NUGGETS OF CALIFORNIA'S PAST.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

During California's mad rush for gold 150 years ago, there was no particular sense of order to the settling of the Sierra Nevada foothills.

When gold was discovered at a certain location, miners swarmed it. Tents and lean-tos would go up. An entrepreneur would soon set up a makeshift store, to be followed closely by a grog shop. Some plank structures might be thrown up in time. But when the gold gave out, most everyone would vanish, bound for richer diggings, and the cycle would begin anew somewhere else.

It's estimated that 500 towns were established in Gold Rush country between 1848 and 1860. Only a handful remain - often in areas where hard-rock mining prolonged the life of settlements.

There's no reason a visit to the surviving towns of the gold country needs to be as haphazard as it was during the rush. Although the region stretches out along a circuitous, near-300-mile stretch of Highway 49 just east of Sacramento, a little advance planning - and staying power - can make a trip enjoyable.

Hottest tip: Visit an Automobile Club of Southern California office and pick up a map titled Guide to California's Mother Lode (free to members, $3.95 to non-members). It not only is an exhaustively detailed map - including suggested side trips - but its wide margins are packed with information about many of the towns, including listings of hours, phone numbers and admission charges for the numerous state historic parks and museums.

Getting there: On a drive from Los Angeles, you'll reach the southern extremities of the gold country in a little over 300 miles - I-5 and I-99 north to Merced, then Route 140 northeast to Mariposa. Another approach, if budget permits, is to fly to Sacramento and rent a car. Round-trip passage can be had on Southwest for a little over $100; daily car rental has been running about $30 for weekdays, $50 for weekends. Placerville, the effective midpoint of the gold country, is about an hour's drive east of Sacramento on Highway 50.

If you have two days: Concentrate on a stretch from Coloma (six miles north of Placerville) to Columbia (85 miles to the south). This will take in the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park in Coloma and the restored mining town at Columbia State Historic Park. In between are several intriguing towns, including picturesque Sutter Creek and Angels Camp, where Mark Twain made a jumping frog famous.

If you have three days: To the previous itinerary, add a drive north of Coloma to Nevada City (46 miles) and make a stop at the Empire Mine State Historic Park outside Grass Valley. Nevada City is perhaps the most enchanting restored town in Gold Rush country.

If you have a week: Traverse the entire route, from Mariposa in the south to Sierraville in the north (267 miles), with as many side trips as you can work in - Murphys, Volcano, Fiddletown, Georgetown, Dutch Flat, Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park (but only if your vehicle is up to the washboard condition of the dirt road to the park).

If you're passionate about antiques: Sutter Creek is cheek-by-jowl with antique shops. Don't miss the Gold Rush-era clothes irons at Alicia's - cast-iron beasts that were heated on top of a wood-burning stove. Placerville has eight antique stores in a two-block stretch of the historic district.

If you're passionate about history: A long stay at Columbia State Historic Park is a must. Guides will demonstrate how gold-panning worked. Some businesses are stocked as they were 150 years ago - strange potions in the apothecary shop, ghastly instruments at the dentist's office. The museum offers a wealth of items from the era. Kids might enjoy a stagecoach ride.

If you're on a budget: Avoid the restored inns and hotels - their nightly rates are in the $100-$150 range - and stick to the motels on the outskirts of town, where a double in a two-diamond property can be found in the $50-$75 range. These won't place you in the historic district; you'll have to make up for lost time during the day.

If you prefer b&bs: An excellent resource is the Web site of the California Association of Bed and Breakfast Inns: www.innaccess.com. With a key-word search, you can select the town you're interested in. The site, for example, lists five b&bs in Sutter Creek (including the famous Foxes), seven in Placerville, 11 in Nevada City. The organization's published guide is less comprehensive but does feature 29 pages of listings for the Gold Rush country. Phone: [phone].

Dining: On a four-day trip to the gold country in mid-June, one dining experience was noteworthy. Zachary Jacques, just outside Placerville, served an excellent five-course dinner special for $20, featuring crudites, a superb cauliflower soup and salad after the main course, in the European tradition. The restaurant closes for one month each year so that its employees may take vacation; it will reopen July 24. Phone: [phone]. For sandwiches for a picnic, it's hard to beat the Chatter Box Cafe in Sutter Creek, though when you're given an estimate on preparation time, double it and take an extended stroll through town. Phone: [phone].

Lodging: Want to sleep in a Victorian museum? Then the Red Castle Inn in Nevada City is for you: [phone]. In Placerville, the Chichester-McKee House is a quirky, turn-of-the-century inn: [phone]. Modern appointments (whirlpool tubs, pressed-log fireplaces) and thin walls can be found at the Redbud Inn in Murphys: [phone].

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PHOTO Antique stores abound in the former mining towns of the gold country. One of the finest is Victorian Closet in Amador City, 26 miles south of Placerville on Highway 49.

Eric Noland/Daily News