State Scenic Highway 49 49
State Scenic Highway 49 is a National Forest Scenic Byway in California. Within California it covers roughly 250 miles. The map below shows its route. Use “Plan a drive” to open it in the Road Sorties route planner — already routing along State Scenic Highway 49 with scenic roads turned on, ready to add your own stops.
State Scenic Highway 49, the historic Golden Chain Highway, runs 295 miles through California's Mother Lode from Oakhurst to Vinton. Named for the 49ers of the 1848 Gold Rush, the route was first lobbied for in 1919 by the Mother Lode Highway Association and consolidated under a single '49' designation in 1963, after decades of separately numbered segments. It passes dozens of California Historical Landmarks across eleven counties, including Sutter's Mill at Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, where the 1848 gold find triggered the rush, and the former mining towns of Placerville, Sutter Creek, Sonora, and Angels Camp. Only a portion of the highway carries an active scenic designation: the stretch from the Sierra-Yuba county line to Yuba Summit is an officially designated State Scenic Highway, and the segment from Nevada City to Sierraville forms part of the Yuba-Donner National Forest Scenic Byway. The rest of the drive remains a working tour through Gold Rush history rather than a formally protected scenic corridor.
- Oakhurst to Vinton
- 295 miles, 11 counties
- Marshall Gold Discovery SHP (Sutter's Mill)
- Golden Chain Highway
- Yuba-Donner National Forest Scenic Byway segment
- consolidated as SR 49 in 1963
Plan a drive on State Scenic Highway 49 →
What is a National Forest Scenic Byway?
National Forest Scenic Byways are routes designated by the U.S. Forest Service that thread through the mountains, canyons and old growth of America's national forests and grasslands.
Where to Stay along State Scenic Highway 49
5 campgrounds and RV parks sit within about 5 miles of State Scenic Highway 49.
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