The main US-50 stop in the Sierra Nevada foothills, Placerville (pop. 9,010; elev. 1,860) takes its name from the placer gold deposits recovered from the South Fork of the American River, which flows just north of town. The historic core of Placerville is well-preserved, with a few cafés and bars paying homage to its rough-and-tumble past. A reminder of the town’s gold-rush heritage is the nation’s only municipally owned gold mine: Gold Bug Mine (daily in summer, weekends only rest of the year; $3; 530/642-5207), a mile north of US-50 off the Bedford Avenue exit. A stamp mill and other mining equipment stand outside the entrance to the mine tunnel, which you can explore on a self-guided tour.
If you want to explore the region’s many evocative gold rush-era remnants, Placerville makes a good base, with its handful of motels (including a Best Western and a Days Inn) fronting the highway. North and south of Placerville, Hwy-49 runs along the Sierra Nevada foothills through the heart of the Gold Country. Starting in the north beyond beautiful Nevada City, Hwy-49 winds through one historic town after another, all the way to the gates of Yosemite National Park, 150 miles to the south.
The original site of the discovery of gold, Sutter’s Mill, has been reconstructed as part of Gold Discovery State Historic Park (daily; $4 per car; 530/622-3470) in Coloma, now an idyllic place along the banks of the American River, nine miles north of Placerville along Hwy-49. The 275-acre park, set aside in 1890 as the state’s first historic monument, is also a prime spot for whitewater rafting and kayaking, especially on weekends, so don’t be surprised to find the place thronged with wet-suited and Teva-shod hordes. For a restful or romantic place to stay, try the Gold Rush-era Coloma Country Inn ($120 and up; 530/622-6919), set in five acres of gardens at 345 High Street.
One great old Gold Country haunt can be reached within a short drive of US-50 from Placerville. The ancient and very popular Poor Red’s Barbecue (530/622-2901), housed in a Gold Rush–era stagecoach station in the hamlet of El Dorado, five miles south of Placerville on Hwy-49, has full lunches and dinners (and great margaritas) for very little money.
