Placerville Travel Guide

Placerville is a fascinating city located on highway 50 half-way between Sacramento and South Lake Tahoe, creating a perfect place to have a rest.  The Main St. is a wonderful mix between hip coffee shops, old-fashioned burger joints, trendy clothing retailers, and historical lore. 

During the 1849 gold rush Placerville was the third largest city in California.  It started out as 'Old Dry Diggins', named so because of the lack of a river.  Eventually, it was changed to 'Hangtown', because there used to be a central tree (located on Main St.) where the hangings were done for all of the surrounding communities.  It has since been re-named Placerville: people felt that the name 'Hangtown' gave newcomers the wrong impression.  The name Placerville was chosen after the type of mining that was done here (Placer mining). 

Because Placerville is situated in the foothills, the town is spread out throughout several valleys, creating a small-town atmosphere, even though it has a major freeway running through the heart of it.