Amador County - 20 Attractions You Must Visit

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About Amador County

Amador County, is a county in the U.S. state of California, This County bills itself as "The Heart of the Mother Lode" and lies within the Gold Country.

Types of Attractions in Amador County

Activities Around

List of Attractions in Amador County

Amador Cellars

Amador Cellars

Man-made Structures- Other

Amador Cellars is a family-run winery showcasing Mediterranean wines, Tuscan architecture and a friendly tasting room staff. The winery produces estate-grown Zinfandel and Italian, Spanish and Rhone Valley varietals. Explore our beautiful location for a barn wedding amid the vines.

Amador Whitney Museum

The Amador Whitney Museum exists to promote an interest in the history and culture of the Mother Lode region among both residents and visitors.This building, originally the Kling Building is probably the oldest commercial building in town. It dates back to 1860. Throughout the years, it has housed many types of businesses including the Wells Fargo Drayage Company.

Bear River Reservoir

Bear River Reservoir

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Bear River Reservoir, has a normal water surface of 149 acres and has a maximum capacity of 6,818 acre-feet. it is popular for boating, fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, and even water skiing. Nearby trails lead hikers to the upper Bear River Reservoir and beyond into Long Valley.

Black Chasm Cavern National Natural Landmark

Black Chasm Cavern is a cave nestled in the hamlet of Volcano, located in Amador County, California. It is a dissolution cave, formed by sulfuric acid resulting from Geo-thermal hydrogen sulfide reacting with down-moving oxygenated surface water.

Butte Store

Butte Store

Old Ruins

The Butte Store stands as a solitary reminder of what was once a vibrant community. An Italian stone mason constructed the building in 1857 to serve settlers and miners as both their post office and general store.

D'Agostini Winery

D'Agostini Winery

Man-made Structures- Other

D'Agostini Winery refers to both a winery in Healdsburg, California owned by Armagan Champagne Cellars as well as the original vineyard, winery, and wine cellar located in Plymouth, Amador County, which are owned by Sobon Estate Winery. The original winery is registered as a California Historical Landmark.

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park

Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park is a California State Park, preserving an outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes This is the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America. The park is nestled in a little valley. This museum within the park grounds features a variety of exhibits and a vast collection of Sierra Nevada Indian artifacts.

Kennedy Gold Mine Tours

The Kennedy Gold Mine is a gold mine in Jackson, California, one of the deepest mines on the Mother Lode. It closed in 1942 and together with nearby Argonaut Mine. It has since been re-opened as a tourist attraction.

Kennedy Tailing Wheels Park

Kennedy Tailing Wheels Park

Man-made Structures- Other

Old Ruins

Kennedy Tailing Wheels Park is located at the transition point between Jackson Gate Road and North Main Street. This park preserves two of the remaining Kennedy Mine Tailing Wheels, the iconic symbols of the City of Jackson that were environmental pioneers during the hard rock mining era of the early 20th century.The park around these historical structures includes a kiosk with historical photographs and information about the engineering and operation of the wheels.

Knight Foundry

Knight Foundry

Man-made Structures- Other

The Knight Foundry, set in the heart of Sutter Creek, is America's last water-powered foundry and machine shop. It was established in 1873 to supply heavy equipment and repair facilities to the gold mines and timber industry of the Mother Lode. Samuel N. Knight developed a high speed, cast iron impulse water turbine which was a forerunner of the Pelton wheel design. Knight Wheels were used in some of the first hydroelectric plants in California, Utah, and Oregon.

Lake Amador

Lake Amador

Lake/ River/ Ponds

A beautiful reservoir located in Amador County, California. It lies at an elevation of 325 feet. The lake's water is impounded by the Jackson Creek Dam, a 193-foot tall earth-and-rock dam, built in 1965 across Jackson Creek. The dam is 1,140 feet long and 11 feet wide and contains 1,223,000 cubic yards of material.

Lower Bear River Reservoir

Lower Bear River Reservoir

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Lower Bear River Reservoir in Pioneer, California is created by its own dam, the Lower Bear River Reservoir Dam, and is owned by PG&E. It is popular for boating, fishing, canoeing, and kayaking, and even water skiing. Nearby trails lead hikers to the upper Bear River Reservoir and beyond into Long Valley. The lake is easy to access for day outings or overnight stays. At 5,800 feet, the reservoir is free of snow before any of the other major lakes higher on Carson Pass.

Mokelumne Peak

Mokelumne Peak

1 Day Treks

Mountain Peaks

Mokelumne Peak is a peak in the Mokelumne Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, Amador County. This Peak has the largest body of metamorphic rock in the region, called the Mokelumne Peak roof pendant, extending over an area of 15 square miles. The pendant has concentric zones of different metamorphic rock types around a central core of highly folded and contorted gneiss. The granite of the batholith surrounding the roof pendant is the granodiorite of Caples Lake.

Mormon Emigrant Trail

This is a very scenic journey in the heart of El Dorado County, in Eastern California, USA. The road was originally named Iron Mountain Road.Nestled in the heart of Eldorado National Forest, the scenic drive is a delight to drive, with every kind of twist and turn and offers great views. The road is not too busy. It was originally named Iron Mountain Road but was renamed in the 1980s.

Pardee Dam

Pardee Dam is a 345-foot -high structure across the Mokelumne River which marks the boundary between Amador and Calaveras Counties. Popular recreational activities include fishing, boating and hiking. Swimming pools located next to the café are available for your enjoyment seven days a week.

Preston Castle Foundation

Preston Castle Foundation

Iconic Buildings

Museums

This was a reform school located in Ione, California, in Amador County. Its mission is to preserve, rehabilitate and utilize the historic Preston Castle site as well as preserving the history of the school, its staff and boys. The Romanesque Revival style of architecture was to make the building look like a school rather than a prison. Today, theCastle is open to the public for tours and events.

Shenandoah Vineyards

Shenandoah Vineyards

Outdoors- Other

Shenandoah Vineyards is the 2nd oldest active winery in Virginia, founded in 1976. Housed in a red barn dating to the Civil War, the winery sits atop an old stone foundation which serves as the aging cellar. The winery features a picnic area with breathtaking views of the surrounding vineyards. The tasting room has knowledgeable, friendly staff and an art gallery featuring contemporary art and ceramics.

Silver Lake

Silver Lake

Lake/ River/ Ponds

Silver Lake is a reservoir in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California.The lake surface is 525 acres at full capacity and is at an elevation of 7,200 feet . It is surrounded by Eldorado National Forest and is part of the El Dorado Irrigation District and their Hydroelectric Project 184 system. Snow and ice are common in this area during winter seasons.

St Sava Serbian Orthodox Church

The St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church is part of the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Eastern America. It is built on the presumed location of St. Sava's grave. His coffin had been moved from Mileševa Monastery to Belgrade. The coffin was placed on a pyre and burnt in 1595 by Ottoman Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha.

Thunder Mountain

Thunder Mountain

1 Day Treks

Mountain Peaks

Thunder Mountain is the highest point in Amador County, California. It is located in the Sierra Nevada mountains just above the Kirkwood ski area.The mountain has two peaks, the 9,414-foot main peak and a 9,412-foot sub-peak west of the main peak. Due to the high elevation, most precipitation that falls on Thunder Mountain consists of snow.

Map of attractions in Amador County

Comments

For more information about Amador County, visit: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Amador_County