We will drive with our hosts for about 2 hours to Calaveras Big Trees State Park, then walk an easy (1.5 mile) trail through Giant Sequoia Redwood trees. Some of the trees are over 250 feet tall and have a circumference of 25 feet. They may be over 1000 years old. The park covers 26 square kilometers, has two large redwood groves and miles of walking trails. We will have a simple lunch in the park picnic area.
Following lunch, you can plan your afternoon journey home. You can meander through Murphy’s (an historic gold mining town). Visit the Ironstone Winery, with its extensive gardens, gold museum, see a very large gold nugget, and taste or buy wine. Alternatively, you may want to travel along Highway 49 which traverses many old gold mining towns such as San Andreas, Mokelumne Hill, Jackson, Sutter Creek, and Drytown. If you are really ambitious, you can visit Columbia State Park to see how the gold miners lived in the 1850’s.
For directions, click here.
If you are interested in joining us please contact the Exchange Director, Pat McVicar at (916) 966-6677