columbia state historic park

Columbia State Historic Park is a true gem, and it takes you back to the mid 1800's. The historic part of old town is well preserved, reach in history. Visit Columbia Junior College, the grounds are perfect for a short stroll around campus. Also worth your time is St. Anne's Church, the oldest church in California. Visit Columbia Cemetery and School House. Other nearby attractions; Ironstone Vineyards well worth your visit; Angels Camp, Big Trees State Park, Pinecrest Lake, etc.

My husband and I stopped off at this historic state park the day before we went to Yosemite. It is refreshingly different & you can enjoy "panning for Gold" or taking a ride on a horse buggy in front of the Old Wells Fargo Bank. The people who work there dress up with clothing from that era & it's really cool. Make sure you stop to see the Columbia Hotel as well since there are rumored ghosts there!

It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday in late February, a perfect time to tour this old West mining town. But sadly, " off season" , most was shut down, no stagecoach running, no costumed " townspeople", no tours. Buildings were open, but no real exhibits to speak of ( except for the small museum, which was open) . Even the lone blacksmith was a solitary figure, working with no fire going and a weathered , sad notice about display knives thwt had been stolen the previous December. Some of the replica buildings are now severely deteriorated themselves. Kids were having fun with room to run, climb amongst the large wtone formations, do some bowling on the wooden lane...Some shops were open ( candy store, gift stores), and one bar where the enebriated denizens had come outside to smoke. Was a beautiful California day to stroll, but too bad there weren't more businesses open to stimulate this old town's economy-- because it surely needs it.

We spent most of the day here and really enjoyed it. The park (a beautifully preserved old town) has that air of authenticity. We did the short tour which was very informative then generally wandered around just taking in the atmosphere. We could not resist riding on the stage and I even got to ride upfront with the driver who I at first thought was going to be a bit quiet but who then opened up and was very entertaining. I would very much recommend this ride - its quite short but gives a good idea of what travelers went through in those days. All staff we met were friendly and helpful. And parking was free as was general entry.

We visited on December 27 and were looking forward to a lunch at one of the "many" eateries. However, only a sandwich shop and one restaurant were open.The restaurant was out of most things because it planned to close "for good" the next day. Staff told us that other businesses were also planning to close.It's a great shame and I feel sure that the restaurant could have had more success had pricing been more realistic. Our lunch for three - including a beer - was only $21 i.e. below high street prices.Lovely little historic town. Let's hope that the State will find other people willing to revitalize it.

I have been visiting this town since I was in elementary school, going here on field trips. I now have children of my own and have chaperoned several times. Just visited again with relatives from out of the state, and it was neat to view the town through their eyes. Big large parking lot to park. Walk up the front and there are huge boulders, huge, that the kids and teens love to climb. Beyond that there is a old mining shack that is really a store. You can purchase a tin gold mining pan there and go down to the water and "pan" for gold. Usually during the tourist season they plant small lil nuggets in there. Yes, there is a fun stage coach ride that is fairly reasonable. A pretend hold up takes place. A man on a horse with a bandana covering his face holds up the coach at gun point. You are really supposed to hand over tips at this point! An old horseshoe shop, I don't know the exact name, is torching and making fun souvenirs while you wait. Ice cream, candy shops........an old jail, a few places to eat and to buy drinks. One of the neatest things are up the hill.......an old school house and cemetery. Neat for the kids to see how "we" lol used to go to school. My favorite part is to drive or walk up to the cemetery and look at the old tombstones.

It is a restored gold rush town where the shopkeepers and locals dress up in 1850s style dressing. We took a stagecoach ride and a robber stopped us to check if we were carrying any gold. It was pretty entertaining! The candy store was a big hit with us and so were the musicians playing music by the roadside. We tried our hand at gold panning and our 7-year-old son loved the rock park. On the whole, it was a good place to spend 2-3 hours leisurely with a kid!

Amazingly restored and maintained by the California State Parks Department. Great for a day trip to check out the old historic buildings, pan for gold, buy soap & candles. I have been to this place thrice and I can visit it again. One goal is to spend a night as the historic City Hotel sometime soon.Great place to relive the golden past of the gold rush days in California.

We detoured to visit this place after reading reviews and we were really looking forward to visiting an 'old west' town but we were both really disappointed here.We visited in early October and it was classed as out of season so a visit during a busier time may be better.When we visited the shops were open but there was no stage coach running or anything else going on.There is a saloon, saddle shop, general store and other like places to visit that you would expect in a place like this but nothing around to make you feel you were back in the west.I'm also not sure how many old west towns had all of their roads tarmaced and it just left us feeling flat.If you are passing then this place is worth a look see but we went an hour out of our way and don't think it was worth it.

The park really felt like an old gold mining town with many beautifully preserved buildings. It was not easy to get there as it was a bit poorly signposted.

Columbia State Historic Park is absolutely charming and full of interesting history. You can stroll around at your own pace or take a tour. The people in period clothes and the impressive stagecoach really make it special. They host a variety of excellent events throughout the year, which are always run very well. There are a few very nice shops and some great places to indulge in delicious baked treats, unique teas, coffee, and truly amazing candy.

Essentially California started here.Great place to see what this region used to be during the gold rush.Take a good solid 1-2 hours to check out this place. You won't regret it.

We had a great time here - the stage coach ride was a highlight. The shopkeepers are all in period dress, which makes wandering around fun and everyone was very friendly. This is a great destination for a family trip, couples trip, or a girls' trip like ours.

Visited this fabulous little town twice in one week in Sept.On the Tuesday we found it was very quiet there. The gold panning and stage coach were not operating during the week only weekends from Sept on. Found a great tea shop to have lunch on both days (Katies). We went back on the Friday specifically to take a stagecoach ride but were very disappointed to discover it wasnt operating even though it was advertised as such. No update in the stage office to explain why. Luckily we bumped into a lady in 1850s costume (Kathy) who told us it wasnt operating that day due to smoke from a large wild fire some miles away. (Couldnt see any smoke though) Now Kathy could have left it at that but she offered to give us a guided tour of the two old hotels to make up for our disappointment. Her kindness did dull the disappointment and we really enjoyed the tours. Top marks to Kathy for customer service!The information shop was also staffed by a very helpful lady who gave us a useful map on the town.The old school house is outside the town up a hill but you can take your car up there if you dont fancy the walk. (less than 10 minutes but all uphill)There is a large car park available and I would allow at least 3 hours for a visit.The store museum is well worth a visit as well.but to make the most of it at this time of year you need to go at the weekend.

Columbia is probably the best introduction to the Gold Rush towns, just 2 miles south to Sonora. This town was known to be one of the wealthiest towns of California during 1850 and 1860, gold being discovered in early 1850. Dr Hildreth, aided by his team is reported to have picked up 35 pounds of gold in just 2 days and within a month over 5000 miners had started working to look for gold from the nearby river beds. During that period Columbia was known to have about 15000 people engaged in various mining and connected activities. However, within fifteen years gold had run out with millions of ounces of gold being taken away and the gold mining became completely uneconomical. Two devastating fires, aided by shortage of water further turned Columbia into a ghost town by 1870. Most buildings which are surviving today have been reconstructed by using bricks and mortar and the town is preserved as a state historic park. It is not a park in real sense but you go along a road with several shops/museums on both sides showing different activities of old times, like candle making, black smithy, guns, saddlery items etc. In the black smith shop one can buy a horse shoe with name engraved on it and the shop people are known to be descendents of 1850s. Candle making attracts lots of children. Some shops/museums also display exhibits about the history of mining activities, water transportation etc prevailing in 1850s. There is a shop where you would be given water to search for gold by floatation process, of course at a price but it is said that a little gold dust is mixed in the water. Among many historical sights is an old jail and water storage sumps. I found the visit really very fascinating and recommend that people visiting Yosemite must drop here for a lifetime experience. A ride in the horse cart/coach is very exciting, particularly for the children.