There are dozens of tiny picturesque communities throughout the central Sierra Nevada foothills. Angels Camp is one of the largest towns (about 4500 people)in Calaveras county and one of the most representative of California's old mining towns. A real flavor of the gold rush can be seen here and in other nearby towns such as Columbia, San Andreas and Sonora.
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Near Angels Camp in the town of Murphys there are several wineries that are worth the effort to visit. Black Sheep makes one of the best low to moderately priced Zinfandels to be found. Ron Kautz’s Ironstone Vineyards is the showplace winery of the county. It has a beautiful amphitheater where concerts are held all summer. The winery has a really great tasting room and a museum where the largest natural piece of gold ever found is on display. They also have a nice deli where you can get drinks and sandwiches and a picnic area where you can enjoy your meal.
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The solitude of the area fits well with the natural beauty of the Sierra Nevada foothills. The tiny town of Sheepranch is very representative of the mining communities that dot the area. It's not on the ”through route” to anywhere and should not be considered as a destination for tourism. It is an interesting place to linger long enough to discover some of the artifacts left behind and to reflect on the lives the miners led.
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The the old general store in Sheepranch was one of the locations used in Clint Eastwood’s movie “Honky-Tonk Man”. A number of other movies have been filmed in the general area (Calaveras, Toloumne and Amador counties) including Back to the Future III (near Jamestown). There are several caves nearby that are open to the public. Mercer Caverns and Moaning Cave are the more commercial and offer more for the casual tourist while California Caverns near Mountain Ranch has offerings for the real adventurers amongst us.
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There are a handful of small hotels around the towns of Angels Camp, Murphys, Arnold, San Andreas and Sonora but few are noteworthy. One exception is the Black Bart Hotel in San Andreas. There's lots of old west history here and at the old jail across the street.
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There are no clubs in the area but a few places such as the Murphys Hotel in the town of Murphys and the Black Bart Hotel in San Andreas do have entertainment
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Several of the towns do have some good watering holes. There are several historic bars along CA highway 49 in Angels Camp. Mokulume Hill, Sonora, Murphys and Columbia have historic saloons as well.
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The Columbia Hotel in Columbia has about the only really notable restaurant in the area. There are several other good restaurants dotted throughout the area.
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The twisty mountain roads coupled with a very low volume of traffic and some interesting elevation changes make the area a natural for motorcycles but the narrowness of the roadway and the large number of blind corners make it a lousy place for bicyclists or hikers.
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Published on Wednesday August 7th, 2002
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