Explore and Tours

  • Black Chasm Cavern, named a National Natural Landmark in 1976, is an extraordinarily beautiful cave open daily 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guided walking tours showcase a variety of calcite formations including rare helictite crystals. 866-762-2837
  • Gabby’s Historical Gold Rush Tours Gabby is a retired local teacher who offers fun, authentic historical tours of Amador County which incorporate early California and Gold Rush history. Take a free walking tour or longer fee-based tours at $50 per hour.
  • Gold Country Wine Tours Come join us and other wine enthusiasts for a fun and unforgettable wine tour journey through the heart of the historic Gold Country! We will transport you to the many incredible vineyards and wineries nestled within the scenic rolling Sierra Foothills of Amador County including the picturesque Shenandoah Valley.
  • Monteverde Store Museum The Monteverde Store Museum, which opened as a country store in 1896, still displays all the paraphernalia of the past on its shelves. Dry goods, hardware, bulk products, apparel, patterns, even penny candy were on hand for local shoppers. It is preserved as it was in 1971 when the last owner closed the doors for a few days and never reopened. It can be viewed by appointment with the senior docent. Call (209) 267-0493 or (209) 267-1344 to make arrangements.
  • Amador Vintners Association The Amador Vintners Association is an alliance of thirty-four small, family wineries dedicated to promoting Amador County’s vibrant wine community and diverse, internationally renowned fine wines.
  • Preston Castle is one of the oldest and best-known reform schools in the United States. It is located in Ione, California, in Amador County.  Tours of Preston Castle are available from 10 am – 1 pm on the first and third Saturdays of every month.
  • Classic Vintage Car Tours Classic Vintage Car Tours offers tours of Shenandoah Valley wineries, Sutter Creek wine sites and other Amador County venues in a luxurious 1939 La Salle automobile. Vintage car comfortably accommodates four people. Operates daily.
  • Calaveras Big Tree State Park Calaveras became a State Park in 1931 to preserve the North Grove of giant sequoias. This grove includes the “Discovery Tree”, the first Sierra redwood noted by Augustus T. Dowd in 1852. This area has been a major tourist attraction ever since, and is considered the longest continuously operated tourist facility in California.
  • Chaw’se Indian Grinding Rock State Park Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills eight miles east of Sutter Creek. The park nestles in a little valley 2,400 feet above sea level with open meadows and large valley oaks that once provided the native Americans of this area with an ample supply of acorns. The 135-acre park was created in 1968 and preserves a great outcropping of marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes — the largest collection of bedrock mortars in North America.
  • Knight Foundry-This is one of the earliest US foundry-machine shops remaining in operation and one of the few water-powered. It was founded by Samuel N. Knight (1838-1913) to manufacture machinery for the gold mines of the Mother Lode region. Knight was one of several inventors experimenting with impulse turbines to exploit the area’s abundant high-head water power for driving hoists, ore stamps, and other mining machinery. He patented an efficient water wheel that came to dominate the field prior to the introduction of the Pelton turbine in the mid-1880s. Knight turbines drive some of the machinery of the works.  Knight Foundry is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated a California Historical Landmark.
  • Kirkwood Ski Area Kirkwood Ski Area approximately 55 miles East of Sutter Creek on Highway 88. Best ski area in Amador County.
  • Amador Flower Farm – Offers nearly 1000 daylily varieties at the Flower Farm itself, which is nestled in beautiful Shenandoah Valley.
  • Sutter Creek Gold Mine Trail – This “ten-mile length of Lode in Amador County …produced over half the total yield credited to the entire Mother Lode gold belt”