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162 2 0 1 7 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A Today you can still pan for gold—it's often said there's more left in the ground than the original 49ers ever took out—but you can also raft some of California's froth- iest rivers, explore caverns and sample Chardonnay and Syrah in uncrowded, up-and-coming wineries. City & Town Sacramento was the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad—from there, passengers completed their journey to San Francisco by ferry and barge—and the city still plays a vital role as the jumping- off point for exploring the Gold Country. Since the arrival of the 49ers, the small towns of the Gold Country proper have morphed through several distinct stages, DRIVE TOUR » NAVIGATING A TOUR through the Gold Country couldn't be easier: HIGHWAY 49 —named for the original 49ers—traverses the entire region. It stretches nearly 300 miles through the Sierra foothills, from DOWNIEVILLE in the north to OAKHURST in the south, linking all the Gold Country's major towns and sights. Allow at least two days for the journey. Start with a mountain-biking excursion in DOWNIEVILLE , poke around the galleries and antique shops of NEVADA CITY and drop by the site where Marshall and Sutter found those first sparkling nuggets in COLOMA . SUTTER CREEK , with a bounty of inviting B&Bs and restaurants serving the local wine, is a good place to spend the night. On your second day, explore ANGELS CAMP —perhaps pausing to wager on a frog if it's jumping season (the third week in May)—try your hand at panning for gold at COLUMBIA STATE HISTORIC PARK and take a ride on the historic steam train in JAMESTOWN'S RAILTOWN 1897 STATE HISTORIC PARK . JASPERDO/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR ; DOLCE/CREATIVE COMMONS/FLICKR . OPPOSITE: MARC VENEMA/SHUTTERSTOCK