Family friendly affordable Yosemite Gold Country (Tuolumne County, California) offers a fabulous variety of summer vacation activities for any budget - even $500 for a family of four. Located less than a two hour drive from Sacramento, two and a half hours from the San Francisco Bay Area and about six hours from the Los Angeles area, Yosemite Gold Country encompasses the foothills and high country of California's Sierra Nevada Mountains offering all-season outdoor recreation of every kind.
In addition, the area features a rich and affordable array of family-oriented cultural experiences including Columbia State Historic Park (the best preserved old west 1849 Gold-Rush era town in California) where admission is free as well as Railtown 1897 State Historic Park where admission is $5 for adults, $3 ages 6-17 and free for those under 6. Columbia offers a number of free special family-oriented events all year long. Children will have lasting memories after a ride on the stagecoach or taking a turn at trying their luck gold panning. At Railtown 1897, families can ride the train on weekends from late Spring and into Fall and also during special events and holidays. Even well-behaved dogs can ride the train and also the stagecoach in Columbia!
Two local theater companies offer top quality performances with adult ticket prices averaging less than $30 per performance. Matinees and special priced event nights are also available. During the holidays there is always at least one family-oreinted holiday-themed production that is fun for the entire family.
Lodging: Families will find campgrounds and RV parks with rates ranging from as little as $18-$20 per night per site. For example, the Pinecrest Campground (near beautiful and iconic Pinecrest Lake at approximately 6500 foot elevation) offers $23 per night with a 50% discount for seniors with the appropriate passes from the U.S. Forest Service. There are over 30 campgrounds in the area -some in beautiful mountain settings or adjacent to one of the many lakes in the area. Others are near the historic gold rush era towns of Sonora, Columbia, Jamestown and Groveland.
Summer rates at many of our hotels and B&B's are also very reasonable. For example the Yosemite Ridge Resort ( just north of the Yosemite Park entrance) has family cabins for $175 per night in the summer season and the Rodeway in the heart of historic downtown Sonora is offering rooms from $69 per night ($79 for a room with 2 queen beds to sleep 4). From the Rodeway Inn you can walk to restaurants, shops, theaters and more.
As an alternative, many vacation home rentals are available throughout the area. ReMax Yosemite Gold in Groveland on Highway 120 towards Yosemite is offering houses from $145 per night as an example. The close proximity to Yosemite National Park makes these vacation homes quite popular. Twain Harte Vacation Rentals on Highway 108 in theTuolumne County High Country is offering a 25% off Spring, Summer and Fall 2014 discount. In Twain Harte families can enjoy the lake, go miniature golfing and venture out to explore the high country.
Add in the many moderate priced restaurants in the area and a family of four can spend 2-3 nights in a hotel, dine out and take in a lot of local special events and ongoing activities for $500 or less. Staying in a campground and cooking some of the meals on site could stretch that $500 out for a week or more!
For more information, please visit www.yosemitegoldcountry.com.