by A. Saragoza
Until recently, the only thing I knew about Calaveras County was there’s a short story written by Mark Twain with frogs and Calaveras in the title. I had no idea how beautiful and rustic it is. Plus, it’s wine country! I know this now, because I recently spent four days exploring this largely undiscovered region.
From the moment I pulled into downtown Murphys, I knew I should have left everything but my blue jeans behind. The main street, aptly called Main Street, is lined with nearly two dozen tasting rooms and an assortment of tempting restaurants. I stopped into a few Main Street tasting rooms and in each one, I was able to partake in leisurely one-on-one tastings with the winemaker, who explained that the area’s Mediterranean climate and rolling limestone foothills are perfectly suited to growing Rhône, Spanish, and Italian varieties with distinctive and elegant flavors.
Outside of town, the pastoral landscape gets rugged with plenty of massive granite mountains and miles of underground caverns. In fact, Calaveras has more public caves than any other county in California! On my first day, I headed for Moaning Cavern Adventure Park, where I rappelled 165 feet into the main chamber of a large cave—the equivalent of rappelling down the State of Liberty! Needless to say, it was a thrilling experience. From there, I decided to sustain my adrenaline rush by zip lining across the foothills of the Sierra Nevada at 40 miles per hour! I had such a blast that the next day I decided to drive to Mountain Ranch for the Middle Earth Expedition at California Cavern. This was truly wild caving adventure at its best—I crawled and squeezed my way through the farthest reaches of California’s longest cave system, with only a helmet light to guide the way! It was quite the experience and created memories that are guaranteed to last a lifetime.
I checked-in to Calaveras’ premier boutique lodge, the Arnold Black Bear Inn, a gorgeous hotel tucked among majestic pine trees in the mountain town of Arnold. A welcome display of complimentary artisan cheeses and a glass of red wine from a local winery were on the counter for my arrival. There was also a small box of chocolate truffles, which were soon all but gone.
In the morning I had a hearty, delicious breakfast prepared by Chef Bruce at the inn before heading to Bear Valley Mountain. This high Sierra destination is surrounded by natural beauty, and one of the best ways to experience it is to hike one of the area’s many trails. I tried the four-mile Bear Valley-Lake Alpine Trail, which took me along the lakeshore and through an alpine forest, topping out on a volcanic ridge. The scenery was truly stunning, and I can’t wait to return in the winter for skiing and snowboarding! After my day exploring the mountain, I stopped at Creekside Bistro for dinner and had a juicy flat-iron steak that paired wonderfully with a glass of Hatcher Winery’s Zinfandel.
On my last day, I went golfing at the Greenhorn Creek Resort, where the sprawling golf course is dotted with artifacts of the Gold Rush era. The resort is also home to CAMPS, a renowned restaurant featuring regionally produced wines and cuisine. I decided to spend my last evening there, with dinner followed by wine tasting in the Cellar Room downstairs, and on the patio for the sunset!
For more adventure and itineraries, visit gocalaveras.com, caveandmineadventures.com, bearvalley.com, greenhorncreek.com, and arnoldblackbearinn.com