Gold Rush Country Field Trip – Amador County, Part II
Sept. 13-15, 2024
Home Base: Jackson, CA
Members can join for 1, 2, or 3 days
Action Items:
- Book hotel room by August 28, tell them you're with the Palo Alto Camera Club
- Register on the PACC website, go to calendar entry for Sept. 13 and click the "Register Now" button on the right side.
Lodging: National Hotel, Jackson, CA
2 Water Street, Jackson CA
(209) 217-8217
www.Nationalhotelcalifornia.com
The renovated National Hotel stands at the end of historic Main St., as the sentry of a bygone era, and a veritable museum of the Gold Rush days when Victorian design, in all of its opulence and color, set the standard for the day.
This hotel is holding a block of rooms for Palo Alto Camera Club. We suggest if you think you’re interested in attending that you reserve a room now, they’ll hold the room until August 29. There’s no penalty if you cancel at least 24 hours in advance of your arrival date.
This is an older hotel; for example, there are no coffee makers in the rooms (you can get some from the breakfast room starting at 6 a.m.) and some of the furniture is “vintage.” If you want to stay somewhere a bit more modern, there’s a Best Western and Holiday Inn in Jackson, as well as the Racheria Casino and Resort. Rest Hotel in Plymouth is about a 15 minutes drive, and there are numerous smaller inns and B&Bs in the area.
Itinerary:
Friday, September 13 - Drive from Bay Area (2-1/2 – 3 hrs)
10:30 Meet in Fiddletown.
Several gold rush-era buildings, old mining equipment (restrooms in the small park at the beginning of town, but no real businesses and no gas station)
12:30 p.m. Cooper Vineyards – winetasting and photo op
Join us for a complimentary wine tasting and photo ops by the pond, the antique truck, tasting room environs, and the vineyards. Bring a lunch to enjoy at the picnic tables after the wine tasting.
The rest of the afternoon is up to you, visit a winery, wander through the shops of Sutter Creek or Jackson, stroll along the banks of Sutter Creek stream. Some recommendations are listed at the end of this announcement.
Check in at the National Hotel in Jackson. Dinner is unscheduled, Brickhouse Brews is within walking distance. Feel free to gather in the lobby (with a bottle of wine to share if you like) to talk about your day.
Saturday, September 14
9:30 Visit Lake Tabeaud
Lakeside photo ops. Hike the 2.5 loop trail, or a portion of it.
Alternate activity: old town Jackson, buildings, shops, Serbian church and cemetary
11:30 Miners Bend Park, Sutter Creek
Historic mining equipment
12:00 Lunch in Sutter Creek
After lunch: visit Amador City, wine country around Plymouth, particularly Shenandoah Road. List of picturesque wineries below.
6:30 p.m. Group Dinner
Luka’s, 35 Main St, Jackson
Sunday, September 15
9:30 a.m. Electra Road
Wander up a rough road along the banks of the North Mokelmne River, a good place for flowing water shots. Day Use Area about 3 miles in
has restrooms, picnic tables, stairs down to the river. (This road is rough so low profile tires would not be a good idea.) Turnoff from Hwy 49 just north of Butte Canyon Bridge.
11:00 Volcano, CA
Gold rush era buildings/ruins/cemetery
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
12:30 Lunch in Volcano or Pine Grove
Volcano Union In & Pub, Volcano
Sizemore Country Store, Volcano
Reyes Pupuseria Y Taqueria, Food truck in Pine Grove
Wok n Roll Asian Kitchen, Pine Grove
2:00 Black Chasm Cavern Tour, Volcano
$21 adults, 50 minute tour, 5 flights of stairs
Wineries:
Villa Toscana
Bella Piazza
Di Stasio
Helwig
Bella Grace
Dobra Zemlja
Karmere
Restaurants:
Taste, Plymouth
Choc O Latte, Sutter Creek, coffee and pastries
Element, Sutter Creek
Cavana’s Pub & Grub, Sutter Creek
Luka’s, Jackson
Brickhouse Brews, Jackson
Rosebud’s Café, Jackson