Drive back into time and peak through the windows of this old gold rush town. Pack a lunch and take a hike. More

North Bloomfield is an out of the way preserved gold rush town which is basically only a block or two long. There is a museum which explains the history of hydraulic mining in the area as well as the historic court case which brought it to an end. A ranger takes visitors on tours of some of the old buildings.... More

This place looks like a moonscape. The gold miners were great engineers and they blasted everything away in their search for gold. It is a shock to go and view the devastation that stills remains after 160 years. More

Great place to walk, hike, visit museum, learn about California history. More

The park is a good look at what hydraulic mining did to the environment. Now-a-days nature has reclaimed a lot of the damaged earth but it's easy to see what the cost was to get gold out of the earth. The park may be closed now due to budget reduction, so I recommend calling ahead. More

This park is a true gem. It consists of a small ghost town called North Bloomfield, complete with stores, barber shop, blacksmith shop, saloon, firehouse, churches, and homes. Rangers give tours and I highly recommend you join one since the inside of most of the buildings are not open for self guided tours. Then there is the hydraulic mine. Pressurized... More

Malakoff Diggins is a beautiful park that preserves the history of the hydraulic gold mining episode in California history. Located in the forest less than an hour from Nevada City it is very popular with student groups who go to study that era of their local history. There is a well-preserved mining town, camping areas, and hikes that take you... More

This is one of my favorite state parks. WARNIING!!! DO NOT google/mapquest/yahoo maps or use your GPS for directions to this state park. They will all take you over about 20 miles of dirt roads. Go on Hwy 49 to Tyler Foote Crossing. It is a few more miles, but the roads are all paved and you'll get there faster.... More

The Group camp site is excellent. A large number of picnic talbes, huge BBQ grills, really nice fire pit with permanent benches, two bathrooms, large buffet table, excellent shade. Very close to some excellent easy trails. Two HUGE bear lockers. The staff at the station are excellent, very friendly, very professional, loaned us some gold pans to do a little... More