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<\/a><\/p>\nEstablished in 1858 and once known as El Dorado Camp,\u00a0Mountain Ranch<\/a>\u00a0was once a little thriving Gold Rush town. Then, as the gold mines and sawmills closed, Mountain Ranch turned to ranching as its main economy. Settled in 1848 by Mexican settlers,\u00a0San Andreas<\/a>\u00a0was named after the Catholic parish, St. Andres.\u00a0West Point<\/a>, a California Historical Landmark on Highway 26 near Main Street, declares that the area was named by Kit Carson as he traveled with Captain John Fremont searching for a pass over the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.<\/p>\n California Cavern \u2013 Mountain Ranch<\/p>\n Originally called Mammoth Cave, California Cavern was California\u2019s first show cave and is its longest cavern system. Depending on the season, the guided cavern walk tour can be 45 minutes to 80 minutes long featuring an enchanting trail with beautiful crystalline cave formations in historical and recently discovered pristine areas.<\/p>\n The cavern walking tour takes you through several passageways into multiple chambers on a trail system. On the way, you\u2019ll see a wide variety of beautiful white, cream and caramel colored crystalline cave formations including stalactites, stalagmites, cave popcorn, flowstones and helictites, while also learning about the cavern\u2019s fascinating discovery and early uses.<\/p>\n Calaveras County Museum & Historical Complex \u2013 San Andreas<\/p>\n The Calaveras County Museum Complex includes the historic\u00a0courthouse, jail yard and Hall of Records. It includes the upstairs portion of the Odd Fellows and Masonic Hall built in 1856. The museum contains displays dating to the Gold Rush era including information on the famous outlaw, Black Bart, the \u201cGentleman Bandit\u201d who was jailed and tried here when he was finally captured in 1888 by Wells Fargo stagecoach driver, Reason McConnell and 19-year old Jimmy Rolleri.<\/p>\n An outstanding\u00a0Mi Wok Indian exhibit\u00a0includes artifacts, photos and quotes revealing the ancient Mi Wok lifestyle.<\/p>\n Researching your family\u2019s history in Calaveras County? Friendly, helpful staff at the\u00a0Historical Society\u2019s\u00a0office, located on the lower floor of the Hall of Records, are happy to help you during their regular hours.<\/p>\n P.A.W.S (Performing Animals Welfare Society) \u2013 San Andreas<\/p>\n At\u00a0Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)<\/a>\u00a0sanctuaries, rescued animals live in peaceful, natural habitats, free from fear, chains, and harsh confinement. They are at complete liberty to act out natural behaviors in the comfort of their individually designed enclosures. In February 2024, Lulu, a longtime resident at PAWS, celebrated her 58th birthday making her the oldest living African elephant in North America, however we are sad to say that Lulu passed in April of 2024. At her passing, Lulu was the longest living African elephant in captivity. Also in April of 2024, PAWS released a statement saying they \u201c\u2026received a nine-month-old tiger cub with a serious bone condition, confiscated in February by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. At the sanctuary, the tiger will be provided with the specialized support she requires for the rest of her life, while living in a more natural environment. Her enclosure and care are designed to address any physical limitations\u201d.<\/p>\n Although it is generally closed to the public, the facility in San Andreas, known as ARK 2000, offers a chance to see these magnificent, rescued animals just a few times a year at fundraising events like the\u00a0Elephant Grape Stomp<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0other events<\/a>\u00a0to help keep their important work going. They generally sell out months in advance, but are worth attending if you can. Meanwhile, please consider\u00a0supporting PAWS<\/a>\u00a0by donating online, becoming a volunteer, adopting an animal or donating to their wish list.<\/p>\n Big Day of Giving<\/a>\u00a0is an annual Sacramento, California-area, 24-hour giving event for nonprofits. This year\u2019s Big Day of Giving is Thursday, May 2nd, from midnight to 11:59 p.m. This year PAWS will be raising funds for the care of the elephants, tigers, bears and other wild animals living at their ARK 2000 sanctuary.\u00a0Donate Dirt<\/a>, keeps the elephants dusty \u2013 just like they like it. PAWS says \u201cThe seven elephants at PAWS just love a dust bath. Each day they cover themselves in clouds of soil, a natural behavior that protects their skin from the sun and insect bites, promotes social bonding and appears to just feel good.\u201d Your generous gift offsets the thousands of dollars spent on truckloads of fresh dirt each year \u2013 just one load costs $995.00!<\/p>\n Ragin Cajun Festival \u2013 San Andreas<\/p>\n Held on April 26, 2025, this event is sponsored by the San Andreas Rotary who donates all of the proceeds to Hospice of Amador and Calaveras Counties.<\/p>\n Featuring a true blue, authentic Louisiana crawfish boil, frozen Hurricane slushies (must be 21 to enjoy!), vendors galore right on downtown Main Street, and live music on four stages from the Mark St. Mary Zydeco Band, Primitivo Latin Rhythm Band, Jeramy Norris and The Blue Cartel, Teal Wheels Band, and The Rusty Rockers. WOW this will be amazing!<\/p>\n Lumberjack Day \u2013 West Point<\/p>\n The annual\u00a0Lumberjack Day<\/a>\u00a0in nearby West Point takes place annually on the first Saturday of October, and is hugely popular with locals and visitors alike\u2026 they call it the \u201cBiggest Little Celebration in the Mother Lode\u201d for a reason. This event celebrates the history and traditions of the Calaveras County lumber industry with community spirit, and fun, family-friendly entertainment.<\/p>\n For over 40 years, this event has featured a day packed with fun, old-fashioned activities for the entire family. Highlights include\u00a0a parade (full of local color and humor), soap box derby (with contestants from all over Northern California), The Lawn Chair Brigade (performing now for over a decade), and of course the lumberjack competition with big timbers, an axe throwing contest, Jack and Jill bucking, and chainsaw contests.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not all. Directly after the parade, the children\u2019s area opens with a climbing wall, face painting, bounce houses, free petting zoo and more!<\/p>\n Vendors line the street, with yummy food and fun gift items like souvenir caps and t-shirts, there\u2019s a car show displaying classic and vintage cars, and live entertainment including juggling and music. There\u2019s a volunteer Fire Department BBQ selling tri-tip sandwiches, a horseshoe competition and the Community Garden is open for exhibits and a shady rest area.<\/p>\n Plan to get to\u00a0Lumberjack Day<\/a>\u00a0early for the soap box derby which kicks off at 8:30 am. \u00a0For those able to attend even earlier, a pancake breakfast gets started at 7:00 am at the VFW Auxiliary Hall on Highway 26 and Pine Street, across from the red Community Covenant Church. The Lumberjack Day King and Queen Scholarship winners are announced and crowned at 9:30 am. The parade begins at 11:00 am, while the horse shoe competition begins at 12:30 pm and the logging show and axe throwing contest begin at 1 pm and run throughout the afternoon.<\/p>\n The Metropolitan & 4th Wall Entertainment Troupe \u2013 San Andreas<\/p>\n Located on historic Main Street in San Andreas, the Metropolitan was originally a hotel in 1859. In 1926, fire destroyed the building and a movie theater replaced sometime in the early 1950\u2019s. The current owners of The Metropolitan have transformed the building into an event space and the home to live theatre entertainment company, Fourth Wall Entertainment Troupe.<\/p>\n Interactive theatrical experiences that include music, dinner, dancing and drinks make a Fourth Wall experience special. Unique works are written and performed by local artists, and this small community comes together to celebrate its history and culture through its appreciation of the arts. And a great big plus is that they are serving amazing, local wines grown and crafted right here in Calaveras.<\/p>\n Gooney\u2019s Bar & Grill \u2013 San Andreas<\/p>\n After many iterations (including the former Red Brick Saloon) this historic building has been restored to its former glory and namesake under new ownership as Gooney\u2019s Bar & Grill, this time with a twist: it\u2019s ready for the 21st century.<\/p>\n Friendly staff and great quality food at reasonable prices in a beautifully restored setting, Gooney\u2019s is quickly becoming a locals favorite, drawing visitors from every corner to historic San Andreas. Located on the corner at the intersection of San Andreas Main Street and the historic Highway 49\u2026just look for the flashing yellow traffic light!<\/p>\n Can you stay with us a few days? Check out lodging at the\u00a0Robins Nest Bed and Breakfast<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0The Sierra Inn<\/a>\u00a0in San Andreas or a delightful little cabin on a Christmas Tree farm in West Point \u2013\u00a0The Sugar Pine Cabin<\/a>\u00a0has all your modern comforts and a quiet place above the rush! Give us a call if you\u2019d like help planning your next trip to Calaveras at 209-736-0049. We look forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Angels Camp, CA…Ready for a road trip in the gorgeous California sunshine? Try something new and take a beautiful drive through the Calaveras foothills this spring for wildflower views and historic small towns\u2026the kind you see in your favorite movie or read about in a beloved book. You\u2019ll discover caves, museums, some truly unique events, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":189737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,10,19,20,4,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-189728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertising","category-angels-camp","category-entertainment","category-featured","category-life-style","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/san-andreas-california-1200x675-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=189728"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189728\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":189738,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189728\/revisions\/189738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/189737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=189728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=189728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=189728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>
\nCalifornia Cavern Tour I Courtesy of Instagrammer @emformdesign<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nCalaveras County Museum Complex, historic San Andreas | Lisa Boulton<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nMaggie at ARK 2000 | PAWS<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nA Taste of Louisiana Jambalaya in San Andreas<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nWest Point Lumberjack Day by Instagrammer \u2013 Adam Weidanbach<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nThe Metropolitan Theatre. Photo courtesy The Metropolitan theatre<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nCourtesy of Gooney\u2019s Bar and Grill<\/p>\n<\/a>
\nSugar Pine Cabin<\/p>\n