First, escape the Bay Area in the way best known to you when
heading
for the Sierras (only the northernmost dwellers are recommended not to
take 580 east). Proceed East on 580 over Altamont pass. 580
becomes 205 somewhere over the mountain, just stay out of the right
lane.
Take 205 North(East) toward Sacramento, which becomes
Interstate
5. Continue north on I 5 until you reach the exit marked "4 East
to 99." This is the Cross-town Freeway. Don’t exit at
Charter
Way, even though it represents Route 4 west from Stockton
(dyslexics
of the world, untie!). Stay right for a while, then begin moving left
to
exit on 99 north. Travel north on 99 one mile, then exit to the
right
on 88 East (Waterloo Road). Pass through Waterloo and proceed to
Lockeford. It’s just a couple of miles to the next town of Clements and
about 1.5 miles beyond it is a left turn where 88 separates from
12.
Sign Says: "Ione, Jackson, Lake Tahoe". Turn left and drive 11.8 miles
to the junction of 88 and 124. Sign Says: "Ione, Placerville."
Turn
left onto 124. When you reach Ione about a mile later, turn left once
and
right twice to stay on 124, where the final sign says "Plymouth,
Placerville."
Follow 124 till it ends against 49 and 16 (about eight more miles).
(A slightly serious note here about the return trip. —There
are only
two mistakes that are common coming home; the first being the turnoff
from
16 onto 124. You’ll be tempted to turn left at the stop light
(which is Route 49, auraciously nicknamed the "Gold
Highway"),
but don't do it, because Route 124 is the later blinking yellow
light.
Shortly thereafter, while passing through Ione, you are likely to be so
enthralled by its charm that you may miss the right turn to 124 from
Main
street. If you do, turn around and go back. Route 104 leads
to a transdimensional warp zone with no known escape route.)
Turn right onto Route 16 where the sign again says "Plymouth,
Placerville,"
and go about two miles into Plymouth. A little over a mile beyond
is a crucial right turn onto E16, at the El Dorado Savings Bank
Plaza.
Sign Says: "Shenandoah Valley, Fiddletown, River Pines," and "To
E16."
Shortly past the turn is a tricky decision point where you must curve
left.
Straight ahead lies Fiddletown but you want to bear left to Fair Play
(16
miles ahead).
Just past the South Fork of the Cosumnes River (sign says "No
Gold
Panning") is Mt. Aukum. Be watching for Hall’s Market on the
right,
(now closed), then the Mt. Aukum General Store and Hardware on the
left.
Immediately after the General store, turn right onto Omo Ranch Road.
After
about 3.5 miles, turn left on Fair Play Road. Another mile or so finds
a sign that says "Fair Play, Elev. 2300." Turn right on
Perry
Creek Road at the stop sign and drive carefully between BOTH businesses
that constitute Downtown Fair Play: the restaruant (formerly the General
Store and the Bistro)
and the Hardware Store. Follow the paved road around to the left,
avoiding the Mobile Home park and the Fair Play Cemetery, then head
down
the hill to a small bridge about 0.7 miles after turning at downtown
Fair
Play. Turn right here onto Slug Gulch Road.
Go up the hill on Slug Gulch 0.7 miles more, past Boondock
Trail
and Patsy Cline Lane (it falls to pieces), and the winery will be in
sight
on the right (special note--the original Patsy Cline road sign became a
collector's item after only a few months. A local resident
created
a new one but spelled it Pasty Cline Lane. As a courtesy to all,
the sign has been retired, and replaced by a large, defunct wine vat
with
a sign reading "Wine Tasting--564 Feet-->"). The winery has a
circular
paved driveway.
Directions
to Oakstone
Winery from Sacramento
Get to Highway 50 east somewhere in the greater Sacramento area.
Stay on 50 past El Dorado Hills, Shingle Springs, and El
Dorado
(If you get to the stoplights of Placerville, you’ve gone too far).
Exit South on Missouri Flat Road, and continue about two
miles until
the road ends at Route 49. Turn left onto Pleasant Valley Road
(which
is also Route 49 through the town of Diamond Springs).
Stay straight on Pleasant Valley Road when 49 leaves to the north
(left).
Five miles farther, Buck’s
Bar Road
turns right and most of the traffic follows it. You can turn with them,
or proceed 5 more miles to Pleasant Valley. The town has an
(almost)
shopping center, with a Holiday Market and a Pizza Factory.
Turn right just before the Holiday Market onto Mt. Aukum Rd.
(also
known as E-16). Follow Mt. Aukum Rd. down the
windy
hill to the Cosumnes River North Fork canyon (okay, it’s just a
bridge),
then back up the hill to the town of Somerset, where there is a 4-way
stop.
If you chose the excitement of Buck’s Bar Road (beware of the new stop
sign at Sand Ridge Road and Buck's Bar--don't turn right there), you
will
turn right at this four-way stop onto Mt. Aukum road, 4.6 miles after
turning
onto Buck's Bar.
Keep going straight past the bridge over the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes,
then climb
the long hill up past Outingdale. Just past the top of the hill is a gas station (2.9 miles from the 4-way stop at Somerset).
Turn
left at the gas station onto Fair Play Road (sometimes misspelled
Fairplay).
Continue Southeastish almost three miles, past Granite Springs Winery
on
the left and Single Leaf Winery on the right.
At the town(?) of Fair Play, take
a sharp left at the stop sign, and go between the restaruant and the
Hardware store, onto Perry Creek Road (Caution-Caution! DON’T take the
first Perry Creek just a few hundred yards beyond the turn onto Fair
Play
Road--it’s a looong way around). Go down the hill on the paved
road
for 0.7 miles to a very small bridge with a stand of mailboxes above
it,
then turn right onto Slug Gulch Road.
Go up the hill on Slug Gulch 0.7 miles more, past Boondock
Trail
and Patsy Cline Lane (it falls to pieces), and the winery will be in
sight
on the right (special note--the original Patsy Cline road sign became a
collector's item after only a few months. A local resident
created
a new one but spelled it Pasty Cline Lane. As a courtesy to all,
the sign has been retired, and replaced by a large, defunct wine vat
with
a sign reading "Wine Tasting--564 Feet-->"). The winery has a
circular
paved driveway.
Directions to
Oakstone Winery
from Reno/Tahoe
Travel west on 50 toward Sacramento. Stay on 50 past
Apple
Hill and Take the Schnell School Road exit (if you get to the
traffic
lights of Placerville, you’ve gone too far) and turn left toward
Placerville.
Turn Left on Broadway and continue (quite a while) until the road ends
at Pleasant Valley Road. (The name of the road changes from
Broadway
to Newtown, but just stay on it.) Turn left and proceed one
mile to Pleasant Valley. The town has an (almost) shopping
center,
with a Holiday Market and a Pizza Factory.
Turn right just before the Holiday Market onto Mt. Aukum Rd.
(also
known as E-16 in some places). Follow Mt. Aukum Rd. down the
windy
hill to the Cosumnes River North Fork canyon (okay, it’s just a
bridge),
then back up the hill to the town of Somerset, where there is a 4-way
stop.
Keep going straight past the Middle Fork of the Cosumnes,
then climb
the long hill up. Just past the top of the hill is a gas station. Turn left
at the gas station onto Fair Play Road (sometimes misspelled
Fairplay).
Continue Southwestish almost three miles, past Granite Springs Winery
on
the left and Single Leaf Winery on the right.
About 3/4 miles past Single Leaf, at the town(?) of Fair
Play, take
a sharp left at the stop sign, and go between the restaurant and the
Hardware store, onto Perry Creek Road (Caution-Caution! DON’T take the
first Perry Creek just a few hundred yards beyond the turn onto Fair
Play
Road--it’s a looong way around). Go down the hill on the paved
road
for 0.7 miles to a very small bridge with a stand of mailboxes above
it,
then turn right onto Slug Gulch Road.
Go up the hill on Slug Gulch 0.7 miles more, past Boondock
Trail
and Patsy Cline Lane (it falls to pieces), and the winery will be in
sight
on the right (special note--the original Patsy Cline road sign became a
collector's item after only a few months. A local resident
created
a new one but spelled it Pasty Cline Lane. As a courtesy to all,
the sign has been retired, and replaced by a large, defunct wine vat
with
a sign reading "Wine Tasting--564 Feet-->"). The winery has a
circular
paved driveway.
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