Nevada City
Nevada City Real Estate has been in demand since the mid 1800’s, when the owners and managers of the many gold mines in the area were building their homes. Downtown Nevada City is itself designated as a historic monument and, looking up its main artery, Broad Street, visitors delight in seeing the lovingly restored homes and commericial buildings.
You won’t find fast food restaurants here, nor will you find a hardware store or supermarket chain. For those, residents choose to travel the two-three miles to Grass Valley and its larger shopping centers.
Ranging out from Nevada City’s charming downtown, those searching for Nevada City real estate find a number of choices. Climbing up Banner Mountain or Highway 20 past the snowline, many homes resemble mountain chalets, on lots dotted with pines and firs.
Closer to town, a comfortable mix of old and new somehow works to keep this historic town one of the friendliest you’ll find anywhere.
Take another direction, and Nevada City real estate becomes largely multi-acre lots, traveling along North Bloomfield or Lake Vera Roads toward the summertime joys of the Yuba, or along Highway 49 and its many beaches and swimming holes, toward North San Juan.
Those interested in Nevada City real estate often cite the accessibility of the area’s rich musical life, professional theatre, many book stores and galleries as the reason for their quality of life. Others find the proximity of lakes and rivers for paddling, trails for hiking and mountain biking, and concern for the environment reason to settle here.
Whatever the reason, Nevada City, with its quaint storybook downtown, its parades and festive nighttime events in summer and winter, and its historic traditions, is a place like no other. Owning Nevada City real estate is like owning a piece of California history.
View all Nevada City properties in the MLS
Nevada County is Magical during the Holidays
December 16, 2008
I was walking on Broad Street in Nevada City yesterday. We had about 6 inches of fresh snow on the ground, the view down Broad Street toward the crest of Banner Mountain was just beautiful. I walked past a couple who were coming out of Broad Street Bistro, enjoying steaming hot drinks, and the woman said to her husband… “I feel like I am in a Currier and Ives greeting card; this town is so magical”.
She is so right. Nevada County is so magical during the entire year, but especially during the Holiday Season. Both Nevada City and Grass Valley celebrate with historical celebrations of our County. Nevada City holds their Victorian Christmas on three Wednesdays and two Sundays during December, ending just before Christmas. During this event, Nevada City’s Historic District is transformed to the back in time to the Victorian Gold Rush era. All the buildings up and down Broad Street, Commercial Street, and Pine Street glow with the outlines of white Christmas lights. The streets are filled with Holiday celebrants, shopping the street merchants who bring their special wares to town and sampling the delicious offerings of the local purveryors of food and cheer. It is a time when we reconnect with friends we have not seen enough of over the past year, to meet new friends, and to bask in the joy of the holidays.
Grass Valley is certainly not left out of the Holiday spirit! Come to Grass Valley on four Friday nights, starting the night after Thanksgiving, and recapture the spirit of Christmas past amid the charming historic builidings of downtown Grass Valley. This dates back to the Cornish Miners of the Gold Rush days, when the weekends before Christmas brought folks into town to meet and greet their friends. Mill Street and Main Street are closed to motorized traffic and the night is filled with celebration …. carolers, gospel choirs, carriage rides, Grass Valley Cornish Choir, cloggers and all sorts of food and drink. Well, and what would a street festival be without Santa claus!!! He is able to make it to Grass Valley and to Nevada City to bring Holiday happiness to all.
We are lucky to be in such a beautiful place….. It truly is Magical. Happy Holidays to you all and a very, very wonderful 2009!!!!
Konnie Warburton
North San Juan Ridge
November 18, 2008
North San Juan, “The Ridge, ” is home to a community of artists, writers, musicians, farmers, and independent spirits; appropriately, North San Juan real estate has a distinct and diverse flavor.
North of Nevada City, North San Juan has always been known as unique for its sense of community and self-sufficiency.
In 1853, gold was discovered here and North San Juan became a boomtown. North San Juan was named by a German miner who had served in the Mexican war and thought the area looked like a hill he saw with a prison built on it called San Juan de Ulloa.
The middle Yuba Canal provided water, making hydraulic mining possible in the area on a grand scale. And North San Juan became home to thousands. In 1884, hydraulic mining ended and North San Juan real estate ceased being about gold and became desirable for its fertile soil and away-from-it-all location.
Many of the town’s early structures were built of brick and equipped with the mandatory iron doors and shutters, and a few still remain in good repair today, even as impressive homes and organic farms replace the outdated makeshift homes settled by disillusioned hippies fleeing San Francisco after the Summer of Love.
North San Juan real estate is as diverse as its population. Its residents are as likely to be shopping at local market Mother Truckers for local organic produce as producing a Sufi dancing performance at historic North Columbia Schoolhouse, enjoying a community-wide Thanksgiving dinner, or traveling to hear Noth San Juan’s most famous resident (internationally acclaimed poet Gary Snyderr) read from his most recent book.
Each Western Nevada county neighborhood has its distinctive feeling and North San Juan, if not the most distinctive, has a history and an ambience unlike any other.
View all North San Juan properties in the MLS
Chicago Park and Peardale
November 18, 2008
If you are searching for Chicago Park real estate, someone has probably whispered in your ear about this beautiful region with its fertile orchards, towering madrones, cedars and oaks along scenic Highway 174, east of Grass Valley and west of Colfax.
First-generation Italian-Americans settled this area, naming Chicago Park after their first U.S. stopover – Chicago, Illinois. The Donner Trail passes through Chicago Park.
Although rural and bucolic, Chicago Park’s easy accessibility to I80 is a bonus for those whose lives include commuting to the east or west. – an added advantage to those fortunate enough to own Chicago Park real estate.
Chicago Park real estate includes many ranches and large parcels as well as properties near to Rollins Lake with its fishing, hiking, boating and camping opportunities. At an elevation of 2100 feet, it is not unusual for fisherman enjoying this 900-acre lake to compete with osprey and eagles for trout and warm water species.
Historically a ranching area, Chicago Park has been home to pear, apple, and peach orchards since the early 1900’s. Chicago Park’s rich soil produces superb mountain fruit. In fact, a pear grower from Chicago Park won first prize at the International Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 for his Bartlett pears.
In Chicago Park, the notable Bierwagon family-owned farm has been run by several generations of the family. The Bierwagons are also the genial hosts at Chicago Park’s Happy Apple Kitchen, a cozy (and delicious) destination for travelers.
If you have a dream of owing property in Western Nevada County, do yourself a favor and consider Chicago Park real estate.
View all Chicago Park & Peardale properties in the MLS
Links & Resources
November 3, 2008
We love it here and so will you! Western Nevada County and the twin cities of Nevada City_Grass Valley have just about everything that makes The Sierra Foothills a fantastic place to call home.
Four distinct seasons, temperate climate year-round, towering pines and rolling pastures, an enviable public school system (second highest scores in the State), a vibrant arts community, active tech-savvy population, almost unlimited outdoor recreation, and some of the friendliest people you’ll meet anywhere.
Raising a Family
- Western Nevada County Schools
- Nevada Union High School
- First 5 Nevada County
- Nevada County Libraries
- The Imaginarium
Making a Living
- Nevada City Chamber
- Grass Valley Chamber
- Rough & Ready Chamber
- Penn Valley Chamber
- Truckee-Donner Chamber
- Nevada County Economic Resource Council
- Nevada County Association of REALTORS
- Sierra Business Council
- Official Nevada County Website
Staying Informed
Improving Your Home
Going Out
- The Center for the Arts
- Foothill Theatre Company
- Nevada County Arts Council
- Nevada County Concert Band
- Music in the Mountains
- Yuba Sutter Regional Arts Council
- Twin Cities Concert Association
- Neighborhood Center of the Arts
- Local Movie Showtimes
Getting Outside
- Tahoe National Forest
- Fish and Game
- North Lake Tahoe Resort Association
- Nevada County Land Trust
- Scotts Flat Recreation Area
- Tour of Nevada City Bike Shop
- Nevada County Fairgrounds
- Tahoe.com
- Empire Mine State Park
- Nevada County Horsemen’s Club
- Alta Sierra Country Club Golf Course
- DarkHorse Golf Club
- Lake Wildwood Golf Course
Nevada County
October 28, 2008
Nevada County Real Estate is almost as diverse in nature as nature itself. It can mean the rolling pastureland and stately oaks that are so typical of the terrain in Penn Valley, some with farmhouses or modern horse setups, others just waiting for your dream house.
Nevada County Real Estate can mean the ornate Victorian homes in downtown Grass Valley or Nevada City, many of which have been lovingly restored to honor their resplendent Gold Rush heritage.
Nevada County Real Estate can mean rural properties by rushing creeks or with ponds attracting the Canadian geese and Sandhill Cranes on their migration paths. Or, it can mean up-to-date properties with trend-setting features, straw bale homes, unique log homes, views of the Sacramento Valley or the snow capped Sierra Buttes.
No matter which dream you’re dreaming about living here in the foothills of the Sierra – if it’s Nevada County Real Estate you’re after, Realty Executives Gold County is here to help you make the dream come true.
We know Nevada County inside and out. We know all the places that are the locals’ favorites. We know that, when you invest in Real Estate, you’re not just buying property, you’re buying a life style.
When you buy Nevada County Real Estate, you’ll own a little bit of the history that shaped this area when miners flocked to the gold-rich California hills. Reminders of that history surrounds you, at places like the Miners Foundry Cultural Center where equipment was forged to take gold out of the mines and at the Empire Mine, today a State Park. The long history is also present in the independent spirit of the people who make this their home, among them all the good people you’ll find at Realty Executives Gold County – people who are ready to help you realize your dream.
