Gary-Summer: October 24, 2026 - Going Down Highway 49

Saturday, October 24, 2026

October 24, 2026 - Going Down Highway 49

Title: October 24, 2026 - Going Down Highway 49
Hike Info : Description : Background : Extra Photo's

Hike Info:

Type: Hiking Car : Touring

Trail head: Rock SP Picnic Parking Lot

Trail: South Nature Trail

Destination: Loop

Distance: 1.37 miles

Start Time: 11:10

End Time: 1:00

Travel Time: 1:49 (0.75 mph)

Moving Time: 1:07 (1.23 mph)

Elevation Rise: 247'

Descent: 219‘

Maximum Elevation: 2,426'

Minimum Elevation: 2,308'

GPS Tracks

Description:

Our last day on this short trip. We are planning on going to Indian Grinding Rock State Park and then continue down Highway 49, assuming I can find all the correct turns, which as it turns out is a bit problematic. I woke up at 6:40 and confirmed there was no lightning yesterday. At least around Placerville we knew there was none. Then off to breakfast. The hotel provided food that was adequate and got you fed. But as was pointed out in one review, there was no meat protein. As Sherri found out, there was no fruit to go with her yogurt.

When we got back to the room, Sherri still needed to do a few things. We were able to leave Jackson around 10:20, sort of. More about that in aa few sentences. We head out of Jackson on 49. I kept looking for a sign saying either Volcano or Indian Grinding Rock SP. When we passed Mokelumne Hill, I started thinking we had missed a turn. We had-in Jackson. We go back to Jackson, this little misdirection cost us about 45 minutes.

Petroglyphs on grinding rock

Once back at Jackson, we find Broadway and are on our way. It takes us about half an hour to get to Indian Grinding Rock State Park. We thought about doing the North Trail and revisit it from 13 or 14 years ago. But we thought we wanted to see the grinding holes first. Later on we found out that was a good thing.

Inside of Teepee

This rock is the largest with the most grinding holes in North America, at least that is what I think the sign said. Not only are there grinding holes-and there are many of these-but there are also petroglyphs. The petroglyphs are not very obvious. We see what looks like scratches, but may be something else. When we walked around the rock-it was fenced in with a sign asking us to be respectful and not walk on the rock. On the far side of the rock, there are several places which you can see that there was carving in the rock. We are pleased with ourselves on two counts. First we were smart enough not to be content with just the normal view and secondly that we could recognize the carved images.

We decided to continue our walk and decided to so the South Nature Trail. We come to the roundhouse, which the MiWok nation still uses. This month’s OSHER Book Club book was called The Round House by Louise Erdrich. It was about a crime on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. So nothing about this one, but there was a certain amount of resonance to seeing a roundhouse up close and in person.

South Nature Trail

We picked up a trail guide-there are thirteen stops on this trail. The guide will explain the stops. It goes into both the native American culture of this area and the natural life we are passing through. The second is the MiWok village. They have created some teepeees which I look inside. This is where the North Trail joins this trail. But there is a sign saying the trail is closed. So it was a good thing we did not do that trail. We will be content with the South trail.

The trail is gentle. This is not to say there are no ups and downs. But they are not very strenuous. Then there are the places to stop and observe nature. The nature stops both inform and allows one to pause and enjoy nature. The stops informed us about things like wild roses, madrone, oaks, and manzanita. It is good to enjoy both an outing and enlarge one's understanding.

We made it back to the car at 12:50 where we had our peanut butter and Nutella sandwich for lunch. While Sherri was eating one of the apples she got yesterday, I took a quick trip to the museum. I confirmed what we saw on where the Nisenan tribe was, then circle, briefly looking at the exhibits. I asked the ranger about the petroglyphs. She took me over to a drawing which showed the various carvings in the rock. Evidently we saw some of the harder ones to see. She pointed out one of the more obvious ones which we missed. Oh well. All of this in ten minutes.

We take off by 1:20. I had plotted a route to take us over to Mokelumne Hill before hitting 49. But this seems to be the theme: I missed the turn off for my route. Is this a sign of me getting old? Tomorrow is my birthday. I am getting suspicious when we pass through the town of Volcano. When we went through this town a decade ago, we were impressed. Today, we were just as impressed. We will need to check out the couple inns in town.

The road out is fun and interesting. But definitely not the route I planned. We climbed up, watching the trees turn color. Once again, I asked Sherri to inquire Google Maps to see if we are in the right place. No, but if we go up about two more miles we can get a road which will return to Volcano.

Sonora Trick or Treat

When we get to the junction, Sherri notes there is a sign saying we are at Daffodil Hill, a place she has heard about from her youth. But the site was closed. While I studied a map, Sherri got out and looked at a historic plaque which commemorated this site. While Sherri was reading a man came out. I could not make out what was going on, but I was concerned because either the person could be very friendly or he would be hostile and wondering what these people are doing in his driveway. After a minute, it became evident that he was the friendly type.

After I figured out where I wanted to go, I went out and joined them. He explained both what Daffodil Hill was and its demise when there became too many fights over parking for one thing, the owners decided to close the area. He came on as a caretaker and now lives here. After 10 or 15 minutes we took off.

View from Fremont Fort Monument

We rolled along, enjoying the hills and went through Volcano again. Then I found the turnoff I missed and got on 26. For the next 45 minutes we went on 26. One special place we went through was West Point-not New York. The specialness is the name, this town is similar to other foothill towns. We enjoyed the autumn colors along the highway.

Full Moon

At Mokelumne Hill, we rejoined highway 49. Sherri started to see what we could do in Sonora. She found the best of all worlds: a bookstore which serves ice cream-The Thirsty Prospector. When we wheeled into Sonora, we found a parking place and walked back to the bookstore. Unfortunately, the person who runs the store was sick and the store was closed. We were getting a bit hungry and had seen El Jardin coming into town. We had eaten here on a previous trip and knew it was pretty good.

After getting content with Mexican food, we wandered out onto the sidewalk. Evidently Sonora was having an evening where the businesses were giving out candy to kids in costume. Both sides of the street, which was Highway 49, was full of kids and parents. Such fun and joy seeing small town excitement like this. Of course, it is a bit of a wade going through the kids for half of a mile back to the car.

We leave Sonora a bit before 5. First going down 108 before meeting 49 again. The sun was starting to set as we came to the Fremont Fort marker which overlooks the Lake McClure area. There we stopped. A short way after Mariposa, we stopped at a vista point and shot the full moon. Then it is on to home, getting there about 8. I ended up in bed by 1035

Background

Quailty Inn, Jackson. We chose this place because it seemed the most affordable place to stay within an hour’s drive of Placerville and still be along Highway 49. There were not many units being occupied as it is the off season. The room was clean and the various things worked. The bed was comfortable, a bit creaky. The room was quiet, even though the room was down from 49. The hotel’s breakfast was basic: eggs, waffles, and cold cereal-there was no sugar free syrup. But they did have chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Would we stay here again? At the price, I would say there is no reason not to stay here.

Extra Photo's