Nevada City is gold country
Bite those nuggets and ready the picks – Nevada City is one of the old hubs of the California Gold Rush. It's sat up in the shadow of the Sierra Nevada, encircled by steep hills of spear-like pine trees and babbling creeks where panners still search for gold. Charm oozes from the town center, where the rows of brick-built saloons and Wild West-era boutiques are on the National Register of Historic Places. Nevada City vacation rentals will let you channel your inner prospector with a timber hut in the hills, or get some R&R with spa lodges or cozy lakeside cabins.
Nevada City is a Gold Rush town
Search for Nevada City vacation rentals in the beautiful Downtown Historic District if you really want to feel like one of the prospectors of yesteryear. It's a true "time-stood-still" sort of place, where honky-tonk saloons and old warehouses pepper Main Street, and relics like the South Yuba Canal Office mingle with elegant classic hotels. Then it's on to the natural side of things. Yes, Lake Tahoe is over the ranges, but why go there when you've got the South Yuba River State Park and the Empire Mine State Historic Park to explore on the doorstep?
The nicer months in Nevada City
Nevada City's perch under the Sierra Nevada heralds a Californian mountain climate. That means plenty of summer sun and oodles of rainfall in the winter, not to mention a smattering of snow showers which intensify deeper into the Tahoe National Forest. The upshot is that Nevada City vacation rentals any time after May, and before the onset of winter in November, offer the perfect medley of warmth and rays to wander the historic districts and go panning for gold. And talking of gold, fall is truly wonderful here, as October ushers in rich reds and yellows to the forests.
Between the woods and creeks in Nevada City
Nevada City is overlooked by the Sierra Nevada. The landscapes are truly wonderful, with dense forests of oak and fir and cedar switching from verdant green to ochre-red and orange with the changing from summer to fall. Creeks babble all around the town, too, living memories of the places where the miners of olden days would have searched for gold. The closest wilderness area is the South Yuba River State Park, with its plug-hole waterfalls and wheelchair-accessible Independence Trail for hikers.
How to get to and around Nevada City
Fly into Sacramento Intl. Airport (SMF), the closest airport, located 49.9 mi (80.3 km) from the city center. If you can't find a flight that's convenient for your trip, you can also fly into Marysville, CA (MYV-Yuba County), which is 31.4 mi (50.5 km) away.