Placer County museums are free Aug. 15-16

Published on August 12, 2015

Twenty museums in Placer County from Roseville to Lake Tahoe will offer free admission Aug. 15-16 for the county’s eighth annual Heritage Trail Museum Tour.

“All 20 museums are committed to showcasing history in a fun and entertaining way,” said Placer County Museums Director Ralph Gibson. “For many ‘Trail Travelers,’ this event has become a family tradition.”

Visitors can explore the entire sweep of the county’s history, from ancient Native American settlements at the Maidu Indian Museum and Historic Site in Roseville, to gold mining history at the Gold Rush Museum in Auburn, to Lake Tahoe’s legacy as a winter sports destination at The Museum of Sierra Ski History and the 1960s Winter Olympics.

Participating museums are grouped in three clusters near Roseville, Auburn and north Lake Tahoe and all are easy to reach from Interstate 80. Visitors to Roseville area museums Aug. 15 can also take advantage of free shuttle service between all seven area destinations, running every 45 minutes from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Riders need only show a heritage trail map, bookmark or anything else that shows they’ve visited one of the museums to board.

The county has also organized a bus tour of the mountain museums at a cost of $10 per seat.  

On Aug. 15, the tour will bring trail goers to Tahoe City where they will visit the new Museum of Sierra Ski History and the 1960 Winter Olympics, Watson Cabin and the Gatekeepers Museum. The final museum stop with be at the Donner Summit Historical Society Museum in Norden. On Aug. 16, the bus will make stops at the Donner Summit Historical Society Museum, the Golden Drift Museum in Dutch Flat, the Colfax Area Heritage Museum and the Forest Hill Divide Museum.

For more information on event activities and bus tour registration, visitors are encouraged to call Placer County Museums at 530-889-6500.

A full listing of participating museums, opening times and scheduled events is available: Heritage Trail.