Hotel at a Glance: Fallon Hotel

With its red-brick façade and period decor, the Fallon Hotel harks back to Columbia’s gold-rush heyday in the latter half of the 19th century. Spend the afternoon on the second-floor balcony enjoying the view overlooking the cobblestone sidewalk out front, or enjoy a good book in the parlor. You’ll be just a block from the town’s historic district.

• Guest rooms are individually decorated with Victorian antiques and historical lithographs.
• Private half bath in your room, with a shared shower room down the hall
• See a show at the onsite Fallon House Theatre. Upcoming performances include Hank Williams: Lost Highway.
• Step into the past with a visit to the Hidden Treasure Gold Mine, an original 1850s-era cabin just one block away.

Columbia, California: Historic Gold-Rush Town and Gateway to Yosemite

The California Gold Rush put Columbia on the map—literally. From the 1850s to the 1870s, the mines nearby produced more than $87 million in gold and turned the town from a swath of wilderness to a booming community. Thanks to the preservation efforts of Columbia State Historic Park, it still looks much as it did in the old days. Cars aren’t allowed on Main Street; you’ll have to take a stroll or catch a ride on a stagecoach. Preserved wooden storefronts house shops where you can buy cowboy boots and old-fashioned candies, pan for gold, or don period costumes to take an old-timey photo.

Columbia’s location in the Sierra Nevada foothills makes it a great home base for adventure. Drive about 70 minutes to reach the hiking trails and waterfalls of Yosemite National Park or about 40 minutes to walk in the shadows of giant sequoias in Calaveras Big Trees State Park. To up the octane, book a whitewater-rafting trip along the thundering Merced River.

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