Grass Valley (California)

Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County in California's Gold Country.

Get in

By car

From Sacramento take I-80 East to Auburn and then take 49 from Auburn to Grass Valley.

From Truckee take I-80 west and take the highway 20 exit towards Nevada City and Grass Valley.

By bus

• Gold Country Stage, ☎ [phone] ext 1004. Local buses that take people all over Nevada County including Grass Valley, Auburn, Nevada City, Penn Valley, North San Juan, Cedar Ridge, Lake Wildwood and Alta Sierra. Follow the link to get access to the system route map. 

Get around

See

• 🌍 Empire Mine State Historic Park, 10791 East Empire St., ☎ [phone]. Empire Mine is the site of the oldest and richest gold mine in California. Despite having only 20% of the available gold extracted (5.8 million ounces of gold by weight) the mine closed in 1956 after 106 years of production and now is preserved as a California state park. The visitor center has diagrams and models of the mine itself, and numerous items of mining machinery are on show inside the park. Visitors have the opportunity to enter the top of the mine shaft itself and an underground train tour is coming soon (2008/9). The state park also has many miles of riding, walking and mountain biking trails.  
• Victorian Houses. With Grass Valley being a major 19th century Gold Mining area in the American West there are a large number of Victorian houses in the area. Wandering the streets of the city is a good way to appreciate these buildings and there are many excellent photograph opportunities. 

Do

• Wine tasting. Enjoy wine tasting at various locations in the City of Grass Valley and at some of the surrounding wineries. As of April 2007 there are 3 wine shops/tasting rooms in the downtown area. 

Buy

• Alpaca Yarn and products, 10521 Godfrey Ln, ☎ [phone]. Alpaca products created by the AStarAlpaca Ranch of Grass Valley including natural and dyed yarns. 

Eat

• 🌍 South Pine Cafe, 102 Richardson St. Excellent slightly alternative restaurant. Be prepared to wait a short while at the weekend, but be assured the food is worth it. Try the "south pine sampler", but be aware the Louisiana Hot Sausage can be fiery. The menu has lots of variety—options for vegetarians and carnivores. Great selection of liquid to wash down your meal, from fresh squeezed juices to beer and wine. 
• 🌍 Diegos Restaurant, 217 Colfax Ave. Open Monday through Saturday. Chilean food. Fun mismatched decor, and pleasant staff. The bread balls they start you off with are melt in your mouth delicious and go perfectly with the dipping sauce and garlic butter that accompany them. The Agave wine margaritas are quite refreshing. 

Drink

• The Owl Grill and Saloon, 134 Mill St, ☎ [phone]. Open daily at 4PM. Casual, welcoming atmosphere. Live music on select nights. The Billy Blue Bread is a partnership of garlic and blue cheese and the beer battered french fries have a deliciously subtle fish flavor. Good selection of beer on tap, plenty of wine and lots of the hard stuff. Order food in the bar or venture into the restaurant. 
• Golden Gate Saloon, 212 W. Main St, ☎ [phone]. Located in the Holbrooke Hotel, the Golden Gate Saloon is known as the oldest continuously operating bar west of the Mississippi. Live music Wednesday through Saturday nights. Happy hour Monday through Friday 4:30PM to 6:30PM. They have a good selection of beer, wine, and liquor, and a relaxing atmosphere - sit at a table in the window for some good people watching. 

Sleep

• 🌍 Best Western Gold Country Inn, 972 Sutton Way, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• 🌍 The Holbrooke, 212 West Main St.  
• 🌍 Lamb's Victorian Inn, 304 South Church St, ☎ [phone]. $125-200. (updated May 2016)

Go next

Routes through Grass Valley

Yuba City ← Marysville ←	W  E	→ Nevada City → Truckee
Oakhurst ← Auburn ←	S  N	→ Nevada City → Loyalton