Auburn (California)
Auburn is a small city in Placer County on Interstate 80.
Understand
Near the confluence of the North and East Forks of the American River are a good place to swim and drink beer. There is a picturesque old town neighborhood near the statue of a miner just off the freeway. Under the miner, there are large drainage tunnels filled with graffiti that one can explore with a flashlight.
Get in
By plane
The nearest commercial airport is in Sacramento, approximately thirty miles away. Auburn has a private airport as well.
By train
AMTRAK services downtown Auburn, and Greyhound has a stop in nearby Colfax.
By car
Interstate 80 runs right through both towns, and in the case of Auburn goes right past the downtown area.This makes getting off I-80 rather disorientating, since you take the exit from the freeway only to suddenly find yourself in the middle of the city.
Get around
Placer County Transit does operate buses in part of Auburn, but service is limited and does not run on Sundays. It's better to rent a car, especially considering the city's topography, which varies significantly because the city is on a ridge.
By car
Auburn is harder to navigate than the cities to the southeast (Roseville and Rocklin) because Auburn is on a ridge, and not a flat one either. There are a lot of twists and turns on most of the local roads because they are going all around the houses and the steeper parts of the ridge. However, the outer, more recently developed parts of the town are generally laid out more reasonably and are on less undulating terrain than the downtown area is.
See
Downtown Auburn
Downtown Auburn consists of two separate districts: the historic district, which is right next to Interstate 80, and the modern district, which is to the north.
Historic district
- 🌍 Gold Miner (Interstate 80, historic district exit). At the junction of the I-80 off-ramp, Lincoln Way, and Maple Street is this giant statue of a gold miner. You can walk around the statue and go into the small park area that's behind it; however, the noise of the freeway, which is just a few yards from the statue, makes staying at the park for too long unpleasant.
- 🌍 Placer County Courthouse (Just above the historic district area). There's a small museum at the courthouse with local history and information.
Modern district
Do
Auburn is known to be the "Endurance Capital of the World", as many races either start or end here. Notably, the Western States Endurance Run ends at Placer High School in Auburn.
There are hundreds of miles of trails (including the Western States Trail) that lead to or from here.
- 🌍 Fast Fridays (Gold Country Fairgrounds). Most Friday evenings in summer. In summer, many speedway (motorcycle racing) competitions are held in Auburn.
Buy
- Second Chance Thrift, 13488 Luther Rd, ☎ +1 530-885-8297. Open Wednesday - Saturday 10:00-5:00, Sunday 10:30 - 3:00. Offering High quality Furniture, Jewelry, Clothing, Collectables, and New gift Items.
Eat
Many of the restaurants in Auburn are in the historic downtown and modern downtown areas.
- 🌍 Old Town Pizza, 150 Sacramento St, ☎ +1 530 888-7600. Amazing pizza fun small town feel, good beer selection.
Drink
Sleep
- 🌍 Best Western Golden Key, 13450 Lincoln Way, ☎ +1 530 885-8611, toll-free: +1-800-201-0121, fax: +1 530 888-0319.
- 🌍 Holiday Inn, 120 Grass Valley Highway, ☎ +1 530 887-8787.
- 🌍 Motel 6, 1819 Auburn Ravine Rd, ☎ +1 530 888-7829, fax: +1 530 888-6200.
- 🌍 Power's Mansion Inn, 195 Harrison Ave, ☎ +1 530-885-1166.
Go next
Auburn is home to the intersection of Interstate 80 and California 49. Interstate 80 goes west to Rocklin, Roseville, Sacramento, and points west. Interstate 80 goes east to Truckee, Reno, and points east. California 49 goes north to Grass Valley, Nevada City, Sierra City, and points north. California 49 goes south to Coloma, Placerville, Jackson, and points south.
| Routes through Auburn |
| Sacramento ← Rocklin ← | W  |
→ Truckee → Reno |
| Loyalton ← Grass Valley ← | N  |
→ Coloma → Oakhurst |
| END ← | N  |
→ Rocklin → Sacramento |