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THE WEEKEND WIND-DOWN
This Former Gold Mine Is Now a Beautifully Preserved Campground
Malakoff Diggins provides a touch of glamping for real camping
The Weekend Wind-Down is a series from The Bold Italic highlighting ways to explore the Bay Area and wind down from your stressful week. If you have an idea or tip, email us, or DM us on Twitter or Instagram.
Sleeping under the stars, amongst whispers of gold dust and ghost towns, is a beautiful camping experience you can get at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park. It, along with several other California campgrounds, partially reopened this summer just in time for peak camping season. This park in the Sierra Nevada Foothills — about a 3.5-hour drive Northeast of San Francisco — is especially interesting in that was once the site of California’s largest hydraulic gold mine.
This is what getting away from the noise of life feels like. And going back to our natural origins feels right.
Powerful jets of water were used to blast away entire mountains in the name of striking them rich. Not only were the consequences on the natural environment disastrous, though, but the agricultural towns of Yuba City and Marysville also got flooded from the mining runoff; this mess sparked the first environmental laws in the U.S.
Nowadays, hikers and campers can make their way to the Diggins Lookout and see what remains of the blasted mountains. It’s striking to see how the pines have regrown in the canyon-like remains of what once was. It’s actually pretty serene. And of course great for selfies.
In addition to seeing what remains of the mining sites, the old mining town on the park grounds, called North Bloomfield, is shockingly well-preserved. Peek inside a barbershop, multiple saloons (necessary to play hard after working hard!), a horse stable, and a general store.
