California State Route 49

State Route 49 (SR 49) is a north–south state highway in California that travels through the historic mining communities of the California Gold Rush of 1849. It is known as the Golden Chain Highway, and the road was initially lobbied for in 1919 by the Mother Lode Highway Association, a group of locals and historians. The highway begins at State Route 41 in Oakhurst, Madera County, in the Sierra Nevada, and continues in a generally northwest direction through eleven counties to its northern terminus at State Route 70 in Vinton, Plumas County.

The 295-mile-long (475 km) route passes through dozens of California Historical Landmark sites, including Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, Sutter's Mill, the Empire Mine State Historic Park, and the towns of Placerville, Sonora, and Angels Camp. Segments of the highway are designated as a California Scenic Highway, and the northern portion between Nevada City and Sierraville forms part of the Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway. SR 49 serves as a heritage and tourist route through California's Mother Lode country.