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A day trip in northern California
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There any number of day trips you can take in Northern California. But in the fall the place to go is the Sierra Mountains. One such place is Malakoff Diggins. Ever heard of it? Yea me either. The name is actually Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park and it is located north East of Nevada City. Turn left on Hwy 49 outside Nevada City and just up ahead you will come to North Bloomfield Rd. However unless you have a truck or have gotten permission to get your wife’s minivan dirty continue another ten miles or so to Taylor Foote Crossing Rd. This road is paved all the way to the park.
There you will find the city of North Bloomfield, hiking, (day use is $8 paid at the museum), and camping. The city has various buildings dating back to the gold rush era when this was the states largest hydraulic mine. That is the parks claim to fame, the large pit and scaring from the mining. The walls of the pit are quite beautiful and there is a hiking trail that does a loop of the pit. The city has a museum, a general store, and miner housing among other preserved buildings.
The fall colors are beautiful at this time of year and the Humbug Trail has a beautiful display of fall foliage mixed in with the evergreens. The trail starts on North Bloomfield-Graniteville rd and ends at the South Fork of the Yuba River. The Humbug Creek Falls are only about 1.5 miles from the trailhead and worth the hike alone.
What next? Well if you brought food there are plenty of picnic tables or you can stop by one of the restaurants in Nevada City. Either way there will still be more to do at Malakoff Diggins next time. Go on one of the guided city tours, pan for gold, or check out the Hiller Tunnel, the “drain” for the mine.
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