One of several southern Gold Country gateways to Yosemite National Park, Sonora was the biggest town in the Mother Lode. Reminders of the gold rush pop up everywhere downtown, in prim Victorian houses, typical Sierra-stone storefronts, and awning-shaded sidewalks. Reality intrudes beyond the town's historic heart, with strip malls, shopping centers, and modern motels.
Miners from Mexico founded Sonora, but following a period of racial and ethnic strife the settlers moved on and Yankees built the commercial city visible today. The historic downtown district sits atop the Big Bonanza Mine, one of the richest in the state. In 1879, another mine, on the site of nearby Sonora High School, yielded 990 pounds of gold in a single week. Access a downtown walking-tour map at https://www.sonoraca.com/visit-sonora.
If the countryside surrounding Sonora seems familiar, that's because it has been the backdrop for many movies over the years. Scenes from High Noon, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Virginian, Back to the Future III, Unforgiven, and many other films were shot here.
