Gold Country - California - page 870

Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau TOURIST INFORMATION
( 209-533-4420; www.yosemitegoldcountry.com ; 542 Stockton St, Sonora; 9am-6pm daily Jun-

Sep, Mon-Sat Oct-May)
More so than other brochure-jammed chamber of commerce joints, the staff here offers
helpful trip planning advice throughout Gold Country as well as Yosemite National Park
and Stanislaus National Forest up in the Sierras on Hwy 108.

Getting There & Away
Hwy 108 is the main access road here, and it links up with I-5, 55 miles west near Stock-
ton. An entrance to Yosemite National Park is 60 scenic miles south on Hwy 120.
Navigating Southern Gold Country by public transportation can be tricky. Limited bus
service is provided weekdays by Tuolumne County Transit ( 209-532-0404;
www.tuolumnecountytransit.com ; adult/child $1.50/free; Mon-Fri) buses, which make the
Sonora loop hourly from 7am to 7:46pm, and stops in Columbia and Jamestown less fre-
quently. On summer weekends, look for air-conditioned green trolleys ( 209-532-0404;
www.historic49trolleyservice.com ; adult/child $1.50/free; 11am-9pm Sat, to 4pm Sun) that con-
nect the historical sights in Columbia, Sonora and Jamestown hourly to Labor Day.
For Yosemite visitors staying in the Sonora area, YARTS ( 877-989-2878, 209-388-9589;
www.yarts.com ; adult/child return $25/18, one way $13/9) operates two round-trip buses con-
necting downtown Sonora, Jamestown's Main St and Yosemite from June 14 to September
1. There is just one round-trip bus in May and September. Ask nicely to be dropped off at
unscheduled stops in Yosemite.