For centuries, gold has inspired people to cross oceans, climb mountains and head west. But nowadays you don’t have to travel the world to find gold: All you have to do is choose the right place to camp. Bring a tent, a gold pan and a good luck charm to a campsite, and you might just hit the mother lode. But even if you don’t strike it rich, you can enjoy luxuries at these campsites that the forty-niners could only have dreamed of.
The gold rush began in east-central California, when James Marshall discovered gold in 1848 in Coloma, a small town about 50 miles northeast of Sacramento. Nowadays, visitors can meet Marshall and other historical figures in October, when Coloma hosts a weekend-long Gold Rush event. Throughout the weekend, costumed volunteers re-create a 19th century mining camp at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park and teach visitors how to pan for gold. The volunteers live in a tent village and sing songs, play games and tell stories about gold mining. If you can’t make it to the Gold Rush, then visit in the summer, as Coloma Resort offers panning demonstrations on Sundays from Memorial Day through Labor Day and on holiday weekends. The resort offers many additional activities, including white water rafting, tubing and a ropes challenge course. Guests can bring their own tent or rent a cabin, bunkhouse, RV or cottage.
The Roaring Camp Mining Co. in Pine Grove is a former forty-niners camp about 65 miles east of Sacramento. The campground claims that the location was so remote that much of the gold remains to this day. Guests can explore the operating gold mine or can search for gold themselves by panning or using other techniques, including sluicing, dredging and dry washing. Gold pans can be purchased at the camp’s general store. Visitors who wish to explore the camp’s gold bearing gravel piles can do so for a fee. Roaring Camp also offers swimming holes, fishing, hiking, miniature golf, ping-pong and a Saturday barbecue. Cabins and tent sites are available.
Millerton Lake was formed when the San Joaquin River was damned in 1944, flooding the town of Millerton. On Saturdays in November and March this state recreation area in central California offers gold tours and the chance to pan for gold. The campground has campsites on the lake’s shore and a playground, a boat ramp, showers and other amenities and services.
If you’re hoping to strike it rich, then head to the Mineral Bar camping site on the American River. This small and basic camping site in the Auburn State Recreation Area in central California may lack the amenities of the other campgrounds, but prospectors claim that some visitors who have panned here have discovered sizable gold nuggets. The campground, which is run by the California Department of Parks and Recreation and is in the heart of Gold Country, lacks drinking water but has tables, fire pits and dry toilets. The campsite often fills up on summer weekends, so arrive early on Friday if you plan to spend the weekend.
