Hot Saturday

It's a hot Saturday but the Heritage Trail is in full swing.  If you need a Trail Guide, please scroll down to the post titled: "The Trail Guides are In!"

A couple of changes this year:

The Roseville Fire Museum is a new addition and the Gold Country Museum is open for a sneak peek at its new location at 601 Lincoln Way in Auburn.

I hope everyone has a great time on the trail!

Saturday and Sunday's Bus Tours Have Been Canceled

The good news about the Heritage Trail Bus Tour is that our driver is doing fine and he's on the mend. The bad news is that we've had to cancel both the Saturday and Sunday bus tours. So, if you were already signed up, please accept our sincerest apologies and a refund. We're super sorry. We will still have 20 museums open for you to visit.

It's This Weekend!

The Heritage Trail is here! All 20 museums are doing last minute preparations for your visit. In the interest of clarity, we thought we'd post the names and links to the websites of all participating museums. And for you returning trail travelers, the Gold Country Museum (which is the museum that has the gold panning and lemonade) is moving to its new location at 601 Lincoln Way in downtown Auburn.

Valley Museums - located in South Placer

Roseville Historical Society Carnegie Museum

Lincoln Area Archives Museum

Maidu Museum and Historic Site (Roseville)

Roseville Telephone Museum 

Roseville Fire Museum

Rocklin History Museum

Griffith Quarry Museum (Penryn)

Auburn Museums - within one mile of the Historic Courthouse

Placer County Museum

Bernhard Museum Complex

Gold Country Museum

Joss House Museum

Gold Country Medical History Museum

The Benton Welty School Room

Mountain Museums - located in the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe

Forest Hill Divide Museum

Colfax Area Heritage Museum

Golden Drift Museum

Donner Summit Historical Society Museum

Western SkiSport Museum (Boreal)

Gatekeeper’s Museum (Tahoe City)

Watson Cabin (Tahoe City)

New Old Fun at the Gold Country Museum

Any child of the 1970s who visited Old Town Auburn knows exactly what Bob Jetter's Mining Machine was. For the uninitiated, it was a coin operated kinetic sculpture that would run for two and a half minutes on a quarter. It was built around the theme of gold mining and contained several different techniques miners used to find the shinny stuff.

The machine has been sitting under a tarp in our shop for years, and we figured this year's Heritage Trail was as good a time as any to bring it back out to show it's magic to a new generation. We dusted it off, fixed some broken parts and got it running again. It will be on display at the new Gold Country Museum, located at 601 Lincoln Way in the old depot building.

Don't worry about bringing quarters, for Heritage Trail weekend the show's on us.

New Museum on the Trail!

This year will be the first year The Roseville Fire Museum joins the Heritage Trail!

The Roseville Fire Museum celebrates the rich history of the Roseville Fire Department, local agencies, and the fire service through a collection of historical artifacts, pictures, and videos.
We educate the public on current operations of the Roseville Fire Department and personal fire & life safety. Take a tour of Roseville’s original Fire House during renovations. Timed Activities: Beginning at 10:00 a.m. we will provide at guided tour, every hour on the hour with our last tour at 3:00 p.m.

For more info, check out their website.

Pie Bakers, START YOUR OVENS!

This year we'll be hosting a pie baking contest at the Bernhard Museum. Pie's must be home made, right down to the crust, and contestants must complete and return their entry forms by July 25th. We're only taking the first 20 applicants, so click on the pie below to get a PDF of the entry form, fill it out, and turn it in at the Museum office in Auburn's Historic Courthouse.

Bus Tour 2014

As in years past, there will be a Saturday and Sunday bus trip available for those who prefer to leave the driving to someone else.

The Saturday trip into the foothills and mountains pulls out of the Auburn Fairgrounds parking Lot at 8:45 am and will make stops at the Skisport Museum, the Golden Drift Museum, the Colfax Area Heritage Museum and the Forest Hill Divide Museum before returning to Auburn.

The Sunday trip has two new stops this year for a total of seven museums! The bus will leave the Auburn fairgrounds parking lot at 8:25 am and make stops at the Lincoln Area Archives Museum, the Roseville Historical Society’s Carnegie Museum, the Roseville Fire Museum, the Roseville Telephone Museum, the Maidu Museum and Historic Site, the Rocklin History Museum and the Griffith Quarry Museum.

The cost per person for either bus trip is $10.

On Saturday you can pack your own lunch or you can buy a burger, fries and drink from a local store across from the Golden Drift Museum. On Sunday it would be best to pack a lunch, the Maidu Museum and Historic Site will have snacks and refreshments available to supplement your lunch.

If you have questions or would like to reserve your seat on either bus (or both) please call 530-889-6500.

Trail Guides are In!

Our Trail Guides, which include 20 museums worth of descriptions, locations, regular hours, and Heritage Trail special events, have gone to the printer. You'll be able to pick up a copy at any participating museum shortly, but if you're a go getter who's not into waiting, here's a link to an online version suitable for printing and planning your Heritage Trail route.

Getting Back on the Trail

We're getting revved up to make this the best heritage trail yet! This year it's going to be on the weekend of August 2nd and 3rd, so plan accordingly. We have new museums coming along this year as well as new events. Stay tuned!