fun to do kids gold country california   Travel for Kids
  | California
     
   

Gold Country

Gold nugget
In 1848, gold was discovered on the American River, and everything changed. People rushed to California and mining towns sprang up overnight in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The gold mines are long gone but Highway 49 is dotted with historic towns that keep the Old West alive. Traveling the Gold Country with kids brings out the adventurer in all of us.
California Gold Rush Towns Photo Album
  Old Sacramento
Northern Gold Country
  Nevada City
    Grass Valley
    Bridgeport
    Auburn
    Coloma - Marshall Gold Discovery SHP
    Placerville
   

Apple Hill

Southern Gold Country
  Jackson
    Murphys & Vallecito
    Angels Camp
   

Columbia State Historic Park

    Jamestown
    Mariposa
      Tip: To find out where to see the biggest, brightest gold nuggets, read our blog post: "California Gold Rush Museums"
   

Fun food

   

Strike it rich at candy shops and ice cream parlors as you travel California Gold Country with kids. There’s nothing like enjoying ice cream on a hot day, trying a cold sarsaparilla soda, and choosing old-fashioned sweets like giant lollipops, pink peppermint sticks, homemade fudge and chewy salt water taffy: California Gold Country: Sweet Delights

family hotels gold country california
There's plenty of fun things to do with kids in the Gold Country, but as you travel down Highway 49, you'll need a fun place to stay.

Here's our own Travel for Kids hand-picked list of family hotels for the Gold Country, all styles and price ranges, near to places you'll want to explore:

Gold Country family hotels
kids books gold rush california
     
what was the gold rush  
What Was the Gold Rush?
Joan Holub, Tom Tomkinson

Illustrated history of the Gold Rush, from discovery of gold here at Coloma, to growing boomtowns, miners at work in the goldfields, tales of riches and losses, plus historical photos. (Chapter book)

 

     

"Boys, I believe I found a gold mine!" exclaimed James Marshall on January 24, 1848. This was the beginning of a stampede to the goldfields. First hand accounts of hardships, toil and treasure, vividly illustrated. (Illustrated chapter book)

 

 
Gold! Gold from the American River! history gold rush california kids
     
if you were a kid during the california gold rush  

Meet Louise and Feng, kids searching for gold to help their families, plus journey map, immigrants coming to California, tools and life in a mining camp. (Picture book)

 

     

Teenage Jack and his family butler, Praiseworthy, head for the gold fields of California, traveling by sea around Cape Horn. In Hangtown, the resourceful Praiseworthy takes to gold panning with an umbrella and bare-knuckle fighting, and together they strike pay dirt. (Chapter book)

 

 
By the Great Horn Spoon adventures kids gold rush california
     
Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea  
Levi Strauss Gets a Bright Idea
Tony Johnston, Stacy Innerst

Tall tale of Levi Strauss, who came to the gold fields and had the bright idea to make denim pants for the miners, pants that even horses couldn't tear in two. And what happened to all those barrels the miners were wearing? (Picture book)

 

     
Chang's Paper Pony
Eleanor Coerr, Deborah Kogan Ray

Little Chang helps his Grandpa Li peel potatoes in the Gold Ditch Hotel kitchen, but he yearns for a pony. Chang pans for gold so he can buy a pony, but finds treasure in the most unlikely place – under his feet. (Easy reader)

 

 
Chang's Paper Pony chinese kids gold rush california
     
Rachel's Journal pioneers california kids  
Rachel's Journal
Marissa Moss

1850. Rachel's family travel in a covered wagon to California, passing herds of buffalo on the prairie, surviving treacherous river crossings and poisoned waterholes, until journey's end at the Sacramento Valley, "the land of milk and honey." Like a long lost scrapbook, filled with personal details and drawings, this is a gem. (Illustrated chapter book)

 

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