Did you know?
California State Route 49 (SR 49) is a north-south highway in California that runs through a bunch of historic mining towns from the 1849 Gold Rush. It’s also known as the Golden Chain Highway. The idea for the road came from the Mother Lode Highway Association—a group of locals and historians—back in 1919.
The highway starts at State Route 41 in Oakhurst, Madera County, in the Sierra Nevada. From there, it heads northwest, passing through towns like Goldside and Ahwahnee before crossing into Mariposa County. It continues north through several counties—Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Yuba, Sierra, and Plumas—finally ending at State Route 70 in the small town of Vinton.
