It continues in a generally northwest direction, weaving through the communities of Goldside and Ahwahnee, before crossing into Mariposa County.

The road heads west before turning north before the town of Ahwahnee near the Wassama Roundhouse State Historic Park.

SR 49 continues north, passing through Nipinnswassee before entering Mariposa County and the Sierra National Forest.

Near the town of Mount Bullion, SR 49 passes by Mariposa-Yosemite Airport before turning northwest and going through Bear Valley and the intersection with CR J16.

SR 49 intersects the north end of CR E5 before passing through Tuttletown and crossing into Calaveras County at the bridge over the Stanislaus River.

In Coloma, the highway intersects with SR 153, a spur route to the Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park.

[3] SR 49 continues north, crossing into Nevada County and passing through Higgins Corner and Forest Springs.

SR 49 continues through the towns of Sweetland and North San Juan, where it crosses into Yuba County and enters Tahoe National Forest.

[12] In 1951, the Golden Chain Council of the Mother Lode published a map and tourist guide to the highway, designed and illustrated by Fred Witta, Jr.

[16] In 1960, the organization published a revised version of the map and guide under the same title, this time designed and illustrated by William Wintle.

This version covered Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Sierra, Tuolomne, Mariposa, and Madera counties.

[13] These include: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage.