Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Attached to the Victoria Inn, Murphys' most elegant dinner spot offers Mediterranean
small and large plates and a creative cocktail list. Options start with tapas (deep-fried
anchovy-stuffed olives!) and end with a commanding rib eye. The dining room and patio
fill up on weekends, so reserve ahead.
Columbia State Historic Park
More than any other place in Gold Country, Columbia blurs the lines between present and
past with a carefully preserved Gold Rush town - complete with volunteers in period dress
- at the center of a modern community. In 1850 Columbia was founded over the 'Gem of
the Southern Mines;' as much as $150 million in gold was found here, and the center of
the town (which was taken over by the state parks system) looks almost exactly as it did in
its heyday. The authenticity of the old Main St is only shaken a bit by the sugared fra-
grance of the fudge and the occasional play-acting forty-niners who forgets to remove his
digital watch. On the fringe of these blocks are homes and businesses that blend in so well
that it becomes hard to tell what's park and what's not.
The blacksmith's shop, theater, old hotels and authentic bar are carefully framed win-
dows into history, completed by easy gold panning (from $5) and breezy picnic spots.
Docents lead free hour-long
tours
on weekends at 11am from the Columbia Museum.
After most shops and attractions close around 5pm, you can have the atmospheric town to
yourself, which makes staying overnight an attractive option.
Sights
Columbia Museum
HISTORIC SITE
(
general info 209-588-9128, museum 209-532-3184; cnr Main & State Sts ;
9am-4:30pm spring
& summer, 10am-4pm fall & winter)
Looking rather like dinosaur bones, limestone and granite boulders are noticeable around
town. These were washed out of the surrounding hills by hydraulic mining and scraped
clean by prospectors. There's a fascinating explanation of this technique at this renovated
museum.
