sutter's mill field trip

The cooperating association for Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park

Sutter's Mill Replica at Marshall Gold Discovery SHP

Panning for Gold at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park

Visit the Gold Discovery Site!

James W. Marshall discovered gold in 1848 on the South Fork of the American River in the valley the Nisenan Indians knew as Cullumah (beautiful valley). This event led to the greatest mass migration of people in the Western Hemisphere and was the spark that ignited the spectacular growth of the West during the ensuing decades.  In 1848, James W. Marshall found shining flecks of gold in the tailrace of the sawmill he was building in partnership with John Sutter. This discovery changed the course of California's and the nation's history. See a replica of the original sawmill and over 20 historic buildings including a mining exhibit, Chinese store exhibits and schoolhouse exhibit.

Visitors have the opportunity to pan for gold in the American River and enjoy hikes and picnics under the riparian oak woodlands. 

SHOP THE MERC ONLINE

Visit the Marshall Gold Mercantile online, and shop our selection of clothing, gifts, drinkware, souvenirs and more. All proceeds stay in the park.  [SHOP ONLINE]

ONLINE BOOKS

The Marshall Gold Mercantile at Marshall Gold Discovery SHP carries a wide variety of clothing, gift items, and books. Now you can also view our book selection and [SHOP ONLINE]

We are always looking for new volunteers eager to bring history alive in our park. We have so many different opportunities and areas that we can use volunteer help... [READ MORE]

California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush drawing. Image courtesy Library of Congress.

Associate Pages

• To the 1840s
• Barbary Coast/San Fran
• San Francisco Maritime
• Klondike Gold Rush

Visitor Statistics Sutter's Mill and the California Gold Rush

Photo above: Historic photo of Sutter's Mill. Right: Lithograph of miners panning for gold during the California Gold Rush. Image courtesy Library of Congress.

Sutter's Mill and the California Gold Rush

It comes as some surprise that such an important historic site does not have a national park attached to it, but Sutter's Mill does not. It's part of the California State Park system, which, despite some financial woes, contains some of the best history in the state, and nation.

• Pacific History Sites

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Sutter's Mill Then

We say we're surprised, in many ways, because of the importance of Sutter's Mill, not only to northern California, San Francisco , the Gold Rush, and more, but to the spur that discovery had on western migration. It brought miners, yes, to California, and Alaska. It brought folks looking to gain their fortune in ancillary services for those miners, from the bawdy to the practical. But for us, perhaps the most important historic point of finding gold in them thar hills, was in the lure it provided for western migration to every part of the world between Missouri and California, in the days of the wagon train, the steamship, and later the locomotive. And it provided one grand spur for that locomotive as well as farmers, bankers, shopkeepers, and yes, those miners. So let's start with what is there and get into a little history on how we got there. The California gold rush and Sutter's Mill is part of Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park. The park is located in Coloma, California, about 140 miles and three hours west from San Francisco. It celebrates the actually 1848, not 1849, discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on the aptly named American River by James W. Marshall. He was just there to build a sawmill, in partnership with John Sutter, but when he saw some tiny gold flecks in the river, it changed everything. By the next year the town of Coloma had ten thousand residents; it now has two hundred, and the river was filled with prospectors looking for their fortune. Within two years, the river ran dry of gold, but by that time, almost 300,000 people had come to California looking for gold, or their fortune, in one way or another. Sutter's Ranch- John Sutter came to the area in 1841 with a land grant of 48,000 acres, where he built a ranch, a fort, and then commissioned a young New Jersey man who'd come west on the Oregon Trail, James W. Marshall, to build a sawmill, and John Bidwell, who led the first wagon train west , to become his business manager. In the fall of 1847, construction on the sawmill began. When they dug a ditch to the river on January 24, 1848, gold came into the picture with the discovery by Marshall of flecks in the American River. Not only did it swell the city of Coloma to ten thousand people, it impacted the large gateway city of San Francisco one hundred and forty miles away. The city grew to twenty-five thousand residents, twenty-five times its former size, in less than two years. An estimated eighty thousand would pass through the city going for gold in 1849 alone. The California Gold Ranch Expands - Although Sutter's Mill is the best known, and first, of the sites and area where prospectors looked for California gold, other locations swelled in size with prospectors, including the Northern California towns of Yreka and Shasta. Shasta is now also a state historic park. Image above: Sailing card for the Clipper ship California, heading for the California Gold Rush, G.F. Nesbitt and Company, Printer, circa 1850. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Below: Photo above: Gold miners in El Dorado mining camp, circa 1848-1853. Courtesy Library of Congress.

Sutter's Mill Now

Inside the Park - Take your time to visit the park and discover the gold rush era. Begin your visit at the Gold Rush Museum and Visitor Center, take a guided walk, then walk around the site and town (200 residents still live there). There are twenty historic buildings, plus the mill (below current) and monument to James Marshall. Outside the Park- The region of the Coloma Valley has many recreational activities for you to choose, including kayaking and white water rafting on the American River. If you'd like more sedate pursuits, there are many hiking trails and places to fish. And wine country is not too far away either.

T-Shirts and Souvenirs

California Gold Rush T-Shirts and Souvenirs. Official gear from America's Best History. Shop Now

"I went down as usual, and after shutting off the water from the race I stepped into it, near the lower end, and there, upon the rock, about six inches beneath the surface of the water, I discovered the gold. I then collected four or five pieces and went up to Mr. Scott (who was working at the carpenter's bench making the mill wheel) and the pieces in my hand and said, 'I have found it.' 'What is it?' inquired Scott. 'Gold,' I answered. 'Oh! No,' returned Scott, 'that can't be!' I replied positively, 'I know it to be nothing else.'"

Sutter's Mill Things You Should Not Miss

1. Take a walk around the park and see the restored mill, plus twenty other historic buildings from the site where the Gold Rush began. 2. Start your tour in the Gold Discovery Museum and Visitor Center and look at the exhibits that tell the story of the men who panned for gold. 3. Take a gold panning lesson. Might come in handy later in life. 4. Go on a hike. It's a good place to use your feet. The Monument and Monroe Ridge Trails take you to parts of the park that some miss. Photo above: Clipper ships in San Francisco, Yerba Buena Cove, during the Gold Rush, circa 1850-1. Courtesy Library of Congress/Wikipedia Commons. Conversation source: Coloma Valley website and excerpted from Discover Coloma: A Teacher's Guide, by Alan Beilharz.

One Man Who Worked for Sutter

In 1841, John Bidwell took the first major wagon train from Missouri to California. Little did he know that working for John Sutter as his business manager after arrival would lead him to gold. Find out more about his wagon train story .

Visitor FAQ

What's There Now

The Gold Discover Museum and Visitor Center - Start your visit here. Look at the exhibits that tell the story of the California Gold Rush and find out more about guided walks of the park. Sutter's Mill - Not the original, but a replica (photo above) of the same. Twenty other Historic Buildings - Schools, stores, the and the Gold Rush Mercantile.

Lodging and Camping

There is no lodging within the park, but lodging and campgrounds are available in the region of Coloma and Lotus with bed and breakfasts, inns, and campgrounds. Check through the Coloma links below or check out the online lodging site of your choice. There's also more accomodations available in Auburn and Placerville. For those coming from Sacramento, a fifty mile trip, additional accommodations are plentiful. Photo above: San Francisco photo during the Gold Rush & Barbary Coast days, 1850. Photo courtesy Library of Congress.

Image above: California Gold Rush. Image courtesy Library of Congress. Below: Lithograph showing wagon train with Indians behind the rocks, 1877, S.H. Redmond, H. Steinegger, Britton, Rev. and Company. Courtesy Library of Congress.

More Information

For another good article on the California Gold Rush and the Sutter claim, check out "The California Gold Rush," by Sam Jacobs.

California Gold Rush Links

Sutter's Mill, Marshall Gold Discovery SHP Coloma-Lotus Chamber of Commerce Coloma Valley Gold Discovery Park Association El Dorado County Visitors Authority

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Marshall Gold Discovery SHP:

School field trips that visit Sutter’s Mill at California’s Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

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We are a group of Christians who want to safely lead people into the wonder of God’s creation, challenging them through adventures designed to help them grow personally, relationally, and spiritually.   We focus our program on biblical principles, and we use the help of nature, friendship, and challenge to develop character.

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Published on February 12, 2010

Finding Gold at Sutter’s Mill

There’s gold in them thar hills, and in 1848 one of those hills was located in Coloma, California on the bank of the American River .  It was at this spot, while building a saw mill, that John Sutter and James Marshall found nuggets of gold.  This discovery launched the California Gold Rush , and the great western expansion, turning the hills of California into a bustling community of prospectors seeking their fortune.

Today, Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park surrounds the location of the old Sutter’s Mill .  You’ll find a full-sized working replica of the mill, carefully built from Marshall’s original drawings, with the aid of an early photograph.  About 150 yards downstream you’ll find a monument of river rock, marking the spot of the original mill.  A little further away is the gold discovery site in the tailrace of the original mill.

If you’ve ever had a hankering to pan for gold, you can do it here, for a fee of course.  I picked up pan, nothing like the banged up ones from Gold Rush days, but suitable for my use, dug deep into the trough of sand, rock, and water, and started to slosh everything around.  At first I was tentative, afraid that I’d slosh some of that precious gold out of my pan.  After a little demonstration and instruction from pretend-prospector Rusty, I realized that only the rocks, gravel and sand will slosh out of the pan.  Gold is heavy.  Heavier than all that water sloshing about, so you don’t need to worry about the water sloshing it out of the pan  When everything else is gone, flecks of gold will be left.  And sure enough, there were flecks of gold left – Eureka!  Tiny flecks, minuscule really, were left, but it was real gold.

Across the street for the mill and gold panning area is the Gold Discovery Museum and Visitor Center .  The center contains interpretive exhibits and programs that tell the story of the gold discovery.  It’s a popular spot for school field trips, and on the day I was there a group of 4th graders were learning how the discovery is a part of their state’s history.  A docent, one of the many volunteers who work at the Visitor Center, gathered everyone around a replica stagecoach and he told a story.  This guy was great!  He wove historical facts about how a stagecoach was used, about the transporting of gold, about how a woman had to disguise herself as a man in order to drive a stagecoach (a great lesson about equality went along with that part of the story), about what life was like in the late 1800’s, about the outlaw Black Bart, and about western justice.  He held the kids spellbound, as they hung on his every word, and most of the adults were just as rapt.

Location :  Highway 49 between Placerville and Auburn, Coloma, California

Hours :  Winter hours (November 1st – May 28th) are Tuesday – Saturday, 8 am – 4 pm.  Summer hours are Thursday – Monday, 8 am – 6 pm.  The Museum is open 10 am – 3 pm, depending on staff availability.  Due to budget constraints, hours of service have been reduced, so I’d recommend placing a phone call prior to make the drive.  (530) 622-3470.

Admission :  Park day fees are $5 for cars (1-9 passengers); $50 for a bus (10-24 passengers) and $100 for a bus with over 25 passengers.

Photo credit:  Mary Jo Manzanares

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California History 4th Grade Field Trips

Fun and educational sleep-over field trips for 4th graders.

Just 1/4-mile from the Marshall Gold Discovery State Park Site.

Parents & Teachers : YOU plan and carry out whatever 2-day Gold Country Adventure you decide is best for your kids. WE provide accommodations in our riverside cabins on the banks of California’s most historic river!

History Comes Alive

Kids get hands-on learning where significant historic events happened!

The program is flexible and easy: You plan your own agenda, choose your own activities and then use us as a convenient base camp. It’s that simple!

Just 1/4 mile away from the American River Resort is Sutter’s Mill and Marshall Gold Discovery Park, with living history exhibits and hands-on learning activities like panning for gold.

Also at the park, the American River Conservancy provides hands-on nature oriented activities for kids.

A few miles up the road is the Wakamatsu Silk Colony and Tea Farm, the first Japanese settlement in the US.

Through all this runs the most historic river in California, the South Fork American River. Sitting on its banks makes the perfect setting for engaging kids in history or environment related lessons and activities.

“Our experience at ARR was absolutely fantastic. The location was perfect. We were a quick walk away from the Gold Discovery Park, where we spent our first day. The cabins were very clean and big enough to accommodate our students. The grounds were well kept with plenty of room to eat and explore. The river was a walk away and the view was amazing. The staff at ARR was very helpful. It was a great way to have an outdoors experience without the hassle of setting up tents, looking for bathrooms and being cold. My fourth graders can’t stop talking about how amazing the field trip was and how they’ll never forget this experience. We’ll be coming back next year.”

C.S., 4th Grade Teacher, Sacramento

Suggested Sites to Visit:

• Marshall Gold Discovery Park  with many educational activities and the Jr. Ranger Program.
• The fascinating  Wakamatsu Silk Colony and Tea Farm , the first Japanese settlement in the U.S.
• The South Fork American River with environmental lessons learned through American River Conservancy educational programs plus nature scavenger hunts and overnight riverside stays, right here at American River Resort.

Choose Your Activity

American River Conservancy

• California Gold: Pan for gold directly in the American River and then experience gold discovery from an environmental viewpoint!
• Nature Quest: This active program unravels tidbits about ecology, what all organisms need for survival and leave no trace outdoor ethics. 2 hours. $160 per class.
• Wakamatsu Colony: Picnicking available, optional formal student tour. 2 hours, $160 per class, $5 per additional student
• Web of Life: Life Science concepts of interdependence, food webs, and ecosystem interactions. 4 hours, $210 for 50 students
• Winter Wonders: Uncover how wildlife survives in the winter and under extreme weather conditions.

Eureka Experience Group Programs

• Gold Panning Lessons: $7 per student
• Poke Program: Students make their own leather pouch to store their treasures. $7 per student.
• Wagons Ho!: Experience loading a real wagon with the supplies needed to make the westward journey. $150 per group of 30.
• Gold Discovery Tour: $60 per group of 30.
• Stage Coach: Talk and robbery presented by Ed Allen

Native American

• Story Telling: Native American tales around the campfire at American River Resort
• Folk Dancing: Native American dancing/music at American River Resort

SAMPLE ITINERARY 1

Gold Rush, Wakamatsu, Native American

Thursday 10:30 AM: Arrive at Marshall Gold Discovery Park, Coloma CA 10:30 – 11:15 AM: Mini exploration to Blacksmith shop 11:15 – 11:45 AM: Lunch 12:00 – 1:00 PM:  Coloma Gold Discovery Tour 1:15 – 1:45 PM: Stage coach talk and robbery 2:00 – 3:00 PM: Eureka Wagons Ho program 3:00 – 4:00 PM: Gold Panning 4:15 PM: Check in at American River Resort 4:30 – 5:30 PM: Native American Story Telling 5:30 – 6:30 PM: Dinner 6:30 – 8:30 PM: Native American Folk Dancing 8:30 – 9:00 PM: Return to cabins 9:00 PM: Lights out

Friday 7:30 – 8:30 AM: Breakfast buffet and pack 8:30 – 9:00 AM: Pack lunches 9:00 – 9:30 AM: Drive to Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Colony Farm 9:30 – 9:45 AM: Quick snack 10:00 – 12:00 PM: Tour of Wakamatsu 12:00 – 12:30 PM: Lunch 12:30 – 1:30 PM: Teacher recap of trip 1:30 PM: Use bathrooms, load into cars, head home

SAMPLE ITINERARY 2

Gold Rush, Nature Scavenger Hunt, Native American

Thursday 10:30 AM: Arrive at Marshall Gold Discovery Park, Coloma CA 10:30 – 11:15 AM: Mini exploration to Blacksmith shop 11:15 – 11:45 AM: Lunch 12:00 – 1:00 PM:  Coloma Gold Discovery Tour 1:15 – 2:15 PM: Eureka Wagons Ho program 2:30 – 3:30 PM: Eureka Poke Program 3:45 – 4:00 PM: Load up and go to American River Resort 4:00 PM: Check in at American River Resort 4:30 – 5:30 PM: Native American Story Telling 5:30 – 6:30 PM: Dinner 6:30 – 8:30 PM: Native American Folk Dancing 8:30 – 9:00 PM: Return to cabins 9:00 PM: Lights out

Friday 7:30 – 8:30 AM: Breakfast buffet and pack 8:30 – 9:00 AM: Pack lunches 9:00 – 9:30 AM: Scavenger Hunt 9:30 – 9:45 AM: Arrive back at Marshall Gold Discovery Park 10:00 – 11:00 AM: Eureka Gold Panning Lesson 11:00 – 12:00 PM: Stage Coach talk and robbery 12:00 – 12:30 PM: Lunch 12:30 – 1:30 PM: Teacher recap of trip 1:30 PM: Use bathrooms, load into cars, head home

One-night stay in the Cabins at the American River Resort

• 5 people per cabin (total number of kids plus teacher or parents)
• Any weeknight Sunday through Thursday, subject to availability
• Check-in is 4:00PM and check-out is 12:00PM noon

Parents and teachers plan all aspects  of the field trip, including what to do and when, what to eat and so forth.  American River Resort is your base camp .

COST & INCLUDES

All costs in addition to what’s listed below are the responsibility of the school and are payable to the venue, organization or person providing the activities.

$1400.00 payable to American River Resort includes:

• 6 cabins for one night (guests to provide own linens, pillowcases, towels, and toiletries)
• 3 bundles of firewood for campfires
• Native American music around riverside campfire
• Kitchen and propane BBQ in each cabin for food preparation

NOTE: Native storytelling (always a huge hit with kids) requires advanced arrangements and an ADDED DONATION to storytellers.

To book your field trip, call (530) 622-6700 and make a 50% deposit. After booking, we’ll send you contact information for Native storytelling and other activities listed on this page.

Call us with questions. Let us help you make your California History field trip super memorable and fun!

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Sutter’s Fort In-Person Field Trip!

Explore sutter’s fort state historic park.

Join our interpreter in person to immerse your students in the history of the Fort, to learn how John Sutter and other European Americans came to California, why the Fort was built, what jobs made the Fort operational, why the Fort was abandoned in 1850, and the impact the Fort had on the Indigenous population of the Sacramento Valley.

Apply for a FREE blended field trip to Sutter’s Fort SHP!

Sutter’s Fort is excited to offer blended-access programs through PassPORTS , which offers Title I public schools with a field trip reimbursement grant to experience the park both virtually and in-person!

Fill out the PassPORTS 23-24 interest form to find out if you qualify to receive up to $1000 in reimbursements for your field trip costs! If approved, the K-12 Access Coordinator will reach out to schedule your virtual and in-person programs.

Want to find more PassPORTS Programs? Search the PORTSfinder!

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Moscow 5 days - Should I include Vladimir/Suzdal? - Moscow Forum

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Moscow 5 days - Should I include Vladimir/Suzdal?

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Do you think it's worth?

I was thinking 3 days in Moscow and 2 days in this towns, sleeping one night in Vladimir, probably.

Does it sounds good?

I would be somewhat wary abt the time of the year - Suzdal is great in summer and in winter too but spring the place could be drowning in mud

Hello Aucanc

A word of warning though that this is dew season. It can get pretty nasty and muddy as Vladchan said, so take your old walking shoes, certainly when visiting Suzdal. Vladimir would probably be a bit better because there are good pavements.

One more hint which could maybe help you choose: while Vladimir is still quite a big town with traffic etc., you will feel complete silence and rest in Suzdal. It probably matches the stereotype 'huge country with nothing but nature and some churches'.

If you want to combine them, that's fine. But if this is your first time in Moscow, I would think at least 4 days will be necessary to form a good first image of this very interesting city.

Thanks for your answers. I'll consider your words.

In both comment you mention the mud because of the time of the year, so I'm getting concerned about it. Is this something that would make you skip this towns?

In Suzdal not all streets are even paved (which is part of its rustic charm) so when the snow starts melting which should be around that time things can get muddy. So keep your waterproof boots ready

If you decide to go, I can recommend two of my favorites in the area.

Go to the village of Bogolyubovo 10 kilometers from Vladimir, which houses a fine nunnery.

From there, do a 1.5-kilometer walk to what many agree is Russia's most beautiful Orthodox temple - the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl (the field where it stands may be flooded in spring, but a boat trip can be arranged with the locals, which will make the visit even more memorable).

http://bigpicture.ru/?p=285310

http://www.airpano.ru/360Degree-VirtualTour.php?3D=Tserkov-Pokrova-na-Nerli

http://www.photosight.ru/photos/2306600/

http://ru-travelers.livejournal.com/187668.html

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0._%D0%A6%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8C_%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9D%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B8.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJjVVBzW2Ng

Just four kilometers away from Suzdal, there is the village of Kideksha with yet another 12th century architectural marvel - the Church of Saints Boris and Gleb (built on orders from Moscow's founder - Prince Yuri Dolgoruky).

http://world-churches.livejournal.com/12769.html

http://geophoto.ru/?action=search&sobje=14886

http://strana.ru/places/35839

Apart from everything else, these famous churches are somewhat out of the way, stand basically in the middle of fields and so you may well be alone there to soak in the places' "perfect-beauty" atmosphere undisturbed.

Thread extension -- We've been planning to arrange (either in advance or once there) a summer weekday afternoon taxi from Suzdal to Vladimir (departing from there via train). Reply #5 above greatly tempts me to try to find someone who would, for a reasonable additional fee, provide that transport with a detour to, and short stop at, the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl outside Bogolyubovo. Does anyone have suggestions for how to arrange that?

2 observations:

you may already be "all churched out" from Suzdal/Vladimir

as Kepi suggested you need to spend time there to meditate -- not going to happen if you have a train to catch

Re: waste of time going to these smaller cities, I think it is up to OP to determine this. For example, maybe they do not have a burning desire to spend literally a full day plus a day touring the Kremlin, Armoury, museums, BUT can spend literally 15 hours a day taking in many of the other beautiful things, then head out for what is a VERY unique and different view of Russia...smaller town, countryside.

So, my suggestion is read thru the huge list of things to do at TA (above, or top left), and see if in fact there are so many "have to see/do" that 3 days will not suffice, then so be it...

I am hoping to see those two places in early June, very excited!

Anything to look out for then? Like mosquitoes? )

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Bring Sutter’s Fort to your classroom!

Want to connect your students to parks throughout California (including Sutter’s Fort SHP)?

Parks Online Resources for Teachers and Students ® are interactive virtual field trips for K-12 students.  

PORTS is a great way to enhance your lessons- from learning about the ecosystems of a redwood or kelp forest to learning more about historical sites like Sutter’s Fort SHP , there are many ways to bring a PORTS live or recorded session into your classroom. They also have a large selection of instructional resources, like Flipgrids.

Registration for the live one-on-one sessions will open September 1st at the PORTS On Demand webpage and typically completely books up within hours. Recorded sessions for Sutter’s Fort are saved on the website . 

PORTScasts are live broadcasts open to multiple classrooms. You can view the schedule here . 

As the nonprofit partner of Sutter’s Fort, Friends of Sutter’s Fort is proud to help support the efforts of park staff providing these important virtual programs.

current virtual programs

Careers Past & Present at Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park

This recorded lesson dives into how Sutter’s Forts agricultural businesses in Mexican California, and the conflict and opportunities that came with them, contributed to the California we know today. We will discuss the hide and tallow trade, the process of turning wheat into flour, and how sailors contributed to the work done at the Fort. This program is geared to grades 3 to 5, but can be adapted to other grades with prior notice.

  Teachers, view recorded session here

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