We all have those special getaway spots that we enjoy revisiting every so often. One of ours is Calaveras County — an easy 3-hour road trip from our home in the SF Bay Area, California, to the heart of the Sierra Nevada’s Mother Lode. It has everything — from Giant sequoia forests and underground caverns to fine dining and local wine tasting. And, with its rugged Wild West vibe, you might also catch a small case of gold fever and try your luck at gold panning. Load up the mule, grab yer hat, and join us on this trip back to the mid-1800s!
Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County
This small town with a population of 646, Mokelumne Hill (the Native American word “Mokelumne” means “people of Mokel” or “Big River”) was our first stop on our adventures in Calaveras County. During the Gold Rush era, this charming place was one of the rowdiest towns in the Wild West, making Tombstone, AZ, or Deadwood, SD, look like a trip to Disneyland. In its heyday, 15,000 folks called this boom town their home, with a variety of shops, saloons, brothels, gambling — you name it, they had it all.
Mokelumne Hill has also given a home to a “secret order” of the Clampers. Like any proper secret society, the origins of the Clampers remain shrouded by mystery. What we do understand, is that “The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV)” was initially created for the entertainment of fellow miners, mocking the Masonic and other secretive lodges. Rooted in the ideals of brotherhood and good times, the Clampers Order is alive and well, and especially active in the Sierra Nevada, with its members preserving western history.
And 170 years (give or take) later, their Dog Latin motto “Credo quia absurdum” – “I believe it because it is absurd” is quite relevant today, don’t you think? 😊
The Haunted Hotel Léger
Life in the Wild West was harsh and unforgiving, so it’s no wonder there are a few haunted saloons and hotels around. One of the most haunted hotels in the USA is right here in Mokelumne Hill. The Hotel Léger is as old as the town and has been operating since 1851. Over the years, numerous patrons, even the owner himself, met an untimely demise here – some of them may still be roaming its halls today. The Hotel Léger attracts ghost hunters from around the world, including investigations by Ghost Adventures TV show, as well as hosting paranormal conferences.
Out of curiosity, we installed one of the ghost detection apps on our phones, and it lit up like a switchboard! We even started receiving EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon)! Here are some words the app’s electronic voice detector captured before our food arrived: “school”, “know” or “no”, “desert”, “actual”, “purpose”, “laid”, “french”, “cheese”, “done” ,”thrown”.
Make whatever you want from it, but we think these might have been from the original owner George Léger or one of the cooks from the past. 😊
TIP 1: Even if you are not into ghost stories, the Hotel Léger Restaurant and Saloon is a must-stop for food. The burgers with sides were from another dimension, for sure!
You can also stay in the Hotel Léger in one of their thirteen (yes, thirteen) rooms, decorated in 1800s style, and have a go at communicating with the ghosts. The front desk will even provide a ghost-hunting kit with your stay!
Angels Camp, Calaveras County
Angels Camp is the main town in Calaveras County, with a Gold Rush spirit. Metal plaques pressed into the sidewalks of the downtown depict the past champions of the famous Jumping Frog festival, a part of the annual Calaveras County Fair.
This unique jubilee stems from the heritage of Mark Twain, the beloved author of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, who launched his writing career while staying in Angels Camp. His story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”, published in 1865, was based on a local anecdote he overheard from a miner in Angels Hotel, bringing Mark Twain international recognition.
To learn more about Mark Twain’s time in Angels Camp and the Gold Rush — stop by the Angels Camp City Museum. At first glance, it appears to be fairly small in size (that’s the Visitor’s Center of the Museum Complex).
Behind the unassuming building, there are several large hangars with various artifacts of the time, with larger exhibits throughout its three acres.
The museum is a great place to visit for an entire family. We bet you’ll spend quite some time at the Angels Camp Museum exploring the displays, talking to docents, and learning a few things. You can also pan for gems!
TIP 2: You can still pan for gold in the rivers and streams of Calaveras County — just make sure you’re not on private property or claim.
Moaning Caverns, Calaveras County
If you are looking for an underground adventure, Calaveras County has three main caverns you can explore — California Cavern, Mercer Caverns, and Moaning Caverns. All are equally stunning, but on this trip, we chose to brave the Moaning Caverns — the only single-chamber cave in California… and it goes straight down.
In the early 1850s, gold miners prospecting in the area discovered the cavern by chance while investigating an eerie ‘humming’ sound coming from a small hole in the ground. Intrigued, the miners began searching the cavern for gold. But with no gold to be found, they moved on to more promising prospects elsewhere. Almost 70 years later, in 1919, the cavern was explored more thoroughly, and tours were given to the public. Guests would be lowered into the 175-foot chamber with no more than a bucket on a rope, and a candle to see by.
The ‘moaning’ was later determined to be water droplets hitting the bottom of the cavern’s inverted cone-shaped chamber. The sound then reverberated up the ‘cone’ and out the small opening up top. They say the moans could be heard a quarter-mile away. Unfortunately, the cave no longer moans due to man-made and natural changes.
But miners weren’t the first to discover the Moaning Caverns. Skeletal remains of early indigenous people were found at the bottom of the chamber, dating back 12,000-13,000 years! Among the scattered bones, an estimated 8,000-year-old Mother-of-Pearl necklace was found, as well as a 500-year-old bracelet. The ancient bones and jewelry pre-date the local Native American MiWok tribe. With no evidence of ‘residency’ discovered in the chamber (pottery, tools, rope, etc.), it’s likely that these unfortunate folks did not actually live in the cavern but had fallen through its entrance by mistake over the millennia.
According to our tour guide, the MiWok elders told tales of a giant stone creature named Yayalli, who lived below the ground. People would be drawn to his moaning, and then pulled to their deaths.
The Tour
Watch that first step, it’s a Doozie! Once the group is gathered for the tour, you begin the descent into the abyss.
A steep and very narrow wooden stairway zigzags downward through the rock, leading to the top of the chamber below. And, just when you think the hard part is over, you’re faced with 144 more steps down a 100-foot spiral staircase. That’s a total of 235 steps – one way!
Built entirely of scrap metal from a WWI battleship, the massive staircase was completed in 1922. The construction was quite the spectacle, and at the time, considered the largest welding/metal project to date. And it’s still in use today!
Down on the lower platform, the tour guide gives fascinating demonstrations and explains the formation and history of the cavern. This is a great opportunity to take some shots and allow your legs to recover after the StairMaster from hell.
To give you an idea of the size of Moaning Caverns, The Statue of Liberty stands 151 ft tall (without pedestal) and can fit inside the chamber with room to spare.
The Moaning Caverns Adventure Park also offers an axe-throwing cage, gem panning, and a gift shop with fun souvenirs and cold drinks.
TIP 3: The cavern tour no longer offers the rappelling package.
TIP 4: The Moaning Caverns are neither for the claustrophobic nor handicap accessible. So keep that in mind if planning a trip.
TIP 5: The only way out of the cavern is to go back up the staircase. We recommend doing a few stretches in the parking lot beforehand. 😊
Do you have ancestors who were a part of the Gold Rush? We’d love to hear your stories! Check out Part 2 where we visit the Giants, pan for Gold, and enjoy some of the best food and wine Calaveras County has to offer! And for more California adventures — check out our articles about the gruesome story of the Donner Party in our San Juan Bautista article, Vikings’ influence in Solvang, and love stories from Fort Ross, to start. Comment below and subscribe to our blog!
