Location: County: Amador. Nearest City: Pine
Grove.
Campsites, facilities: There are 23 sites for tents
or RVs, some up to 27 feet long. Picnic tables, fire grills,
and piped water are provided. Flush toilets and coin-operated
hot showers are available. Facilities are wheelchair accessible.
Leashed pets are permitted.
Reservations, fees: No reservations; $12-$17 per night,
$1 pet fee. Campsites are available on a first-come, first-served
basis. The park is open for camping all year, but is subject
to closure during times of heavy snowfall.
Contact: Phone the park at 1-209-296-7488.
Web site: www.sierra.parks.state.ca.us/igr/igr_main.htm
Operating hours, seasons: Call the park for information;
open all year round.
Directions: From Jackson, drive east on Highway 88
for 11 miles to Pine Grove-Volcano Road. Turn left (north) on
Pine Grove-Volcano Road and drive 1.5 miles to the park.
Weather, clothing: The weather can be changeable; layered
clothing is recommended.
Trip notes: Visiting this park, about three miles from
Sutter Creek, is like entering a time machine. It offers a reconstructed
Miwok village with petroglyphs, bedrock mortars, a cultural center,
and interpretive talks for groups, by reservation. The 135-acre
park was created in 1968 and preserves a great outcropping of
marbleized limestone with some 1,185 mortar holes -- the largest
collection of bedrock mortars in North America. Trails
make it easy to explore the meadows and surrounding forest. The
camp is set at 2,500 feet in the Sierra foothills. Wood gathering
is not allowed but firewood may be brought in or purchased at
the park. The Chaw'se Regional Indian Museum has
been designed to reflect the architecture of the traditional
roundhouse. Exhibited in this two-story museum are outstanding
examples of the technology and crafts of the Miwok and other
Sierra Nevada native American groups. As a regional Indian museum,
the collection at Chaw'se includes Northern, Central and Southern
Miwok, Maidu, Konkow, Monache, Nisenan, Tubatulabal, Washo, and
Foothill Yokuts. Examples of basketry, feather regalia, jewelry,
arrowpoints, and other tools are on display. Museum Hours: (11am
to 3 pm Monday - Friday) (10am to 4pm Saturday - Sunday).
© 2001, Miwok Lodge 439, Order of the
Arrow, Santa Clara County Council Inc., BSA
Revision 1.2
