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The Gold Rush Tour
Four days, 232 miles
150 years ago, gold was discovered in the western foothills of
the Sierras. Within a few frenzied years, miners had scoured every
square inch of those foothills in pursuit of their precious metal.
In the wake of their fevered exploration (and exploitation), they
left a wonderfully tangled web of tiny roads connecting tiny towns.
No other region in California presents the cyclist with such a
complex and confusing network of interesting little backroads.
From a cyclist’s point of view, it’s an embarrassment of riches. As a tour planner, confronted with so many choices, I felt like a kid in a candy shop: what to include; what to leave out. Fortunately, I had the advice and assistance of many experienced riders from the local bike clubs in Sacramento and Stockton. Their extensive local knowledge helped me sort through a bewildering number of options. The result is a package of back road loops that ranks among the best we have ever devised.
Adventure Velo offers two tours in this region: the Gold Country
Tour, a six to eight-day campground-based tour, moving from north
to south down the length of the western Sierra foothills; and
this, the Gold Rush Mini-tour, a four-day exploration of the heart
of the region. Centered in the little town of Volcano, it meanders
through the remote mountains and foothills via loop routes that
always return to the same location...the venerable St. George
Hotel.
Your routes will visit many points of historical interest in this
region famous for the Gold Rush: rough-and-tumble boom towns that
sprang up and prospered at the height of gold fever...and then
went into suspended animation after the fever had passed. In between
the pioneer towns are miles of quiet little roads through the
hills that have riders climbing or descending most of the time...sometimes
over steep, wooded ridges, sometimes out across open, rolling
grasslands, and sometimes down into canyons where some of California’s
last, best wild rivers still run free.
Tour packet: 27 pages; 39 photos; 4 maps
Where does it go?
Northeast Loop
60 or 65 miles. 6500' or 7000'
Climbs into the hills to the north and east of Volcano--up to
an elevation of 5000'--exploring the quaint little village of
Fiddletown, as well as miles of tiny roads through the middle
of nowhere. Offers some challenging climbs and several absolutely
incredible descents, including almost all of the final 15 miles
of the ride.
Southeast Loop
61 miles, 7500'
Probably the toughest of the four stages. Climbs to Pine Grove,
then descends for ten miles to the outskirts of Jackson. Passes
through the Gold Rush pioneer town of Mokelumne Hill before setting
off for parts unknown: Jesus Maria canyon and numerous descents
into and climbs out of the various canyons of the forks of the
Mokelumne and Calaveras Rivers. Contains many steep climbs, but
also many great downhills and spectacular wilderness scenery.
Northwest Loop
48 miles, 4000'
Bonus: up to 16 miles, modest elevation gain
The easiest stage of the tour, and can be made easier with specific
shortcuts. Visits the charming town of Sutter Creek and tiny Drytown.
More time out in the rolling, grasslands to the west of the mountains
than up in the mountains today. Only a couple of challenging climbs,
and they’re short. Includes some wonderful miles on very obscure
little lanes that you would be extremely unlikely to find on your
own.
Southwest Loop
61 miles, 6000'
Moderately difficult. Heads out of the mountains and down into the grass-covered foothills again, this time circling Pardee Reservoir. Explores in more detail the pioneer downtown of Jackson (which we just missed on the South Loop).
How hard is it?
In four stages, this hilly little tour accumulates over 24,000’
of elevation gain in around 230 miles. Any time you average over
100’ of climb per mile, you’ve put in a good day’s work, and to
do it four days in a row is a tall order. You will have to be
comfortable--in your attitude as well as your fitness--with lots
of climbing and descending. If you’re not, this isn’t the tour
for you. On the other hand, if you are up for the challenge, you’ll
experience some of the best riding in the state...maybe in the
world. This is superb cycling, as long as you can handle it, and
the descents--usually on excellent pavement--offer a great return
on that climbing investment. It is hard, but when our club toured
in this region last year, all riders were able to do all hills...and
most of those riders would not rate themselves as hardball hill
climbers.
When should you do this tour?
It can be extremely hot here in mid-summer...well over 100°. Coupled
with the challenging terrain, this could make for a brutal experience.
We suggest visiting in the late spring or autumn.
Accommodations
When we first dreamed up this tour, the only place to stay in Volcano was the grand old St. George Hotel (above). That was fine with us: we love the place. Now there are two inns in Volcano, as another new-old hotel has been renovated and is open for business just around the corner. Our choice would still be the St. George, but the new place appears to be a reasonable alternative. There are many motels and inns in the not-too-distant towns of Sutter Creek and Jackson, and we’ll list those at the end of the write-up in the packet. To stay in these towns would either mean modifying the routes or driving to Volcano each day to unload the bikes. But if you want to be in busier towns, with more tourist attractions and services, you can make that happen.
Travel...to and from
Volcano is three miles north of Hwy 88, near the town of Pine
Grove, which is itself a few miles uphill on 88 from the larger
town of Jackson, at the junction of Highways 88 and 49. There
are so many ways to get to Volcano from around California and
Nevada that it’s impossible to give a one-size-fits-all answer
as to how long it takes to drive here. It’s about 50 miles from
Sacramento, which means a drive of less than three hours from
the Bay Area. It’s about an hour and a half from South Lake Tahoe.
To the best of our knowledge, there is no mass transit to Volcano.
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