Calaveras County
Calaveras County is home to several lakes, Big Trees State Park and 22 wineries, including Ironstone Vineyards which in 1998 completed an outdoor amphitheater that hosts music concerts, and other celebrations. Calaveras country fairgrounds hosts the Jumping Frog Jubilee and other smaller events.
The larger towns including Angels Camp, Copperopolis, San Andreas, and Murphys are mostly independent of each other because of geography. There are two main high schools Calaveras High School with 1,050 students and Bret Harte Union with 650 students.
To inspire wonder visit the massive Calaveras Big Trees. You can take a humbling walk around giant sequoias. Many outdoor activities like rafting, hiking and camping draw people from all over to the area. Bear Valley Ski area lies just over the Alpine-Calaveras county line on highway 4 to the East. New Melones Lake, on the southern border with Tuolumne County, is the largest reservoir in California, just down the road as is championship golfing at Greenhorn Creek and Saddle Creek. Visit the Recreation Guide for more to do in the area.
The PBS series ‘Rob on the Road’ premiered this Calaveras virtual tour on Monday May 29th.
Calaveras County Communities
Altaville
Altaville was first known as “Cherokee Flat” because it is located close to Cherokee river where Mr. D.D. Demarest built an iron foundry in 1854, producing most of the stamp mills, and a large percentage of the mining equipment erected in Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties.
Angels Camp
The “City of Angels” is the only incorporated town in Calaveras County. It has a charming main street full of intriguing little shops and cafe restaurants, a farmers market in the summer and a vintage movie theater.
Arnold
Over the past 50 years the town of Arnold has grown from serving loggers to those seeking a quiet sanctuary. With today’s conveniences and yesterdays classic mountain lifestyle, Arnold offers the best of both worlds.
Burson
Fishing here is a big draw, Amador Lake especially contains giant Donaldson-strain cutbow salmonids. The Lockhart family at Amador Fish Hatchery say that more than 50 years of research went into producing this fish.
Campo Seco
Originally populated by Oregon prospectors who worked the area during 1849 the town was first known as Oregon Gulch. Mexicans from Sonora changed the name to Campo Seco, which means “Dry Camp”, because of the lack of water.
Copperopolis
Just outside of town is Lake Tulloch with 55 miles of shoreline and the Lake Tulloch Resort. Copperopolis is the perfect place stay while you enjoy boating and water sports. For more about Lake Tulloch visit the destination guide.
Douglas Flat
Coyote Creek runs though a large meadow, also called a “flat”, and since a man by the name of Douglas, spent a lot of time camped out in this “flat”, the town eventually came to be named after him.
Glencoe
Origionally named Musquito Gulch, postal authorities established it in 1869 and reestablished it in 1873. They changed the name to Glencoe in 1878 discontinued it in 1916 and reestablished it in 1947.
Hathaway Pines
Hathaway Pines is a small community, the entire zip code 95233 has 316 people. Located about 3 miles below Arnold. The elevation is 3400 feet which is below the heavy snow line.
Mokelumne Hill
This is the town that time forgot, a hidden treasure, far away from Highway 49. Most who live there like it just that way.
Mountain Ranch
Mountain Ranch is a very small town but here you will find the first cave in California to be opened to the public for guided tours California Caverns.
Murphys
Murphys is a charming gold rush town with many ‘up scale’ shops and art galleries as well as restaurants and shady parks along the strong flowing mill chase. This charismatic town is at the center of the Calaveras Wine Country with many award winning vineyards to choose from.
Rail Road Flat
Hidden away in the hills of the North Eastern part of Calaveras county lies Rail Road Flat.
San Andreas
Named after the Catholic parish St. Andres, the town has been a noted mining camp since early days.
Sheep Ranch
Sheep Ranch is a small community with a population of 87. It is located on Sheep Ranch Road which winds along the hills between Mountain Ranch and Murphys.
Vallecito
You might miss the aptly named “little valley” or Vallecito as you drive through it. The population is 427. Very few residents are located directly off of Highway 4 or Parrots Ferry, most are in hidden away from the main roads.
Valley Springs
The place first was called Spring Valley for mineral springs there, but the words of this name were reversed when the site became the terminus of San Joaquin and Sierra Nevada Railroad.
Wallace
Located on Highway 12 northeast of Lodi and west of Burson. Wallace residents can enjoy all the water recreation at Camanche Reservoir.
West Point
Sitting at the base of the Blue Mountain on Highway 26 at 2,769 feet you will find West Point. A peace pole at the Blue Mountain Coalition for Youth Center was put up marking the five-year anniversary of 9/11 and to call attention to violence in the community.
Wilseyville
Wilseyville has newly moved into the the ranks of an official town with a post office recently established here in 1947. For those looking for the quiet home town feel of the Foot Hills.
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