Coloma River Cottage

A little cottage with a big deck on the South Fork of the American River in Gold Country.

Airbnb Rating: 4.84

My Rating: 5,000 (would be more, but there were very explicit instructions NOT to pan for gold, which made me want to pan for gold).

Airbnb listing here.

Quick Facts:

• Location: Coloma, CA. I'd never heard of it, but it's the heart of gold country, which basically means it's a small, sort of boring town that gets really, really hot in the summer. About 2 hours from Oakland.

• Cost: $165/night.

• Literally RIGHT on the river with private riverfront access. There are a few little beaches that are mostly private and some really good rocks to lay on in between swimming.

• There was a historic park walking distance from the property, which essentially consisted of old buildings that used to be libraries or inns.

What we did:

• Swam in the river. If you don't like swimming in the river, don't come here. That's literally the entire point.

• Walked to the cute little coffee shop on the corner.

• Soaked in the summer camp vibes.

• Went hiking at Auburn State Recreation Area. We did the Foresthill Bridge & Lake Clementine hike that I found here, and it exceeded expectations. We swam in Clark's Hole on the way back, and if you can get past the name, it's paradise.

If I had to complain about one thing it would be:

• Like I said, the host was very adamant that we do NOT pan for gold, which made me suspicious. Why would you care if people came to pan for gold unless you had a WEALTH of gold on your property? I would have liked to find out, but it was forbidden.