Four-season fun in one easy-to-get-to area offers something for the entire family!

Tuolumne County California, encompasses the northern half of Yosemite National Park and a number of historic 1849 Gold Rush communities.  It offers an abundance of all-season outdoor activities. Located just 2 ½ hours from the San Francisco Bay Area and 2 hours from Sacramento, it's easy to reach, affordable and family fun for all!

Check out the Outdoor Adventure & Attractions link on our website for some great ideas!  You'll find just about any kind of family recreation activity imaginable. Summer outdoor choices include, backpacking, bicycling, boating & house boating, carriage rides, farm and ranch visits, fishing, river trips and whitewater rafting, panning for gold (this is California Gold Rush country!), golfing, hiking, hunting, horseback riding, off-roading, pack trips, rock and mountain climbing, ice skating, snowboarding, spelunking, zip lining, tennis and more!

Very active families will enjoy white-water rafting on three different rivers in and around Yosemite with trips ranging from ½ day to a week.  Backpacking and horseback riding in the beautiful High Sierra, riding on a working ranch near Yosemite or hiking with a guide or just about every outdoor activity can be done in one place at the Evergreen Lodge right on the edge of Yosemite National Park.

Enjoy a day at the beach at iconic Pinecrest Lake (boat rentals too) in the Stanislaus National Forest or Pine Mountain Lake in Groveland just outside Yosemite National Park. Both are close to restaurants and shopping making them an easy place to spend the day or the weekend.

A family vacation to Gold Country wouldn't be complete without panning for gold just the way the 49ers did it 160 years ago! Jamestown is an old-west gold-rush era town where you can gold pan at nearby Woods Creek.   Columbia State Historic Park one of the best preserved 1849 gold rush towns in California, also has gold panning opportunities.

Great family events also take place in June and July. There's the  Annual Tuolumne Lumber Jubilee celebrating the history and games associated with the lumber industry that takes place in June, The Farm's of Tuolumne County's annual self-guided farm tour to learn about farming and agriculture, the annual Father's Day Fly-In at Columbia Airport offering plane rides and a great array of antique, home built and historic aircraft, the 4th of July Weekend celebrations at both Columbia State Historic Park and Railtown 1897 State Historic Park (aka “The Movie Railroad), offering music and entertainment along with train rides and tours of the facilities.  You will also find a variety of family oriented special events in the beautiful mountain community of Twain Harte.

The area abounds with affordable family-friendly fun including a casino that boasts a family floor complete with bowling alley and arcade to keep them entertained while the adults in the group take in a little of the action!  The Candy Vault located in an old-time bank building in historic downtown Sonora is full of all sorts of retro goodies.  Legends Books, Antiques and Soda Fountain has a lower level with openings to tunnels the miners dug in the 1850's.  

Lodging in the area ranges from quaint bed and breakfast inn's to modern hotels; many located right in Sonora, Jamestown and Groveland where you can walk to many shops and restaurants.  If you stay in Sonora, you can enjoy a leisurely hike in the hills above downtown on the Dragoon Gulch Trail. It's a great way to get out into nature with just a short walk to get started and you'll be rewarded with great views overlooking historic downtown Sonora.

Tuolumne County, Yosemite Gold Country - perhaps a tradition in the making!

Tuolumne County is located in California's Gold Country and High Sierra regions.  58% of Yosemite National Park lies within the borders of Tuolumne County. Two State Historic Parks – Columbia and Railtown 1897 greet visitors year-round.  Just a two hour drive south of Sacramento, east of San Francisco and north of Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne County is easily accessible from all points on the compass.  Visit us online at www.YosemiteGoldCountry.com. #LoveTC   #TCvacationland