Calaveras County & Murphys Wineries

Murphys Wineries - The Other Wine Country & Calaveras Big Trees State Park

by Lynn Upthagrove

This is a really fun day trip, but could require a designated driver for visits to all the wine tasting rooms! From Groveland head down the hill on Route 120 to Highway 49 north, then follow to Angels Camp, about 45 minutes. Take a right onto Route 4 and follow past Murphys, and Arnold to Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

If touring the Sierra side of California, the groves of Big Trees from this park are wonderful, we think they are far better than the Groves one finds in Yosemite. The trees are easily accessible from the parking areas and there are far fewer tourists to contend with for the trails and photo opportunities here. There are miles of trails, and not all of them go up and down hills. We enjoy tramping about the wilderness for an hour or two before heading back into Murphys for the rest of the day.

When finished with a Big Trees adventure, head west again on Highway 4 to Murphy's.  Entering Murphy's you will see a sign that claims to be the "other wine country."  We fully agree. Our last trip to Murphy's we did a stop at most of the vineyard tasting rooms, starting with the country-side setting of Ironstone Vineyards, the only tasting room surrounded by their hillside grapes. To reach Ironstone, take a left at the old Murphy's Hotel and follow the signs, anther 2 miles.

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Twain's Calaveras County

by Cary Ordway

If you're looking for the Wild West, you could do no better than to go to a place that was once the home of Mark Twain and even memorialized in one of his short stories. Lucky for California residents, Calaveras County is a reasonable drive from both north and south and puts a lot of Gold Rush history all within a few square miles.

Students of Mark Twain will remember The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, a short story that was actually Twain's first published work and what eventually made him famous. Today, the Angels Camp community reminds us about Twain and his story every May, drawing more than 2,000 "frog jockeys" who compete to see whose frog can jump the farthest.

Such is the spirit in Calaveras County, a fascinating collection of historic villages that you don't need to wait until May to visit. In fact, the Jumping Frog Jubilee's added traffic may just interfere if all you want to do is explore the many historic attractions, museums, interesting shops - and even wineries - found in this scenic part of the state.

Your exploration can be a weekend or a vacation and can focus on just Calaveras County or include any number of towns and attractions in neighboring counties.

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