Great experience here! The mine was cool, a short and sweet self guided tour. Which I actually…read morereally liked. You can get through both the mine and the blacksmith demo in a little over an hour. Sometimes little attention spans can't handle a full days worth of historical education (myself included). Do not skip the blacksmith demo. The blacksmith we had was a great guy. Very knowledgeable and passionate about his craft. We very much enjoyed chatting with him, and we even bought 3 hand forged pieces he made. I forget his name but he was a totally cool guy. A retired fire captain with a ton of cool knowledge and fun stories. We loved him he was the highlight of the visit. We enjoyed chatting with the gal in the stamp room too.

My family and I trekked up the mountain to meet our friends at Gold Bug Park yesterday in…read morePlacerville. It was the first visit for all 7 of us and we had a great time! Our first stop was the mine cave that was very cold inside and educational - they give you a phone that plays audio with all of the historical facts while walking through the mine. It's about 15 minutes and we really enjoyed ourselves. The staff member who handles the cave tour was great with getting the 7 of us situated and explaining the rules. We also checked out the Blacksmith and the Stamping Mill - both were also very entertaining and educational. My daughter got to hammer a square nail into a tree truck - cool way to leave a little mark on the place. Gold Bug Park also offers Gem Panning which would did not check out, but we saw a couple of kids having fun while doing it. Entrance to the park is free, but the mine cave tour is $12 per adult, $8 per kid - 5 and under are free! Overall, we had a lot of fun! So many cool artifacts and history to explore. I thought every single staff member was knowledgeable, friendly and did a great job keeping our kids engaged! We would definitely come back to Gold Bug Park next time we are in Placerville!

This park is in downtown Placerville, CA. It's one of the prettiest neighborhood parks that I've…read moreever seen. Gorgeous aspen (or pine, one of those) trees surround the park. In its four acres is a lighted little league baseball field (home to the Hangtown League) complete with an electronic scoreboard and snack shack, play ground, picnic tables with bbq pits, and restrooms. The park is on Clark Street which is a narrow neighborhood gravel road. Drive cautiously because the street turns into hybrid part parking lot and street. On game days, the parking lot fills up quickly. When that happens, parking on Clark Street is scarce and the best bet is to park on Pacific Street and hike in. There are some handicapped parking spots located at the far end of the parking lot behind the little snack shack. From that end, there is a walking ramp that leads to all areas of the park including the walking path around the back field. So if you have folks in your group that would benefit from using the ADA ramps, it's best to unload from back there. Besides that access point, there are stairs, with hand rails, in the front parking lot. The parking lot has only one entrance and exit point. A big shout out to the Placerville Rotary Club for creating this park and helping to maintain it. Great community partnership.

Lions Park in Placerville, CA, is quite a gem. She's a beaut! The park was dedicated in 1968 by the…read morePlacerville Lion's Club. 24 acre park with two tennis courts, four pickle ball courts, two softball fields, frisbee disc golf course, children's play area, restroom, walking trail, and picnic tables and bbqs. The courts are locked though. City residents can purchase a key from the City's Parks and Recreation Office to access the courts. The park was extremely clean and well maintained. On my weekend visit, I was surprised to see a groundskeeper working on a weekend afternoon. He was no slacker. No wonder this place was so neat and tidy.

Great park. We came…read morefor a really good friend's baby shower. It's $50 to rent to the gazebo great price. Tennis court Park Baseball field Frisbee golf Two bathrooms Charcoal bbq ((should be scraped down once a month or something)) Lots of shaded area to sit. Pretty far out but great park Lots of parking available for your group

It was hot and we were visiting the area. My husband used his mapping skills and found this area by…read morethe water. When we arrived I was stunned it was so empty! Not a huge fan of trying to relax amidst a ton of people. There is a 6 dollar per car entrance fee. There were butterflies everywhere. It is a put it here for the rafters. It is located at the south fork of the American river which I have rafted many times but never from here. If you haven't rafted the American river I absolutely recommend! Back to the park, there is a grassy area to lay down a towel and have a picnic. I didn't see Bbqs or bathrooms but I didn't look all that hard. The beach area is rocky. Beautiful rocks, most smooth. Perfect for skipping! The water is Cold but that didn't stop us. My daughter in law is very pregnant and her poor feet appreciated the frigid water. The guys, they just jumped in. I edited real quick to add, if you get in know that the water is moving fast. Be aware. Next time we come I will bring some chairs. You can also pan for gold here if you desire. Pet friendly! Wonderful spot to cool off and listen to the water I tell ya!

What a cool park!! My son and his family live near here and…read morestumbled on this track walking the trail. So when we visited this last time my husband brought his bike and the boys hit the track. We had a delightful conversation with a county employee there, he explained how they built it ALL by hand! We had it to ourselves for a long while, then the kids started piling in. It's a big space. Clean bathrooms. Picnic tables. My husband's bike will travel with us now when we visit.

Track is fun. However, there are people throwing birthday parties for kids who don't have enough…read moreexperience riding a bike let alone being on a pump track. The parents of those kids don't watch them and I've seen multiple kids get seriously injured. Parks and Rec need to come up with some standard rules and etiquette for the park.

We have our pass to come here whenever we want. We got a pass a few years ago as well, back when…read morethey still gave a disabled discount with my disabled card. Now they don't. But it was $30+ and worth it this time. We took our dog and let her frolic around with other people's doggies. The water feels so good when it's hot weather. Getting in the water was a breeze! I don't have to go lower and lower walking in slowly because it was too cold. No, the water was perfectly cool. But not icy. I also like to enjoy the big field of grass with my little girl doggy. But only thing is you should arrive early for a good table.

I love the quote "time is like a river, you never touch the same water twice"…read more This is yet another spot on the American river I visited for the first time on land. We were in the area and wanted to picnic on the water. The parking lot is large and there are baseball fields and other park stuff but if you venture down the rocky somewhat steep hill there are little areas on the shoreline. We spent the entire day listening to the water and swimming and stacking rocks. We watched all the rafters go by but they couldn't see us. I saw 3 people go down the rapids on paddle boards standing!! That was impressive! I was absolutely content watching them from the shore in the shade eating my lunch with my legs in the water.. great day!

The Eldorado National Forest consist of nearly 600,000 acres with lakes, streams, and rivers;…read moremeadows and mountains; and campsites and picnic areas. There are over 400 hiking trails that pass through various terrains ranging in technical difficulty. The terrain ranges from meadow, oak foothills, to the 10,000 foot Sierra Nevada. Some hiking trails require reservations for day use permits. There are also campgrounds. Some areas, such as the areas affected by the recent fires, are off limits. For up to date information, It is advised to check out the fs.usda.gov website. The area is beautiful. Gorgeous alpine backcountry. Old growth forest. Pristine streams. There are access roads that will drive into the area. But most of the access roads are ruff, not paved, and could be hard to maneuver without a SUV.

Where do I start?! I absolutely love hiking here. It's a long drive for us, but it is so worth it!…read moreIf you love Yosemite, then you will love it here as well. We hiked Horsetail Falls Trail, and I can't even explain how magnificent this place is. It is a 4 mile hike surrounded by mini waterfalls and rock formation throughout the hike. Your reward is getting underneath the main waterfall at the top of the hike. You will do a lot of rock climbing the further you hike, and it gets really steep. There are absolutely breathtaking views at the top. I love it! I recommend this hike to everyone. My tip for this hike is to bring lots of water because you will need it. Come early to snag a parking spot because it fills up fast and there is a $10 fee for parking. ENJOY!