As if ziplining over a Pinot Noir vineyard wasn’t thrilling
enough, we have added an even more exciting flourish to our zipline canopy tours with the completion of the “P.W. Murphy Mining Company,” a themed replica mid-1800s gold mining camp created by the stars of the hit Animal Planet television show Redwood Kings. This mining camp experience is now included in your zipline tour!
The local media showed up in force for the unveiling of this magnificent creation. Click here for a story in the New Times, here for one in the San Luis Obispo Tribune, and here for yet another in the Paso Robles Press.
So now, after flying 1,800 feet over the vines on our fifth and final zipline called The Pinot Express, you will zip under an antique-style water tower with the optical illusion that you are about to descend into the mouth of a mining shaft.
The P.W. Murphy Mining Company is ultimately all about bringing California history to life in a memorable way.
The camp is named after Patrick W. Murphy, who was the second owner of Santa Margarita Ranch beginning in 1861. He and his father Martin hailed from Sutter Creek, the epicenter of the California Gold Rush. As Sutter Creek farmers during the Gold Rush period, they made a fortune selling food and goods to the incoming miners. Patrick W. Murphy was later instrumental in bringing the Southern Pacific Railroad to Santa Margarita.
The P.W. Murphy Mining Company is a reimagining of these events, marrying California’s Gold Rush period with Murphy’s personal experiences in Sutter Creek and Santa Margarita.
The camp was accordingly built with several repurposed materials. Much of the wood was milled from old redwood posts recovered from the ranch. These posts themselves had been made from retired railroad ties dating back to the early railroad days. One of the camp’s main beams comes from a previously dismantled bridge in Santa Margarita. An old water tank was decorated with rivets by Daniels Wood Land to mimic the technology of the late 1800s. Authentic period tools, such as an antique drill press, further enhance the ambiance.
The Redwood Kings episode featuring Margarita Adventures will air in a few months, stay tuned! In the meantime, book your tour to experience the mining camp yourself.
