Local Attractions

Give your group a flavor of Gold Country.

We know that most of our campers plan to spend their time on our campgrounds. However, there are a number of local attractions that can provide interesting opportunities to spend a few hours exploring the Mother Lode to give your group a flavor of Gold Country.

Many towns along Highway 49 were built during the California Gold Rush. You and your group may enjoy a self-guided walking tour of Historic Sutter Creek or Jackson.

Black Chasm Cavern National Natural Landmark

Location: Volcano. Designated a National Natural Landmark in 1976 by the National Park Service in recognition of its outstanding natural beauty and geological significance.  50-minute cavern tours are available daily from 9am - 5pm May - October, and from 10am - 4pm November - April.  From the Colossal Room, decorated with flowstones, stalactites and stalagmites, gaze 70 feet below to glimpses of the lake made brilliant blue from naturally occurring calcium bicarbonate.  In the Landmark Room view thousands of spectacular, white helictites which twist and turn in defiance of gravity, sparkling, crystal covered formations and beautiful draperies and flowstones.  Above ground you can try your hand at gemstone mining, in their attractive flume system, where everyone is guaranteed to make a find! Open every day! Visit the website.

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park

This park nestles in a little valley about three miles from Golden Valley Camp. It is 2,400 feet above sea level with open meadows and large valley oaks that once provided the native Americans of this area with an ample supply of acorns. The park was created in 1968 and preserves a great outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes -- the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America. Visit the website.

Sutter Gold Mine

Location: Highway 49 between Sutter Creek and Amador City.  Don a hard hat and board the Boss Buggy Shuttle for a thrilling 1-hour journey underground into Sutter Gold Mine, a real hard rock gold mine. Learn about the history of gold mining from ancient times to the present day.  Walk right into the heart of the Mother Lode (a quartz vein structure that contains gold) made famous during the Gold Rush. 

Tours are available daily 9am - 5pm May - October, and 10 am - 4pm November - April. Note: Everyone who goes underground is required to wear a hardhat for the entire tour making this tour unsuitable for very young children and infants. Above ground learn how to pan for gold, or mine for gemstones.  Watch a movie in the Gold Theatre on modern hard rock mining, or the Gold Rush, and browse the Company Store for gold nuggets, jewelry, books, mining equipment and souvenir items. 

Kennedy Gold Mine

Location: Highway 49, Jackson, across from Argonaut Lane. The Kennedy Gold Mine has gone through a metamorphosis in the last few years changing from what looked like an abandoned property into a thriving historical attraction, In the late 1850s, Andrew Kennedy discovered gold in an outcropping of quartz. The mine produced over $34.2 million in gold, making it one of the richest gold mines in the world. With a vertical depth of 5,912 feet, it was also the deepest mine in North America when it was closed by the War Production Board in 1942.

The Mine tours, which are guided by volunteers, take visitors up and down the hills on the property. Comfortable walking or hiking shoes are advised. the Kennedy Tailing Wheels Park is located nearby, featuring the remaining tailing wheels that were used to carry the processed rock from the Kennedy Mine to an impound dam.

Self-guided tours are available. Tour season runs mid-March through October on weekends only. Special tours and bus tours can be arranged for weekdays and off-season. Call the Kennedy Gold Mine office at 209-223-9542 for more information and directions.

Volcano Theatre Company

Providing quality theatrical entertainment for more than three decades. Performances in the intimate Cobblestone Theatre and during the summer in the outdoor Volcano Amphitheater. 209-295-6440, 1-866-463-8659

Main Street Theatre Works 

A professionally oriented, theatre company that brings community theatre artists together to produce classical and contemporary plays. Performances at the Kennedy Mine Amphitheatre, Jackson. 209-267-5680

Sutter Creek Theatre

Presents contemporary and traditional music, theatrical works, dance, film, and other artistic events. 209-267-1070 or 1-877-547-6518

Ready to make reservations? See the available dates.