Columbia, a town once known as "the gem of the southern mines," sprang up quickly after the Hildreth party discovered gold on March 27, 1850. Although the heyday of Columbia’s placer-style gold mining lasted little longer than a decade, $87 million in gold was mined; one nugget weighed 135 ounces. In nearby Sonora a nugget of almost pure gold weighed an astonishing 22 pounds. Gold fever in Columbia faded, but many civic-minded citizens worked to preserve the area and, in 1945, the entire town was preserved when California created the Columbia Historic State Park. This unique park, with 30 buildings that are more than 100 years old, is open year round and is only a 10-minute walk from the Columbia Airport (O22).
The airport has one 4,670-foot-long runway aligned almost north and south (17/35). The runway is higher at the northern end than the southern, and it does have a crown about one-third of the way down from the north end, which can give a little bit of an optical illusion during landing. A 2,600-foot-by-100-foot grass runway (11/29) is also on the airport property. Sitting up in the Sierra foothills approximately 45 miles east of Stockton at an elevation of 2,118 feet, Columbia Airport can be home base for a week of gold-country adventuring, a flying trip combining culture and fine dining with an overnight campout, or a good stop for a fun, informative day trip.
Airplane campers will want to check out the campgrounds that are nestled in a grove of trees along the north side of the grass runway. The campground features running water and outhouses. Camping fees are $6 a night. The Tuolumne County Aeronautical Association (TCAA) has a dining room at the campgrounds that seats about 100. It can be hired to provide food and cooking services for fly-in groups. Contact TCAA at 209/532-5945 to reserve the dining room.
At Bald Eagle Aviation, you can get fuel while receiving your AOPA 3-percent discount, buy snacks, or rent a car (the FBO only has three, so call ahead for availability). Four miles away is the town of Sonora, site of the Tuolumne County Museum. Both Enterprise and Hertz car rental agencies in Sonora can accommodate fliers by delivering rental cars to Columbia Airport.
Getting into town is easy. After exiting the FBO on the parking lot side, walk to the left corner of the parking lot. There will be the Frank J. Dondero nature trail that leads to Parrott’s Ferry Road. Turn left and walk alongside the road for about 10 minutes and you’ll begin to see the town.
Once off the trail and on the road into town, St Anne’s Catholic Church can be seen on a hill to the south. This church is thought to be the first brick church built in California. Labor for the construction effort was provided by local miners. Local brick and timber were used, and only the bell—which was cast in New York and brought around Cape Horn in 1856—was made outside the area. The church fell into disrepair but was rebuilt and rededicated in 1926 and is open for visitors most days of the year.
Farther down the road into town are the Fallon Hotel and Fallon House. This historic 114-year-old building has been restored and has a hotel and a 274-seat theater that features live performances by the Sierra Repertory Theatre. The schedule this year includes Pump Boys and Dinettes, Paint Your Wagon, Nunsense Jamboree, with a local country western adaptation of Sister Amnesia’s adventures, and All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. Reserve tickets for the weekend performances by calling 209/532-3120. One of the local attractions is the Wells Fargo building, which was constructed in 1858. A stagecoach departs at regular intervals on the weekends.
Gourmet dining is available at the Columbia City Hotel, where the kitchen is home to the Columbia College Culinary Arts Program.
After a walk around town, spelunkers in the crowd may want to take a short drive toward Vallecito on Parrott’s Ferry Road to Moaning Cavern, which features California’s largest underground room. Tours are available at Moaning Cavern as well as at the California Caverns in San Andreas and the Mercer Caverns in Murphys. Those wanting to try their hand at gold panning can swirl a pan or two at the California gold panning site off of Yankee Hill Road, or at Jensen’s Pick and Shovel Ranch located a few more miles beyond the Moaning Cavern on Parrott’s Ferry Road. Call 209/736-0287 to book a trip and bring home your own gold.
Rafters wanting a taste of the local rivers can contact Zephyr River Expeditions or Ahwahnee Whitewater in Columbia for guided trips. Food and equipment are supplied. Catered guided trips of up to three day’s duration are available on Class 1 through 5 local rivers.
Railroad train and western film fans will want to drive the five miles to Jamestown and investigate the Railtown 1897 State Historic Park. Rides on the Movie Railroad steam-powered train are available each weekend from April through October.
Columbia Airport is a great portal into California’s past. Combined with the beauty of the Sierra foothills and outdoor adventures galore, every pilot should either punch O22 into their loran or GPS, or make a big red X on the chart and plan for at least one fly-in trip to Gold Country. One last piece of advice when flying into Columbia: The California Department of Forestry bases firefighting airplanes at Columbia during fire season. Monitor the CTAF frequency (123.05) at least 10 miles out to determine if the CDF base is active before you enter the pattern. CDF airplanes usually land on Runway 35 and take off on Runway 17 when fighting fires to limit taxi time. The normal pattern for all other Columbia fliers is right traffic to Runway 35.
For further information contact the Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce at 209/536-1672 or visit the Web site ( www.thegreatunfenced.com). State parks information can be obtained by calling 209/532-4301 or on the Web ( www.sierra.parks.state.ca.us). Additional information can also be found in AOPA’s Airport Directory .
Have suggestions for a "California Flying" subject? E-mail the author at [email protected] .
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