I Grew Up in Northern California and This Is the 1 Town Everybody Ought to Visit—With a Cute Main Street and Sierra Views

Key Points

• Columbia State Historic Park preserves California’s largest assortment of unique Gold Rush-era buildings alongside a walkable, car-free Main Street.

• Visitors can pan for gold, trip a stagecoach, tour historic websites, get pleasure from old school sweet, and go to close by movie places and Sierra Nevada sights.

• The surrounding area presents standout eating, wine tasting, and family-friendly lodging, making Columbia a straightforward weekend getaway.

“Shake and dip, shake and dip.” 

Those may sound like directions for the most recent viral TikTookay dance, however these are literally the basic actions of gold-panning. It’s a scorching summer season day, and my seven-year-old and I’ve opted for the “Eureka pan” expertise at Columbia, California’s Matelot Gulch Mining Company, which incorporates each assured gold and a lesson (by an teacher in interval costume, no much less). 

Our go to is a part of a longstanding household custom that I’m persevering with with my very own youngster. As a child rising up in Modesto, I at all times appeared ahead to journeys to Columbia, the place we would spend the majority of our time at Columbia State Historic Park, strolling its distinctly Western-style Main Street. It was like Disneyland’s Frontierland, minus the crowds.

Located off State Route 49 within the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Columbia is just a few hours’ drive from San Francisco, Sacramento, and Yosemite National Park. Gold was found within the space in 1850, and by 1853, Columbia was one among California’s largest cities. As the gold ran dry, although, townsfolk and prospectors moved to different elements of the Golden State.

“Columbia is home to the largest collection of original, Gold Rush-era buildings in California,”  says Myia Davila, president of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the proprietor of Columbia Stage Line and Stable. 

You’d be mistaken to suppose that the city’s ambiance is museum-like—historical past may be very a lot alive right here. Activities middle across the pedestrian-friendly Main Street, the place streets are closed to motorists so guests are free to discover safely on foot. While you are on the town, you may discover toothsome eating places, cute reward retailers, loads of Western attraction, and stunning views of the Sierra Nevada.

Here’s what it is advisable to know earlier than planning a visit to Columbia, California.

Best Things to Do

Since Columbia State Historic Park is the center of the city, you are going to need to start your go to there. With ample parking and free entry, the one query is which finish of Main Street it’s best to begin from.

If you are there on a weekend, take a free, guided tour of city, which departs from the Columbia State Historic Park Museum. From June 1 by means of Labor Day, excursions are held day-after-day at 11 a.m.; outdoors of that timeframe, they’re held each Saturday on the similar time. Before your tour, it’s best to make time to take a look at the museum’s displays, which share vital particulars in regards to the individuals who made up the early city of Columbia, from the Indigenous Central Sierra Miwok neighborhood to the individuals who arrived from all world wide to strive their luck at hanging it wealthy within the Sierra. If you’d want to go on a self-guided tour, there is a booklet which you could seize that particulars all one of the best historic spots round city to take a look at.

The park’s different highlights embrace Parrott’s Blacksmith, the place you possibly can watch your identify being hammered right into a horseshoe, stagecoach rides with Columbia Stage Line and Stable, and old school treats at Nelson’s Columbia Candy Kitchen. Originally opened in 1923, the shop has been run by the Nelson household for 5 generations, and sweet remains to be made utilizing recipes and gear that date again to the late 1800s. 

“It is wonderful to run our hands across the smooth, cool marble tables our great-grandfathers used,” Janice Nelson, proprietor of Columbia Candy Kitchen, tells Travel + Leisure. “They were quarried at the marble mines in Columbia after the gold ran out. These mines became the major source of employment for the town.”

You can finish your stroll down Main Street on the Wilson/McConnell House, which was featured within the 1952 Western movie “High Noon.” Though the inside is closed to the general public, you possibly can nonetheless view it from the surface. And whereas we’re speaking filming places, Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in neighboring Jamestown also needs to be on any film buff’s radar, and has appeared in movies similar to “Back to the Future III” to Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven.”

In addition to the city’s everlasting sights, the nonprofit Friends of Columbia State Historic Park hosts a number of annual occasions. A Forties-style Big Band Street Dance takes place in July, and docents lead guests on pop-up ghost story excursions all year long. 

If you need to make a weekend out of it, one other childhood favourite of mine is the country lake city of Pinecrest, California, a couple of 45-minute drive east on State Highway 108. Pinecrest Lake‘s seashore has a delegated swimming space and marina with boat leases, and the Pinecrest Lake National Recreation Trail additionally loops across the shore.

Where to Eat and Drink

Columbia’s eating scene consists of hearty fare that delivers huge on Western ambiance. The city as soon as had dozens of saloons, and whereas there might not be fairly as many to select from nowadays, those left will not disappoint. The in style St. Charles Saloon serves tasty pizza (my son loved the pepperoni), and all of us beloved the mugs of foamy sarsaparilla soda. 

For bespoke groceries and a wide array of elevated picnic fare, Columbia Mercantile 1855 is a should—suppose artisanal tinned fish, charcuterie fixings, freshly baked sourdough, and French butter. Teresa Torbett, a Columbia native, opened the mercantile in 2018 to assist maintain the city vigorous and thriving.

10 minutes south within the neighboring city of Sonora, The Armory comes really helpful by Lisa Mayo, Visit Tuolumne County‘s president and CEO. With an out of doors beer backyard serving satisfying eats like roasted butternut squash tacos and smoked pork nachos, plus craft cocktails and bourbon tasting flights on the bar, one may simply whereas away the day right here. 

Just up Highway 4, the city of Murphys is a well-liked spot for wine tasting. A shiny and ethereal house with a large bar, the tasting room on the family-run Broll Mountain Vineyards doubles as a store and shares a well-curated collection of dwelling decor. For dinner, strive V Restaurant, Bistro & Bar, which has a stunning out of doors patio and a scrumptious duck breast dish. 

Where to Stay

Since Columbia’s historic motels aren’t open for in a single day stays, you may should look outdoors metropolis limits for lodging choices. For an evening or two close by, Lisa Mayo recommends Sonora’s Columbia Cabins. Right off Parrotts Ferry Road, the cabins are only some minutes from Columbia. The keypad-entry rooms are sensible and trendy, and a few include non-public decks.

To get a bigger resort expertise, head quarter-hour southwest of Columbia on Highway 108 to Jamestown’s Chicken Ranch Casino Resort, owned by the Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California. With gaming, a number of eating choices, a pool, and an arcade, it is a enjoyable, family-friendly possibility.

If you are visiting Columbia as half of a bigger journey, Pinecrest has loads of trip leases. You also can glamp close to the nationwide park at Under Canvas Yosemite or AutoCamp Yosemite, or ebook a keep on the upscale cabins of Waybound Yosemite.

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