If you want to get an up-close look at what the mid-19th Century California Gold Rush was like, visit Columbia State Historic Park, said to be the state’s best preserved ghost town.

Actually, Columbia is far from a ghost town. Several local business owners are alive and well, thank you, operating park concessions that help re-create the feeling of a town in the Gold Rush era. On any given day you’ll find people all over town dressed like it was still the 1800′s and doing all they can to create the illusion that you are traveling back in time. » Read more: History Buffs Love California’s Columbia State Park