Grass Valley and Nevada City are two of the prettiest cities in Northern California to see fall foliage. The term "fall foliage" leaves many people under the age of 50 scratching their heads. Why would anyone take a trip just to see a bunch of trees? Until you've seen it yourself, you can't fully understand what it feels like to see a brilliant canopy of red, auburn, yellow, brown, copper and green. The fact that you're not doing much besides relaxing and taking in the scenery is the whole point.
Fall foliage in Grass Valley and Nevada City, located in the Sierra foothills about three hours away from San Francisco, begins around early October and lasts until after Thanksgiving. To make it easier for you to experience fall foliage, Grass Valley's Chamber of Commerce has a fall foliage map for both cities. If you want to make sure that you'll see good color, call the Chamber at (530) 273-4667 ahead of time.
Besides offering lovely fall foliage, Grass Valley and Nevada City have the added benefits of history and Victorian charm. While Sacramento is the most famous Gold Rush city due to its current position as California's capitol, Grass Valley and Nevada City have retained their pasts much better. The lack of big development, whether intentional or not, has meant that you can stroll through their historic downtown districts without feeling harassed by motorists and seeing the same businesses from another city 100 miles away. Nevada City's downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. A short distance from Grass Valley's downtown is the Empire State Mine, which was one of the biggest and most productive gold mines in California in its day. You can now tour the grounds, which includes the residences of the mine's superintendent, Mr. George Starr, and owner, Mr. William Bourn, and go down an actual tunnel. If Mr. Bourn's garden reminds you of something, it's probably the Filoli estate and garden near Redwood City, which Mr. Bourn purchased and developed as his summer residence. While you may not have multiple residences and the use of talented gardeners like Mr. Bourn, you can at least pretend to be him, if only for a few hours.
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