Auburn (California)

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.

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.

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.

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 MinerAt 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 CourthouseThere's a small museum at the courthouse with local history and information.

Modern district

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 FridaysIn summer, many speedway (motorcycle racing) competitions are held in Auburn.

• Second Chance Thrift

  phone: +1 530-885-8297
  address: 13488 Luther Rd
  Offering High quality Furniture, Jewelry, Clothing, Collectables, and New gift Items.

Many of the restaurants in Auburn are in the historic downtown and modern downtown areas.

• Old Town Pizza

  phone: +1 530 888-7600
  address: 150 Sacramento St
  Amazing pizza fun small town feel, good beer selection.

• Best Western Golden Key

  phone: +1 530 885-8611
  address: 13450 Lincoln Way

• Holiday Inn

  phone: +1 530 887-8787
  address: 120 Grass Valley Highway

• Motel 6

  phone: +1 530 888-7829
  address: 1819 Auburn Ravine Rd

• Power's Mansion Inn

  phone: +1 530-885-1166
  address: 195 Harrison Ave

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.