Helm’s St Charles Inn

My husband and I spent the night there and LOVED the place. Beautiful old rooms, claw foot bath tubs and the couple that own the place are the nicest people we have ever met. Breakfast was delicious… Absolutely recommend them to anyone!

I took my sister here for her birthday weekend getaway. We stayed in the Oriental room. All the rooms were beautifully decorated with tasteful antiques and handmade quilts. Tammy Helms was so caring and attentive. She knows everything about the surrounding community as a lifelong resident of the area. She fixed an amazing breakfast and even made my coffee extra strong, just the way I like it. I drank it on the deck, soaking in the local atmosphere. Imagining the horse drawn carriages rolling through town on their way to their gold claims. It was so quiet and peaceful. I enjoyed browsing the scrapbook in the living room full of historic photos and articles about the old hotels past. We stayed two days and used it as a home base while we went horseback riding at Gold Lake, browsed Downieville, and took in a concert at the Kentucky Mine Museum. You wont regret a stay at this delightful inn.

What a surprise it was to find this family run, renovated 19^th century hotel in the middle of the woods. We were too late to get the last room in Downieville & a hotel there called & got us in at Helm’s St Charles Inn several miles away in Goodyears’ Bar. It was the night before a huge bike race & the area was crowded with mountain bikers and there were several other guests at the St Charles & the place overflowed with friendliness & excitement. We were in town for other reasons & had to leave next morning before we could enjoy the interesting history of the house and the sweet hiking spots in town by the river. This would be a great family jaunt since there is an historic town museum and the super attentive owners are lifetime locals who know lots about the area history. It is on my list of places to go back to when I have time to soak it all up. The rooms are reasonably priced, comfortable and each one is different. We had a porch with a view of the river. Vintage Victorian bath. Just lovely.

If cities in California were equated to body parts, Los Angeles would be the ass, San Francisco would be the face, Bakersfield would be the armpit and Goodyears Bar would be a beauty mark on the small of the back.
Blink and you’d miss it, this town is comprised of a post office, an old school, a few residences and the Helms St. Charles Inn.
This was my first stay at a bed and breakfast and I found it a lovely experience. The proprietors were welcoming and friendly and the house was very nice. We had the brush creek mine room, complete with claw foot tub, private deck w/​river view and antique furniture (thought the historic periods were a bit mismached :))
For breakfast we recieved a big picnic basket full of coffee, fruit, juice, oatmeal, and homemade muffins and quiche!
Located in one of the more beautiful and secluted parts of California, this is a great place to hide out, get away from it all, or stop by in the midst of roadtrip adventure.