321

209.962.4000800.273.3314

www.groveland.com

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½ mile walk,3) Trail of the Ancient Dwarfs, pleasant ½ mile walk to unique geological formations4) Donnell Vista, ¼ mile paved trail with magni�cent scenic views5) Columns of the Giants, easy ¼ mile walk.After your morning hike, get

picnic supplies at the store at Pinecrest Lake where you can have a picnic on the beach. If you have energy left, spend a few leisurely hours exploring the lake by taking a mild hike around it, rent a paddle boat, or just relax on the beach, go swimming, read a book or take a snooze on a blanket in the pines.You can go horseback riding

at nearby Aspen Meadows Pack Station where you can ride for one hour for $20 per person.

On the way back to your ho-tel in Sonora, stop for a burger or salad at the Strawberry Inn. Then take another relaxing eve-

ning swim before falling into deep sleep.

Day ThreeDrive past Columbia State

Historic Park across the Par-rotts Ferry Bridge and stop on the west side of the road at the Natural Bridges sign and hike down to the creek (two mile round trip). There are a couple of interesting caverns along the way. If you are a little bit warm, there’s a great place to splash in the water and swim through the caves, especially since you have to hike back up! Return towards Columbia State Historic Park (3 miles north of Sonora and free admis-sion), a Gold Rush town that has survived the passage of time better than the other early settle-ments. Walk along the wooden sidewalks and learn some his-tory while enjoying hand dipped chocolates from the Columbia Candy Kitchen and maybe a

Sarsaparilla at the Jack Douglass Saloon. Some of these venues are available for private functions as well. Return to your hotel for a free evening.

Day Four After breakfast, take a drive into Yosemite National Park (en-trance fee applies) where you can view some of the most famous geological icons (Half Dome/El Capitan) and waterfalls in the world. Take a hike through the Tuolumne Grove of Giant Se-quoias.

On your return trip, stop in Groveland at the colorful Iron Door Saloon (oldest continu-ously running saloon in Califor-nia) for an ice cream or refresh-ment in their sandwich shop.

Time allowing on your way back, stop at the South Fork of the Tuolumne River at the Rain-

bow Pool (free) day use area for a swim and photo ops.

After returning from magical Yosemite, collapse in bed know-ing you have spent four wonder-ful days enjoying and exploring the best wonders of the Sierra foothills.

The Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau

542 W. Stockton StreetSonora , CA 95370

(209) 533-4420800-446-1333

yosemitegoldcountry.com

Photo Credit:: Columbia State Historic Park

Rainbow Pool

In the Heart of Historic Downtown Sonora

Built in 1850

Gunn House HotelThe Historic

‘Gunny’ Our Famous Hotel Bear

Don’t miss our famous Innkeeper’s Breakfast–Waffles made to order!

Rooms $79-$115

286 S. Washington Street, Sonora, CA 95370 Reservations (209) 532-3421 www.gunnhousehotel.com