Truckee
Around Truckee
Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Town and around · California · 102k people
Truckee
Locals say Gold Country
Truckee · Grass Valley
High country, deep roots.
Sierra PineGold Rush
Welcome to Gold Country, where the Sierra meets the gold rush. Whether you're here for the powder or the history, you'll find a friendly community and endless outdoor adventure.
Clubs for Truckee
No clubs for Truckee yet.
The room
One room for everyone around Truckee. It never closes; when it's busy it splits into tables. Once you're in, you stay until you leave.
Ask the neighbours
AllA good plumber, the best tacos, a lost cat: nobody has asked yet. Be the first.
Coming up
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Marketplace
Things for sale, free and wanted, and rooms for rent, from people around Truckee. Sign in to sell something.
Things to do
- Donner Memorial State Park Site of the Donner Party tragedy; museum and Donner Lake.
- Empire Mine State Historic Park One of the oldest and deepest gold mines in California.
- Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park Huge hydraulic mining site with a ghost town.
- Donner Lake Alpine lake popular for swimming, boating, and camping.
- Truckee River Rafting, kayaking, and fishing through town.
- Nevada City Historic District Well-preserved gold rush architecture and boutique shops.
- Outdoors Rafting the Truckee River
- Outdoors Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail near Donner Pass
- With kids KidZone Museum
- With kids Empire Mine State Historic Park
- Evenings Brewery hopping in Grass Valley
- Evenings Live music at the Center for the Arts
- Locals love Ski resorts
- Locals love Historic gold rush towns
Through the year
- Donner Lake Triathlon July Swim, bike, and run around Donner Lake every July.
- Wild & Scenic Film Festival January Environmental and adventure films in Nevada City each January.
- Draft Horse Classic September Historic draft horse competition and fair in Grass Valley every September.
- Truckee Thursdays Summer Free summer concert series in downtown Truckee on Thursday evenings.
- Music in the Mountains Summer Classical music festival with performances across Nevada County in summer.
Sierra Nevada climate with snowy winters and dry, mild summers. Best to be out in summer for hiking and winter for skiing. Best: Late spring through early fall for hiking and river sports; winter for skiing.
Talk like a local
- “The Pass”
- Donner Pass
- “The Yuba”
- Yuba River
- “Gold Country”
- The region itself
- “The Sierra”
- The Sierra Nevada mountain range
Getaways
- Reno Nightlife, casinos, and the Biggest Little City.
- Sacramento State capital, farm-to-fork dining, and riverfront.
- Yuba City Orchards, Sikh temple, and Feather River recreation.
- Chico Bidwell Park, craft beer, and college town vibe.
Local flavour
Rooting for Sacramento Kings (NBA), San Francisco Giants (MLB), San Francisco 49ers (NFL), San Jose Sharks (NHL), Sacramento Republic FC (USL)
Eat and drink
- Cornish pasty Brought by Cornish miners in Grass Valley, a hearty hand pie.
- Craft beer Local breweries like FiftyFifty and Truckee Brewing thrive in the mountain town.
- Sierra Nevada trout Fresh-caught trout from mountain streams, often grilled over pine.
Where people go
- Ski resorts Northstar, Sugar Bowl, and Boreal are within reach, defining winter recreation.
- Historic gold rush towns Nevada City and Grass Valley feature preserved Victorian architecture and mines.
- River rafting spots The Truckee River offers whitewater rafting and calm float sections.
- Mountain hiking trails The Pacific Crest Trail and countless forest paths wind through the Sierra.
Heritage and traditions
This is Gold Country, where the 1849 Gold Rush left a legacy of historic towns, Cornish miners, and a fierce love for the Sierra Nevada. Locals are proud of their rugged mountain lifestyle, from skiing Donner Pass to rafting the Truckee, and of keeping the old mining stories alive.
This time of year in Truckee
- Fall colors October Aspen and oak groves turn gold and orange along the Sierra foothills.
Say it like a local: “Pasty” — A Cornish meat pie, pronounced like 'pass-tee'.
Festivals
- California WorldFest July World music and dance on multiple stages at the Nevada County Fairgrounds.
- Nevada City Victorian Christmas December Downtown transforms into a 19th-century holiday scene with carolers and gaslights.
- Grass Valley Cornish Christmas December Celebrates Cornish heritage with pasties, carols, and a lighted parade.
- Father's Day Bluegrass Festival June A three-day bluegrass and acoustic music festival at the fairgrounds.
- Sierra Storytelling Festival September Storytellers from across the country gather at the historic North Columbia Schoolhouse.
- Truckee Thursdays Summer (Thursdays) A weekly summer street fair with food, crafts, and live music.
Landmarks with a story
- North Star Powerhouse Museum A restored mining powerhouse in Grass Valley with a working Pelton wheel.
- Firehouse No. 1 Museum A 19th-century firehouse in Nevada City with gold rush and firefighting artifacts.
- Lola Montez House The Grass Valley home of the famous actress, now a historic landmark.
- National Hotel A continuously operating hotel in Nevada City dating to 1856, with a Victorian saloon.
- St. Patrick's Catholic Church A historic stone church in Grass Valley built during the Gold Rush era.
- St. Canice Catholic Church A Gothic-style church in Nevada City, active since the 1860s.
Food traditions
- Cornish pasty Brought by Cornish miners in the 1850s; a hearty hand pie with meat and potatoes, often eaten with a 'pasty' in hand on the job.
- Sierra Nevada trout Fresh-caught rainbow and brown trout from mountain streams, often grilled over campfires or pan-fried with lemon.
- Craft beer Local breweries use Sierra snowmelt and hops to create IPAs and stouts that pair with outdoor adventures.
- Dutch oven cooking Pioneer and miner tradition of slow-cooking stews, beans, and biscuits over coals, still popular at campsites.
- Gold Rush chili A hearty beef and bean chili that harkens back to mining camp cookhouses.
Music and arts
- Nevada City arts scene A vibrant community of painters, musicians, and writers in a Victorian setting.
- Bluegrass and folk music Grass Valley hosts annual bluegrass festivals and has a strong acoustic music tradition.
- Gold Rush-era theater Historic playhouses in Nevada City and Grass Valley revive melodramas and vaudeville.
- Sierra storytelling Oral traditions from miners, Native Americans, and pioneers are kept alive at festivals.
A little history
- 1846-47 Donner Party stranded at Donner Lake
- 1849 Gold Rush begins; Grass Valley and Nevada City boom
- 1850s-1956 Empire Mine becomes one of the deepest and richest hard-rock gold mines
- 1860s Miners from Grass Valley help spark the Comstock Lode in Nevada
- 1870s Logging and railroad expansion connect the Sierra to the valley
Rivalries
- Truckee vs. Nevada City Ski town vs. gold rush hippie town banter.
- Grass Valley vs. Nevada City Sibling rivalry over which is the 'real' gold rush town.
- Game day Powder day rituals
- Game day Donner Lake Triathlon
- Outdoors Skiing at Sugar Bowl
- Outdoors Rafting the Truckee River
- With kids KidZone Museum
- With kids Empire Mine State Historic Park
Locals speak with a general Western American accent, but with a sprinkle of Gold Rush and outdoor terms. You'll hear 'pasty' for the Cornish pies, 'Donner' and 'Truckee' pronounced with crisp short vowels, and 'Sierra' stressed on the second syllable.
Only here
- The Donner Party story is told at Donner Memorial State Park, a haunting piece of American history.
- Cornish pasties are a living food tradition from the 1850s miners.
- The Empire Mine was once the richest gold mine in California, with over 5,000 feet of shafts.
- Nevada City's Victorian Christmas turns the whole downtown into a gaslit 19th-century scene.
New here? A few tips
- Learn to put on tire chains; winter snowstorms are common on I-80 and local roads.
- Try a pasty from a local bakery—it's the region's signature food.
- Pronounce 'Truckee' as 'Truck-ee' and 'Donner' as 'Don-ner' to sound like a local.
- Pack layers; mountain weather can swing from sunny to snowy in an hour.
- Explore both historic towns: Nevada City for arts and Grass Valley for mining history.
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Part of Sacramento area
Nearby
Every areaRenoNevadaNeon meets the SierraCarson CityNevadaWhere Nevada's heart meets the Sierra sky.Gardnerville RanchosNevadaWhere the Sierra meets the sagebrushLost SierraCaliforniaWhere the pines meet the river and the sky goes on forever.FallonNevadaWhere the desert is sweet and the skies are loudYuba CityCaliforniaOrchards, river, and a world of flavor.SusanvilleCaliforniaWhere the high desert meets the pinesSacramentoCaliforniaWhere rivers meet and every meal is from the farm.
Truckee-Grass Valley, CA. Areas from the US Census Bureau and Statistics Canada; places from GeoNames. Local flavour was written with a model and may have mistakes. Team names identify teams; no endorsement.