The town of Grass Valley is a historic Gold Mining Town dating back to 1850.

Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, Grass Valley, population 12,000, offers great weather, natural beauty, and a
relaxed lifestyle.

With great restaurants, a wide variety of entertainment and shopping opportunities, and quaint B&Bs, Grass Valley is a great place to visit.

Grass Valley's history is part of the colorful lore of the California Gold Rush. The first notations about the area are from the late 1840's when a party of men searching for cattle came upon a "grassy valley".

Grass Valley's claim to historic fame is embedded in the vast amounts of gold discovered and extracted from its rich underground mines. In more than 100 years of mining, the mines of Grass Valley made it the richest of all California gold mining towns. As word spread about the gold rush, prospectors flooded the foothills. The small settlement began looking like a village. Then in 1850, a settler by the name of George McKnight discovered gold in the quartz rock along Gold Hill and the real boom began.

The Empire, Northstar, Pennsylvania, Idaho-Maryland and Brunswick mines became known around the world, attracting hardworking miners and would be millionaires. Over the next 100 years the mines extracted more than $400 million in gold, making Grass Valley California's most prosperous mining town.

Today, the town thrives and the beautifully restored historic buildings in the downtown area remind us of the days gone bye.

The town is also home to the Holbrooke Hotel, built in 1851. This historic hotel gives a sense of history. Antiques grace all twenty-eight rooms. The Golden Gate Saloon, with its ornate mahogany and marble bar is the oldest operating saloon in all of California.

Shopper’s head for Grass Valley’s downtown, located at Mill and Main streets. Noted for its many antique stores, the downtown has great bookstores, a toy store, several furniture stores, an art center and charming gift shops.

Popular community events in Grass Valley include the Good Ole’ Days Car Show in late April, the Sierra Festival of the Arts each Memorial Day Weekend, the Friday Night Market during summer months, the Nevada County Fair in August, Draft Horse Classic and Harvest Fair in September and the Cornish Christmas Street Fair on Friday evenings between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The Christmas Craft Fair at the Nevada County Fairgrounds starts the day after Thanksgiving.