A Highway 49 Drive: A Self-Guided Audio Tour from Auburn to Placerville

Sacramento, USA

Great choice

5+ bookings last month.

2 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

Guided tours are relatively expensive and can follow rigid itineraries with tight schedules. This self-guided audio tour of the Sierra Foothills, an epicenter of California Gold Rush history, helps travelers save money and explore completely at their own pace. Follow your downloaded map app through Auburn, Placerville, Coloma, and many historic sites. Start, stop, and pause the tour whenever you’d like.

A self-guided audio tour of the Sierra Mountains Foothills
Visit Gold Rush-era historic sites in Auburn, Placerville, and Coloma
Explore at your own pace—start, pause, or restart at any time
Don’t stress about cell reception: Downloaded tour works without it

What's Included

Lifetime access to this tour in English
Offline access to audio, maps, and geodata
VoiceMap App for Android and iOS

Food/Drink
Smartphone and headphones
Tickets or entrance fees to any museums or other attractions en route
Transportation

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

1650 Lincoln Way, Auburn, CA 95603, USA
Starts at 1650 Lincoln Way, Auburn California. Before arrival, please install the VoiceMap mobile app and use the code provided on your confirmation ticket. This is a self-guided audio tour that you can start, pause, or restart at any time and complete at your own pace.

End point

247 Main St, Placerville, CA 95667, USA
The tour ends in Placerville.

Arranged start time

Confirm time with the local provider in advance of your experience.

07/30/2020 - 04/23/2027
Monday - Sunday : 12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Itinerary

Auburn (Pass By)

Gold Rush Museum (Pass By)

Black Hole of Calcutta Falls Trailhead (Pass By)

Hart 2 Hart Vineyards & Winery (Pass By)

Magnolia Ranch Trailhead (Pass By)

American River (Pass By)

Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park (Pass By)

Sutter's Mill Replica (Pass By)

James Marshall Monument (Pass By)

Gold Bug Mine (Pass By)

Placerville (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Infants must sit on laps
Most travelers can participate
Near public transportation

Stroller accessible
Not wheelchair accessible
This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.2

based on 23 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Fabulous Exploration of Gold Mining Territory

Dani_R, Nov 2025

Start to finish this audio tour was easy to follow, wonderfully informative and articulated for the entire journey.

Great tour

Richard_S, Aug 2025

Great tour and full of interesting facts. I did struggle to find the start as no parking but once we got going all ok. Good to be able to stop and start the tour. It a very good way to learn as you go.

A very distracting tour

Vanessa_O, Apr 2025

Too many winding roads and traffic. Construction/ road work was taking place and had cars including myself back up for about a half a mile. Not my ideal tour.

Response from Host, May 2025

Hi there, I'm sorry that the route wasn't what you hoped. Can you let us know where the construction was taking place so that we can see if this is something that will significantly impact the route. Unfortunately we can't control construction on the route but if we can flag it for future users, we would appreciate your feedback. I'm sorry you felt this product was not worth the cost. Regards,

Scenic Auburn to Placerville drive

Lorren_R, Apr 2025

This audiotour made it easy to experience a beautiful back country drive and learn the history of the area at the same time.

Well-done tour with navigation

David_C, Oct 2024

Took us to spots we would have missed otherwise. Navigation support is effective. It updated according to your progress along the route.

History + beautiful drive.

Ben_P, Aug 2024

I enjoyed the narrative that the host gave throughout the trip. They were downtimes when I could just enjoy the view. But really like the history of the trip.

It's ohhkay

Leah_S, Jul 2024

This was our second trip using Viator and it was cool. This particular tour was a little tough to manage because either our service was spotty due to the area and the voice map wasn't providing the directions in the time we needed. This made for a couple of wrong turns but we found our way. Due to the heat we cut our trip short.

Response from Host, Jul 2024

Hi there, I'm sorry that you found this tour tricky to navigate. It would be really helpful if you could share specific information about where the directions weren't triggering at the correct time. If you email us at support@voicemap.me, we can investigate what happened and where. This will help us identify the cause of the issue and, if necessary, change a couple of the trigger points. The spotty service shouldn't have been a problem here as the tour works offline, using just your GPS. We're pleased you managed to find your way, though. Regards, Brent

Honest opinion

Elaine_K, Jun 2024

Went ok once we got on car wiifi. Completel lost connection, after option to take hwy 48 or go to graveside, until we arrived in Placerville. Then only 2 sites were given. Glad it can be reused. Will rethink using again.

Great self-guided tour

Sharon_W, May 2024

This was a great self-guided tour! Learned a lot about the gold rush and surrounding areas. The audio driving tour was very informative, directions were clear and timely. It was a very scenic drive as well.

Great Value and Experience

Kim_W, May 2024

Great tour. Loved the scenery we drove through. We chose stops that interested us to explore further at our own pace. Learned and enjoyed being outside at the same time. Liked it so much we did Placerville to Angel's Camp the next day!

Must do tour

C_H, Jun 2023

We would definitely recommend this tour. One suggestion for others is to start the tour early to allow enough time to enjoy the recommended spots before they close. There is lots of turns going for anyone who gets car sick. Beautiful scenery, nature walks and river is stunning so clear.

Very interesting. Nice drive. Check open hours of stops before you go.

Pam_G, Mar 2023

My father and I really liked this trip. The road was winding so be prepared. We took our time and had fun. We were disappointed that ALL the stops were closed (Except the hikes, of course.). One mine museum was only open summer (we went in March) and the winery (which was a big draw for us) is closed mon-tues-wed. So PLEASE check before going. Even a drive-In park was closed. We ended up eating in Placerville, which was great, and learned a lot about the gold rush. When you book, it seems you have to pick a date but you don’t. You download and go whenever you want. The tech is really neat telling us where to turn and what to look for. There is live GPS map as well. We each used on AirPod for clear hearing for my elderly father. Worked great.