Nevada City & Grass Valley
Northern Gold Country · near Nevada City / Grass Valley · Gold Country & Central Valley
Gravel & Bikepacking · Mountain Biking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Spring & fall (hot summers, snow at higher edges in winter)
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Trail miles
- Extensive networks: Scotts Flat / Hoot Trail, Round Mountain, Empire Mine, South Yuba corridor
- Elevation
- Foothill terrain 2,000–3,500ft · Rolling with punchy climbs · Long season
- Best season
- Nearly year-round · Spring and fall are prime · Summer mornings beat the heat · Often ridable all winter
What is here
- Terrain
- forest
- Amenities
- Historic Nevada City & Grass Valley · Empire Mine & Scotts Flat area · Dense forest-road network · Great cafes & breweries
- Best for
- Endlessly explorable foothill gravel with a charming base
- Features
- Two charming historic gold towns · Miles of connectable forest roads · Buffed pine-and-oak riding · Excellent food & drink base
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Summer heat · Poison oak on tracks · Some shared MTB/moto trails · Navigation in the road maze
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Gravel & Bikepacking detail
- Ride types
- day-gravel · singletrack
- Surface
- buff
- Remoteness
- 2
- Riding
- A dense web of forest roads, old mining tracks, and doubletrack through pine-and-oak foothills — friendly, endlessly connectable riding from two historic gold towns
- Terrain note
- 2,000–4,000 ft foothill forest; buffed dirt roads; hot in midsummer
- Camping
- Yes
- Intl tip
- Two beautifully preserved Gold Rush towns with a dense web of forest roads, mining tracks, and doubletrack in the pine-and-oak foothills. Friendly, endlessly connectable riding (mostly buffed dirt); a great intro to Gold Country. Charming walkable downtowns with cafes, breweries, inns. Hot summers (ride early), poison oak, road-maze navigation (bring a GPS). One of California gravel's most beloved and welcoming bases.
- Trip lengths
- day
Mountain Biking detail
- Nickname
- Gold Country's Trail Hub
- Ride types
- xc · all-mountain · flow
- Signature trails
- Hoot Trail (Scotts Flat) · Round Mountain / Nevada City network · Empire Mine State Historic Park
- Ebike
- Yes
- Ebike note
- E-bike access varies by land manager (state park vs. forest vs. NID land) — check locally.
- Intl tip
- Nevada City's historic downtown is one of the best-preserved Gold Rush streetscapes in the state — excellent food and coffee for a small town. The South Yuba River's swimming holes (in the swimming guide) are 15 minutes away for the post-ride plunge. Downieville is an hour north for a two-town Lost Sierra trip.
The guide
Nevada City and neighboring Grass Valley are among California gravel's most beloved bases — a pair of impeccably preserved Gold…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Nevada City & Grass Valley — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 39.26, -121.02