Kennedy Tailing Wheels - The Giants of JacksonStop on Goldrush!, a free self-guided tour.Those enormous wooden wheels on the hillside are among the most photographed mining relics in California, and they were built to solve a very down-to-earth problem.The nearby Kennedy Mine was one of the deepest gold mines in North America, with a shaft reaching a vertical depth of 5,912 feet. Crushing all that ore produced mountains of sandy, muddy waste called tailings. After heavy rains in 1911 washed tailings onto farmland downstream, the farmers and the mine reached a deal in 1913: contain the waste by December 1914 or shut down.The answer was four giant wheels lined with buckets. Each one lifted the waste higher and poured it into a wooden flume, moving it over two hills to a holding basin. The wheels ran around the clock from 1914 until the federal government closed the mine in 1942.Follow the trails in the park to see the wheels up close. The Kennedy Mine itself, just up the road, offers tours on some days, so check its website.Nearby: This is an open park with trails and parking. Restrooms, food and water are a short drive south on Main Street in downtown Jackson.Stops on this tourColoma - Where the Gold Rush BeganGold Bug Park - Walk Into a Hard Rock MineKennedy Tailing Wheels - The Giants of JacksonAngels Camp - Mark Twain and the Jumping FrogColumbia - A Gold Rush Town Frozen in TimeRailtown 1897 - Hollywood's Favorite RailroadMariposa Museum - The End of the Mother Lode