The compact communities of GRASS VALLEY and NEVADA CITY , four miles
apart in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, were the most prosperous and
substantial of the gold mining towns. Since the 1960s, artists and
craftspeople have settled in the elaborate Victorian homes of the
surrounding hills and gorges. In Grass Valley, the North Star Mining
Museum (donation; May-Oct daily 10am-5pm) at the south end of Mill
Street is housed in what used to be the power station for the North Star
Mine. Its giant water-driven Pelton wheel , fitted with a hundred or so
iron buckets, once powered the drills and hoists of the mine. Dioramas
show the day-to-day working life of the miners, three-quarters of whom
had emigrated here from the depressed tin mines of Cornwall (bringing
the Cornish pasty with them).
The last mine in California to shut down was its richest, the Empire
Mine , now preserved as a state park in the pine forests a mile
southeast of Grass Valley (daily 10am-5pm; summer 9am-6pm; $1). It
closed in 1956, after more than six million ounces of gold had been
recovered, when the cost of getting the gold out of the ground exceeded
$35 an ounce, the government-controlled price at the time. Machinery
sold off when the mine closed has been replaced from other disused
workings and now augments the excellent and very informative museum at
the entrance.
The excellent Grass Valley visitor center at 248 Mill St (Mon-Fri
9.30am-5.30pm, Sat 10am-3pm; tel 530/273-4667 or 1-800/655-4667) is in a
replication of Lola Montez's original home. Lola was an Irish
entertainer and former mistress of Ludwig of Bavaria, who retired here
after touring America with her provocative "Spider Dance" and kept a
grizzly bear in her front yard.
Towns don't get much quainter than Nevada City . Amid all the shops and
restaurants in the city center, the newly restored Old Firehouse at 214
Main St, a lacy, balcony and bell-towered piece of gingerbread, houses a
small museum of local social history (donation; May-Oct daily 11am-4pm;
Nov-April Thurs-Sun 11am-4pm).
Several daily Amtrak Thruway buses from Sacramento and Auburn stop on
Sacramento Street in Nevada City and on West Main Street in Grass
Valley. The Gold Country Stage connects the two towns every half-hour
(Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 9.15am-5.30pm; $1, $2 for a day-pass; tel
530/477-0103).
North on Hwy-49, an hour's drive from Nevada City, you'll head into the
most rugged and beautiful part of the Gold Country, where waterfalls
tumble over black rocks bordered by pines and maples. DOWNIEVILLE is in
the midst of an idyllic setting and particularly popular with mountain
bikers; it abuts an extensive trail system with moderate to extreme bike
trails. Oddly, as the only mining camp to have ever hanged a woman, the
town has restored a gallows to commemorate that grisly passage of its
history.
EATING AND DRINKING
Both Grass Valley and Nevada City have good places to eat, as well as
many bars and saloons, where you'll often be treated to free live music.
Broad Street Books & Espresso 426 Broad St, Nevada City tel
530/265-4204. Pastries, light fare, and espresso with wonderful tree-shaded
outdoor seating.
Café Mekka 237 Commercial St, Nevada City tel 530/478-1517. Relaxed,
fabulously decorated coffee shop.
Main Street Café 213 W Main St, Grass Valley tel 530/477-6000. Casual
but refined and slightly expensive restaurant. An eclectic menu, from
lunch sandwiches and pastas to Cajun specialties. Recommended for
grilled meats and fresh fish.
Marshall's Pasties 203A Mill St, Grass Valley tel 530/272-2844. Vast
array of fresh takeout pasties.
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