Rev the engines, ready the cool bags, and check the oil gauges — California awaits, folks! The third-largest state in the U.S. rolls through lush rainforests and sun-cracked deserts, wild canyons and snow-capped peaks. It's not for nothing that it's considered a veritable mecca for car trippers. Come here to weave along idyllic roads through California wine country or to bathe in hot springs under the gaze of the mountains on U.S. Route 39. Or, come to thread along the western foothills of the Sierra
Nevada on a route that's been hailed as one of the finest in the state: Highway 49.
State Route 49 runs all the way from the towns of Oakhurst in the south to Vinton in the north. Between those, it clocks up a whopping 294 miles as it knits together a plethora of some of the most historically rich settlements in the state. There's more than a dozen enthralling Gold Rush towns to get through. That means saloons that feel plucked from a Clint Eastwood flick, 19th-century inns turned boutique hotels, and a steady stream of Golden State history.
But it's not only the past that's present on the incredible Highway 49. The mountains creep close here, too. In fact, it's possible to begin or end your journey amid the soaring granite monoliths of Yosemite National Park, which is a mere 25 miles from the southern terminus of the route. As you drive north toward Vinton, you'll breeze by the roaring whitewater of the South Fork of the American River in Coloma, offshoot roads that lead the way to the sleeping-giant sequoia forests of the Calaveras Big Trees State Park, and even the twisted summits of the 8,591-foot-high Sierra Buttes.
Read more: The 5 Best Hidden Hot Spring Hikes In California
The Best Gold Rush Towns On Highway 49
If you like your towns brimming with history, you've come to the right place. Highway 49 runs through the heart of a region that found itself on the forefront of the great human migrations of the California Gold Rush way back in 1848. You'll come across places that started life as simple, rustic mining camps, only to boom into fully-fledged mini cities in just a matter of months.
But where to begin? Well, handsome Nevada City is oft-mentioned as one of the best-preserved and most enthralling. It straddles Deer Creek, some 200 miles north of Oakhurst, unfolding between the foothills with a historic core that has over 90 landmark buildings dating from the boom era. These happen to include the oldest theater in the whole of California, and the exquisite National Exchange Hotel, a grand old dame of a building hailing from the 1850s that's now a boutique lodge.
On the smaller side, Sutter Creek is celebrated as a truly enchanting representative of Gold Rush villages. Wander the main drag between the facades and tasting rooms (this is the hub of Gold Country's winelands, after all) to be transported back in time. Alternatively, make straight for Coloma, where gold was first discovered in the waterways of California. It's now a designated historic site, with recreations of the mill where the precious metal was found.
Outdoors Adventure Beckons On Highway 49
This whole highway bends like an upside down L around the great Sierra Nevada, one of the most defining mountain ranges in California. There's a gold mine's worth of chances to drop into outdoors adventures as you cruise between the old town centers. In fact, the road whizzes right by the Tuttletown Recreation Area, just north of Jamestown, where you can camp beside the waters of New Melones Lake. At another point, it drops down to meet the South Fork of the American River, which is one of the most popular rafting stretches in the whole country.
Nevada City, meanwhile, is the steppingstone into the South Yuba River State Park, a land of deep-cut canyons and swim holes. Head there in the spring to hike trails like the 2.4-mile Buttermilk Bend, a snaking route that clings to the riverside through meadows that burst to life with flowering plants — think poppies and purple red bud in abundance.
Then, of course, there's Yosemite. A short link off the south end of Highway 49 will bring you to one of the main entrances to this legendary American preserve. It's an epic way to get into the Yosemite Valley, taking the Wawona Road past the soaring sequoias of the Mariposa Grove and through the majestic Tunnel View, where the massifs of Half Dome and El Capitan come into focus.
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