Tips for Visiting Columbia State Historic Park
These tips for visiting Columbia State Historic Park in California’s Gold Country will help you make the most of one of the best places to travel with kids in California. Its combination of history, architecture, and setting in the Gold Country make it a memorable place to visit in Northern California for kids and adults alike. Whether you’re planning to visit as a day trip or to stay nearby and experience Columbia, these tips for visiting Columbia State Historic Park will help you plan.
Tips for Visiting Columbia State Historic Park
Columbia was developed in the 1850s, but the Columbia State Historic Park is the wonderfully preserved business district. This town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains was once a center of the Gold Rush country, and people scrambled here in hopes of finding lots of gold. While we weren’t the only ones who clearly think this place is awesome for kids, here are the reasons we enjoyed it so much.
The rocks that surround the town were exposed during the Gold Rush, when miners washed away much of the dirt and took gold off these limestone boulders. Now they not only create an interesting landscape, they’re also fun for kids to practice climbing.
The streets of historic Columbia look like they did more than 150 years ago: the only traffic is horses, the streets are made of dirt, and dust flies up behind your feet as you walk. Plank sidewalks, a real saloon, and historic details that seem untouched since the 1850s make Columbia special. And there’s the gold mining equipment, too!
Where else do you find a real working blacksmith’s shop?
And with a guy that looks like this working the counter? Many people who work here actually dress the part. So much fun for kids!
The architecture of Columbia is authentic and unique. Even the old doors of Columbia are beautiful.
One of the best tips for visiting Columbia is to take the stagecoach ride. The stagecoach ride on a restored 100-year-old stagecoach is an adventure for kids, especially when the coach is stopped in the woods by a “robber” demanding that each passenger hand over his or her coins.
Where to stay near Columbia?
Just a half-mile from the state park is a campground where we stayed in a nice, new, two-bedroom cabin, although there are campsites for RVs and tents, too. And it’s within walking distance of Columbia State Historic Park! If you love to go camping, check out these 20 places to go camping in Northern California.
The walk from the campground to the state park through peaceful woods and past limestone boulders was the highlight of Columbia for me.
Besides all this, you can visit giant sequoias nearby at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. Here you can learn about the sequoia trees and how they were devastated by logging, take a short or long hike under these majestic trees, or camp at the state park’s campground.
Here’s more information about Columbia. What is your favorite historic place to visit with kids? Do you have other tips for visiting Columbia State Historic Park?
All photos are my own except the first two, which are Mick Haupt on Pexels.
Wow, as a family of five, Columbia is now on our travel wish list. It’s very different to the only part of California we know: San Francisco. Thanks for the introduction.
There are nice things to do around the area, too, which I’ll be covering soon. It makes a nice place to stay for 3 days before moving on to Yosemite or Tahoe.
What a cool place to travel! We travel with our kids through our Dream Trips vacations, so I’ll have to see if Columbia is one of the places we can go! We are in Canada, and California is one of the places we want to see a lot of =) Thanks for the awesome pictures!
You will love it! 🙂
I am the opposite…Canada is a place I want to explore much more 🙂
Love this post, Jenna! Fantastic photos. (My favorite is the “robber!”)
Columbia is a magical place for kids – it has stayed with me for decades, since my family visited in the 1950’s – and I agree with you that the walk from the campground into town is a secret highlight!
A place the kids will remember for years to come!
Very cool, i’ve never been to this part of gold rush country, looks like a great place to explore and discover next time I come and visit California. Love old towns like this.
I’m sure you would have fun photographing all the cool old buildings.
Jenna, you always write about places in California I’m unfamiliar with but would love to visit. One of these days I need to take a list of your recommendations for northern California and make it a week-long trip. My NBA-obsessed son would like to see a Kings game, so maybe we’d start in Sacramento and spend a week enjoying all the under-the-radar spots in the region.
I’m happy that you are discovering places you would like to visit on this blog. That’s definitely one of my goals since I think California has so much to offer beyond its big sights. 🙂
Hi Jenna, we are in Columbia right now and all your recommendations were great! The stage coach is a blast and our son loves rock climbing on the big boulders. We also did the trail to the campground and it was fun. We got here super early when there was no one on the streets and found a delicious bakery. Thanks for the valuable tips!
Ya! So glad you guys are having fun. 🙂 I think we went to that same bakery.
Hi Jenna,
i love Columbia it’s very beautiful place. and you have shared very nice article
Regards
shahid