Welcome to Arnold

Arnold (pop: 4200) opened in 1927 as the Ebbetts Pass Inn that served as a stop for people traveling along the Ebbetts Pass route as well as lodging for those visiting nearby Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

Previously the town consisted of just two logging ranches.

In 1928, Camp Wolfeboro was established nearby as a Boy Scout camp and continues to be in operation today.

Nearby activities include golf, skiing, whitewater rafting, boating, fishing, horseback riding and hiking. Take a short drive to the Moaning Caverns and Mercer Caverns, both offering guided tours and gold panning. Other nearby attractions include Angels Camp Museum, Columbia State Historic Park, Calaveras Big Trees State Park and the Bear Valley Ski Resort.

Exciting high adventure opportunities for exploring, boating, camping, hiking, watersports, weekend retreats and more.


Arnold Vacation Home Rentals - Calaveras Big Selection
Calaveras Adventure Tour Guides - Arnold
Order Free Brochures Here - Over 100 Options
California Student Travel Discounts - Big savings on travel for students and under 26.

Arnold is part of California Gold Country (also Mother Lode Country), made famour for the mineral deposits and gold mines that attracted waves of immigrants, known as the 49ers, during the 1849 California Gold Rush.

Bishop Creekside Inn Best Western Vacation Resort Location: Downtown Jct - US-395 & US-6
This beautifully landscaped hotel with its charming bridge offers well-appointed rooms with cheery-wood furnishings and serene creek-side patios. Guests may also choose a fully-equipped kitchenette with upgraded amenities. The luxurious and richly furnished lobby with ranch style fireplace is an ideal place for relaxing and meeting new friends.

Hawaiian Island Getaway One of the most popular tourism destinations in the world is the Hawaiian Islands. Local attractions include touring royal palaces, miles of beautiful beaches and polynesian cultural entertainment venues.

Calaveras Hotel Group Reservations
Guaranteed Best Hotel Rates for Weddings

Arnold Vacation Home Rentals
Save up to 50% on select Vacation Rentals in the Calaveras Area

Jackson Best Western
Hotel guests have easy access to the area's 15 wineries, the famous Kennedy Mine and the Amador County Museum. Guests of the Best Western Amador Inn have a choice of room styles including rooms with a fireplace.

Jackson Holiday Inn
Escape to Historic Jackson, California via the Scenic Highway 49. Visit Sutter Creek, Amador City and Drytown with an abundance of antique and specialty shops.

Calaveras Resort Hotels:
BW Cedar Inn Suites
Angels Inn Motel
The Heirloom Inn

Lake Amador Resort - Ione CA
For over 30 years, the Lockhart Family, of four generations, has been in the process of developing the finest fishing resort in the Western United States. Lake Amador Resort is located in the foothills of the Sierras and is famous for its special crossbred hard-fighting trout.

Jackson Best Western Suites
Hotel guests have easy access to the area's 15 wineries, the famous Kennedy Mine and the Amador County Museum. Guests of the Best Western Amador Inn have a choice of room styles including rooms with a fireplace. The hotel features an outdoor swimming pool, fitness room and a Denny's restaurant located on the premises. Whether touring one of the historic gold mines or visiting the local wineries, a friendly staff is ready to ensure a comfortable stay in Jackson, CA.

Popular Local Attractions
Highly recommended tourism venues in this area.
Calaveras Big Trees State Park - Arnold CA - Groves of giant sequoia redwood trees. Hiking trails, mountain biking, bird and wildlife habitat.
Calaveras Fairgrounds - Angels Camp CA - Frogtown USA - Ongoing fairs, shows and exhibitions. Home of Mark Twains' Jumping Frog Jubilee.
Calaveras County Museum Complex - San Andreas CA - historical exhibits.
Dodge Ridge Winter Sports Park - Pinecrest CA -
Columbia SHP - Columbia CA - state historic park - ongoing living history museum and festivals
Stanislaus National Forest - outdoor recreation adventures

More Underground Caverns
Black Chasm Cavern - Underground natural wonder
Sutter Gold Mine - Tour inside the Mother Lode
Mercer Cavern - Underground natural wonder
California Cavern - Underground natural wonder
Moaning Cavern - California largest underground cavern

Day-Trip Adventures
Exiciting destinations less than two hours away:
Amador County - Sierra Foothill Gold Country - likeside and mountainside resorts.
Sonora CA - Sierra Foothill Gold Country - likeside and mountainside resorts.
Lake Tahoe CA - likefront and winter ski resorts.
Yosemite National Park - majestic mountains, scenic vistas, hiking trails and wildlife.
Sacramento CA - State Capitol - Metropolitan Area
Stockton CA - Metropolitan Area
Modesto CA - Metropolitan Area

Calaveras Adventure Tours
Explore the Golden State - (Keyword: Calaveras)

Palm Springs Marquis Villas Resort Hotel Location: So Calle Encilla;
Scenic views of the majestic San Jacinto Mountains and set right in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, the Marquis Villas offers complete comfort and charm. Pass the day by the pool set in a beautiful garden courtyard, get a game of tennis, or a good workout at the resort's fitness facility.

Big Trees Weblinks:
Save the Redwoods
Calaveras Big Trees Assoc.
CA State Parks Accessibility

Calaveras Big Trees State Park
1170 East Highway 4, Arnold, CA 95223; Park Website;
Located 4 miles east of Arnold on Highway SR-4;

Calaveras became a State Park in 1931 to preserve the large groves of giant sequoias redwood trees, the largest living thing in the world. If you want to see the big trees, but skip the big crowds of Yosemite, then this is your place. The high altitude and close proximity to the high sierras contributes to a mild climate here.

This grove includes Discovery Tree, the first giant sierra redwood noted by Augustus T. Dowd in 1852. Since that discovery, this area has become one of California's popular tourism attractions. The Park also houses two main campgrounds, picnic areas and hundreds of miles of established trails. Popular activities include cross-country skiing, hiking, mountain biking and bird-watching.

The Tall Trees
This park features some extremely favorable growing conditions and is located in median of prime sierra tree range (2,000 - 7,000 foot elevation). This area was also able to avoid the heavy logging activity that impacted other forest areas. Visitors will thus find some of the tallest and biggest specimens of several tall species here.

• Sequoia Redwoods
• White Fir
• Sugar Pine
• Ponderosa Pine
• Mountain Dogwood
• Black Oak

Tall Tree Bird-watching
The tall trees are home to several species including:

• Western Tanager
• Dark-eyed Junco
• Brown Creeper
• Red-breasted Nuthatch
• Pileated Woodpecker

Tall Tree Wildlife
The trees are home to a variety of wildlife including raccoons, foxes, porcupines, chipmunks, chickarees, flying squirrels, black bear, bobcats and coyotes.

North Grove Trail
Located just off highway SR-4, this easy loop trail passes through a grove of over a hundred giant trees. Most popular trail in the park and the big trees here provide abundant shade. The park rangers and a visitor center are located near the trailhead.

South Grove Natural Preserve
More than a 1000 giant sequioa redwood trees in a more remote section of the park. A moderate but well-shaded 3.5 mile loop trail includes an extension to Agazzi Tree, the largest in the park. Path crosses the bustling Beaver Creek and overlooks the Stanislaus River below. The lack of human influence has contributed greatly to quality of this grove. (Most other groves were significantly disturbed by settlers following their discovery in the late 19th century.)
Bradley Grove - easy hike to a grove of young redwood trees planted in the 1950's. A logging railroad once stopped here but has since been removed.
Agazzi Tree - 25 feet in diameter, over 250 feet tall, weighs over 6,000 tons (blue whales weigh only 150 tons) and possibly 2,000 years old.

Lava Bluff Trail
A moderate 5-mile trail loops across very old but scenic volcanic formations. You also see elements of a large wooden aquaduct built by gold miners in the 1850s. This trail is not well-shaded like the others.

Lava Bluff Trail
A aggresive 8-mile one-way trail from North Grove that drops in elevation down to the Stanislaus River. The trail is well shaded by the tall trees.

Other Park Activities:

• Picnicking Grounds
• River Swimming - North Fork Stanislaus River
• Fishing - Stanislaus River and Beaver Creek are both a good source of Rainbow Trout

Campgrounds:
For reservations call : 800-444-7275 or click State Park Campgrounds.

• North Grove Campground - 74 campsites
• Oak Hollow Campground - 55 campsites

Tuolumne State Game Refuge:
Large wildlife refuge located adjacent to Big Trees State Park.

Downtown Fresno Radisson Resort Hotel Location: Downtown Ventura Street exit between Highways SR-99 and SR-41;
Central California Valley's premiere full service hotel with a convenient location in downtown Fresno directly across from the Fresno Convention Center. This atrium-style hotel features 321 guestrooms including suites and Radisson's exclusive Sleep Number Beds.

Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee 3rd Weekend of May - A tribute to Mark Twain and his fictional frog Dan'l Webster. This old-fashion fair features live entertainment, rodeo, livestock shows, and kids carnival.
Calaveras Gem Show 4th Weekend of March -
Calaveras Follies Mid April - local community theater features a hilarious cabaret review on stage at Mark Twain Hall.
[ California Festivals ]

Calaveras Entertainment Book
Get Hundreds of shopping, dining and entertainment attraction coupons for the Calaveras area.

Calaveras Festivals, Faires & Shows
Local Special Events:

MainTour Las Vegas - Preview over 80 of the biggest and brightest resorts on the Strip and related special features for adventure, recreation, entertainment, wedding packages and other great attractions.

Sequoia Woods Country Club
Restaurant / Lounge / Golf / Deli on the Deck
1000 Cypress Point Dr, Arnold CA; 209-795-1000; Club Website;
Lounge open daily at noon.
Saturday evening music and dancing

Calaveras Sports & Recreation


Bear Valley Mountain Resort - Ebbetts Pass Highway - Wintersports, Groomed Nordic Trails, Alpine Ski Runs, Snowmobile Trails.
Ebbetts Pass SnoParks - Ebbetts Pass Highway - Two USNF SnoParks at the top of the Sierra Nevada with groomed nordic trail networks.
Sports & Athletics
Parks & Outdoor Recreation
Festival Guide - Sports Events
Regional Golf Courses

Calaveras Boy Scouts
Outdoor Recreational Adventure Activities for Youth:
Camp Wolfeboro - Bear Valley CA BSA Summer Camp

Nordic Sports Outfitters
Bear Valley Snowmobile -
Bear Valley Cross Country - Snowshoe & children's snowplay area.
Mountain Adventure - backcountry winter treks
Sierra Nevada Adventure Company - Arnold CA -
Ebbetts Pass Sporting Goods - Arnold CA -

GPS Gear - MainTour Pro-Shop Special
Popular for Runners, Boaters, Hikers, Bikers and Adventurers
Recent technology updates have made readily affordable for outdoor adventures a nifty item - the GPS Watch. It uses 3D Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to triangulate your position and elevation to within 20 ft accuracy.

Palm Mountain Resort Hotel
Nestled at the heart of Palm Springs, California is the fabulous Palm Mountain Resort - a friendly, charming retreat at the foot of the snowcapped San Jacinto Mountains. Those mountains shelter the resort from the warm desert breezes and provide a striking backdrop to the hotel.

Arnold Churches:

LDS Church - LDS Stake
Catholic Church - Diocese

Palm Springs Wyndham Resort Hotel Location: 888 Tahquitz Canyon Way;
Glamorous Palm Springs, California, is the lovely setting for this impressive vacation retreat. Make yourself at home in a warmly appointed room with a panoramic view of the majestic San Jacinto Mountains. You'll enjoy the comfort and convenience of thoughtful business amenities like an oversized desk and Internet access that make it easy to get work done.