California Tours
Here are some of the best tours in California that folks
have enjoyed and recommended. You're sure to enjoy them
too.
Sutter Gold Mine
To learn how gold is mined, pan for gold or do some gem mining, you don’t want to miss the chance to visit Sutter Gold Mine. You will get to ride the Boss buggy shuttle in the mine to the dark mineshaft. Along the way you will stop at various exhibits to view mining equipment, see the safety chamber at 1,850 feet down, learn how to distinguish fools from real gold and then walk through the “comet zone”. You can take a Walk Tour where you will see mining displays from past and present times as you view beautiful crystal and quartz.
13660 Hwy. 49
Sutter Creek, CA
1-800-225-3764
Open: Mid-May to mid Sept. from 9-5
Mid-Sept. - mid-May weekdays 10-4
with holidays & weekends from 10-5
Guide Dogs for the Blind
When it was founded in the 1940’s, the Guide Dogs for the
Blind helped wounded servicemenrendered blind in combat
learn to use and handle guide dogs. Today, the school teaches
people from all across the United States and Canada in a
free 28 day course.
The campus tour includes a video at the visitor’s center, visiting the kennel where 300 dogs live and train, seeing the training methods employed, viewing the kitchen where the dog’s food is prepared, and a visiting the dog’s beauty parlor and
veterinary clinic.
350 Los Ranchito Rd.
San Rafael, CA
1-800-295-4050
Hours: Mon.-Sat. tours at 10:30 & 2:00
Plan to spend at least 75 minutes
Basic Brown Bear Factory
On the Basic Brown Bear Tour you will find out how those fluffy friends are constructed—from fabric to furry finish. You will see how the process begins with a simple paper pattern, pieced together, pumped full with polyester and air and eventually primped and “prettied-up” at the bear beauty parlor. You can then purchase clothes and accessories, including company made wire-rimmed glasses, to customize your new friend.
You will need to plan a “bear” minimum of 30 minutes for your tour, plus additional time to make your special furry friend.
2801 Leavenworth Street
San Francisco
1-866-5BB-BEAR
Hours: Mon-Sat. 10-6pm & Sun. 11-6pm
Fortune Cookie Factory
Have you ever wondered where fortune cookies came from? What about those slips of paper—just how did they get the fortune inside the cookie? The answers to these and other fortune cookie questions can be answered when you tour the Fortune Cookie Factory.
The 15 minute self guided or -for $1 a person- guided explanation tour will show you how flour, sugar, margarine and a few other ingredients become the light yet crispy cookies. At the end of the tour each guest receives a free bag of cookies. In addition, there is a store where can purchase additional cookies.
261 12th Street
Oakland, CA
510-832-5552
Hours: 10-3 (Closed on major Chinese & US holidays)
Golden Gate Fortune Cookies
Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Chinatown is Golden Gate Fortune Cookie where you can observe the golden batter becoming a pancake and then rapidly formed into the familiar crescent shape. The shop is run by 2 women who will produce as many as 10,000 cookies daily. There is also a small retail area where you can purchase regular and flavored cookies.
56 Ross Valley
San Francisco
415-781-3956
Hours: Sun.-Sat. from 8am-8:30pm
Sony Pictures Studios Tour
Formerly known as MGM Studios, this is the site where cinema stars such as
Judy Garland and Clark Gable showcased their star qualities.
Today it is home to the production of TV shows like Jeopardy!
and Wheel of Fortune. While there, you will get a behind
the scenes look of the television industry—from wardrobe
to set.
10202 W. Washington Blvd
Culver City
Open: Mon-Fri., closed holidays
Photo Credits: tour by David Goehring;
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