Calaveras County Landmarks

Valley Spring Railroad

The original three foot narrow gauge line was built by the San Joaquin & Sierra Nevada Railroad, extending from Brack's Landing on the Mokelumne River, east to Valley Spring. The depot and turntable were built when the last section was finished, around April 1885. It cost a total of $409,570. The line was changed to standard gauge by Southern Pacific around 1904. In 1925, it was extended 13 miles further east to Kentucky House to service the Calaveras Cement Company. Passenger service ended around 1932, but the line continued to serve as a freight line until the closure of the cement plant. The last rail shipment of cement was in 1983.

Double Springs was founded February 18, 1850. It became the county seat of Calaveras County. The old court house, said to be constructed of lumber brought from China, is still standing, but not on the original site.

San Andreas - Heart of the Southern Mines

San Andreas was settled by Mexicans in 1848, and named after the Catholic parish of St. Andrew. The first newspaper was published here Sept. 24, 1856. The town was destroyed by fire on June 4, 1858 and again in 1863. It has been the county seat of Calaveras County since 1866. Rendezvous of Joaquin Murietta. Black Bart, the notorious stage robber, was tried and sent to prison from here. San Andreas has been a noted mining camp since early days. Gold from the surrounding ancient river channels and placer mines contributed greatly to the success of the Union during the Civil War.

The tourist caves of California Caverns are located at Cave City Road, approximately 4 miles from Mountain Ranch Road via Michel Road, 11 miles east of Hwy. 49 in San Andreas.

New Hogan Reservoir Trail,
Valley Springs, CA

Whatta trail! This is a sweet trail, very technical, very rocky, very fun. It is an out and back, 3 1/2 miles one way, the rest is yet to be finished. The trail is not actually open to the public just yet, as it is not finished and rangers haven't worked out all the insurance details and related stuff. If you want to ride it, just ride in from Valley Springs, or camp in the campsite and plead ignorance if they catch you. It's really no big deal if they do catch ya, and it's not that well policed anyway....

You begin at the Oak Knoll campground. The trail is about 50 yards south of a secondary gate within the camping area. Basically the whole trail is a rocky embedded singletrack. The first mile or so is made up of short climbs, quick, short descents, and very technical switchbacks, sometimes three in a row, very sharp, and on an incline. This trail requires extreme balance and quick wits. You rarely get to gain enough speed to make it into a race; you get shorted with a sharp switchback or a tight corner with a short uphill stint. As you make it about a third of the way you ride down a four foot dip, then up a steep climb on the other side to continue with the singletrack. After a couple hundred yards there is a sharp, right turn, up a moderate incline. You make the turn by crossing a bridge made up of rocks, about four feet long. For some reason it's hard to make a real sharp turn on a narrow crossing. The trail is surrounded by trees usually around 8-12' tall, so you can see your partners coming if you lose them behind you. It's all along side or through some foothills, none more than about 500' elevation.

To get there, take Hwy. 99 to Hwy. 12 and follow the signs to New Hogan Reservoir. From 99 to the trail is about 20 miles. Once you get into the campgrounds you will see the main gate on your left. Pass the gate and park in the dirt lot about 200 yards up the road, then ride back towards main gate and look for the trailhead on your right across from the second gate from the main gate.

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