BECAUSE FUN MATTERS ...
40-plus Wineries • Gold Rush Historic Points • Museums • Antiques • Gold Panning
Craft Fairs • Music and Wine Festivals • Outdoor Sports • Art Galleries • Live Theater • Golfing • Hiking and Skiing

AMADOR WINE COUNTRY

Visit the 40+ wineries of Amador County. Most are small family operations where unpretentious hospitality is the norm. All are located along scenic backroads in some of California's most picturesque rural settings. You can sip wine while gazing at the beautiful, snow-capped Sierras and picnic under grand old oak trees surrounded by vines. And Amador wineries are easy to reach, nestled between highways 50 and 88 along historic Highway 49.

Amador is renowned for producing California's finest zinfandels, some of them crafted from 19th-century vines. In recent years, Amador vintners have also begun producing delicious wines from Rhône Valley and Italian varietals, including syrah, viognier, barbera, and sangiovese. Along with Amador's prized zinfandels, these bottlings have earned enthusiastic praise from critics and wine lovers worldwide.

In Amador County, visitors experience the rich history of a community born of gold that today is flourishing on the nectar of distinctive, world-class wines.

GOLD FEVER

Gabby's Gold Rush Tours
Enjoy a fun, authentic, escorted tour in Amador County, believed by many to be the Heart of the Gold Rush Mother Lode. Your personal guide is a retired teacher with many years of local and regional history to share with you.

Gold Panning
Try your hand at gold panning in the heart of the Mother Lode. Visit the historic Kennedy Gold Mine in Jackson. Season is mid-March through October, weekends only. For information and tour reservations call 209-223-9542.

Moaning Cavern's offers an above ground, high adrenaline activity!

DINING AND SHOPPING

From casual to elegant, you will find a wealth of opportunities to experience the culinary delight of this Gold Country region. And the shopping? Here you will find a multitude of small town stores filled with fascinating goods, interesting people, one-of-a-kind antiques and collectibles. (Ask your innkeeper for dining and shopping recommendations.)

GOLF

CASTLE OAKS
Location: Northwest of Ione on Castle Oaks Drive off Highway 104: Par: 71: Yardage: 6,759 yards: USGA rating: 72.7. 209-274-0167.

MACE MEADOW
Location: Highway 88 in Pioneer; Par:72: Yardage: 6,285 yards: USGA rating: 70.1. 29-295-7020.

MORE FUN IDEAS

Kirkwood Ski Resort, offering some of the finest downhill and cross country skiing in the Lake Tahoe Area, is at the north end of Amador County, an easy drive "up-country", (209-258-6000).

There are many lakes in the area - Lake Amador, Lake Camanche, and Pardee Lake are noted for fishing. Gently rolling hills and country roads provide many opportunities for hiking and biking.

OARS River Rafting: As the largest and most diverse river company in the West, running rivers throughout Idaho, Utah, California, Oregon, Wyoming the Grand Canyon, and even internationally, O.A.R.S. is uniquely positioned to build for you a spectacular vacation or quick getaway that you'll treasure forever.

Roaring Camp Mining Company: Rafting, diving, dredging, swimming in nature's most beautiful swimming holes, fishing, hiking on the trails used by the 49ers, wildlife and all types of ranch animals. You can also enjoy our miniature golf course, playground area, ping pong and horseshoe pits. There is something for the entire family. All of this, plus the best gold-mining in the Mother Lode!