Welcome to Calaveras County!
Home of the California Gold Rush and Jumping Frog, Mark Twain made Calaveras County California famous worldwide when he wrote of the “Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” in 1865. The treasures of this enchanting Gold Country area were discovered long before that and continue to enrich lives today.
Calaveras County is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains - 133 miles east of San Francisco and 135 miles west of Lake Tahoe. Calaveras is found midway on State Highway 49 between Sacramento and Yosemite, linking the towns of the Gold Country. Calaveras stretches to the east into California’s High Sierra wonderland.
Calaveras boasts historic and picturesque gold rush towns, award-winning wineries, micro-breweries, eclectic art galleries, antique shops, and gold rush museums. Year-round adventures are yours in Calaveras County. Learn the art of panning for gold in California, or caving in the variety of natural limestone and crystalline-filled caverns. Zip 1500 feet on a zip line 100 feet above the earth. Play a round of golf on professional courses stretched out along canyon ridges in the pines or among 200 year old oaks in rolling terrain.
Shopping is at its most fun and innovative in the tiny, fascinating towns of the Calaveras landscape.
Every season holds its share of fun in Calaveras. Enjoy biking and hiking trails that criss-cross through the giant Sequoias at Calaveras Big Trees State Park and the Stanislaus National Forest. Off highway adventures and the famous Stanislaus River Rafting experience beckon the adventuresome, while fishing, water skiing, houseboat weekends, camping, bicycling, horseback riding and more will keep the entire family busy.
The uncountable attractions of winter include first class downhill skiing and snowboarding at Bear Valley Mountain Resort. Enjoy many excellent cross country trails offering silent, pristine scenes of winter wonder and miles of snowmobiling from two-hour to all-day tours around Bear Valley Village or through the woods.
Escape the tension of metropolitan life. Find yourself captivated, entertained, and rejuvenated by this part of California Gold Country and High Sierra.