The somewhat undiscovered settlement of Mokelumne Hill is 7 miles south of Jackson just off Hwy 49. Settled by French trappers in the early 1840s, it’s a good place to see historic buildings without the common glut of antique stores and gift shops. Stay at the old-style Hotel Leger if you want to soak up the peace and quiet.
Mokelumne Hill
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
9.17 MILES
Two miles southwest of Volcano, this sacred area for the local Miwok comprises a museum in a traditional wooden roundhouse, a village site, a limestone…
Calaveras Big Trees State Park
22.73 MILES
Home to giant sequoia trees that reach as high as 250ft with trunk diameters of over 25ft, these leftovers from the Mesozoic era are thought to weigh…
Railtown 1897 State Historic Park
29.03 MILES
Five blocks east of Jamestown’s Main St, this 26-acre collection of trains and railroad equipment is the photogenic sister to Sacramento's rail museum. It…
6.15 MILES
You can't miss the ominous steel headframe of the mine from the road, rising to 125ft. Its pulleys lifted ore and miners from the bowels of the earth…
27.98 MILES
In the former 1857 Tuolumne County Jail, you'll find this great little museum with a fortune’s worth of gold on display in the form of nuggets and gold…
24.77 MILES
The so-called ‘Gem of the Southern Mines’ is like a miniature Gold Rush Disneyland, but with more authenticity and heart. Four blocks of town have been…
8.19 MILES
In its prime, Sutter Creek was Gold Country’s main supply center for all things forged. Three foundries operating in 1873 made pans and rock crushers, but…
8.31 MILES
This building goes back in time to when the general store was the center of the town’s social and economic life, represented by the chairs that circle the…
Nearby attractions
6.15 MILES
You can't miss the ominous steel headframe of the mine from the road, rising to 125ft. Its pulleys lifted ore and miners from the bowels of the earth…
8.19 MILES
In its prime, Sutter Creek was Gold Country’s main supply center for all things forged. Three foundries operating in 1873 made pans and rock crushers, but…
8.31 MILES
This building goes back in time to when the general store was the center of the town’s social and economic life, represented by the chairs that circle the…
4. Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park
9.17 MILES
Two miles southwest of Volcano, this sacred area for the local Miwok comprises a museum in a traditional wooden roundhouse, a village site, a limestone…
10.17 MILES
Less than 1 mile east of Volcano, this National Natural Landmark has the whiff of a tourist trap, but one look at the array of helictite crystals – rare…
10.33 MILES
This rugged little 1860s building looks like something straight out of a John Ford movie, and houses a replica schoolhouse scene and the obligatory mine…
7. California Cavern State Historic Landmark
12.29 MILES
California Cavern has the mother lode’s most extensive system of natural underground caverns. Regular tours take 60 to 80 minutes, or get a group together…
12.75 MILES
This hilltop farm, 2 miles northeast of Volcano, is blanketed with more than 300,000 daffodil blooms in the spring. The McLaughlin and Ryan families have…