5 Best Sights in Grass Valley, Sacramento and the Gold Country

Relive the days of gold, grit, and glory, when this mine was one of North America's biggest and most prosperous hard-rock gold mines. The Empire-Star Mine complex yielded an estimated 5.8 million troy ounces of gold from 367 miles of underground passages. You can walk into a mine shaft, peer into dark, deep recesses and almost imagine what it felt like to work this vast operation. The grounds have the Bourn Cottage (exquisite redwood interior; call for tour times), picnic tables, and gentle trails—perfect for a family outing.

A Main Street icon built in 1851, the hotel hosted entertainer Lola Montez and writer Mark Twain as well as Ulysses S. Grant and other U.S. presidents. New owners who took over in 2018 are renovating the property a section at a time. If it's open when you visit, the saloon is worth a peek as one of the oldest operating west of the Mississippi.

In the center of town, on the site of the original, stands a reproduction of the home of Lola Montez, the notorious dancer, singer, and courtesan whose popularity with gold-rush-era miners derived from her suggestive "spider dance." Lola repaired to Grass Valley after wearing out her welcome in Europe, where her lovers included the composer Franz Liszt and the ill-fated King Ludwig of Bavaria. (Her calls for democracy contributed to Ludwig's overthrow and her banishment as a witch—or so the story goes.) Religion has recently found Lola: a local church now owns this site.

Nearly 2,600 feet up in the Sierra Foothills, this homey winery at the end of a long gravel road is known for Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel. The lineup also includes whites, a rosé, a sparkler, and a Port-style red. After a tasting, you can walk up the hill to see how apt the estate View Forever Vineyard's name is. Bring a picnic if you'd like.

Inside a former powerhouse, the museum displays a 32-foot-high Pelton Water Wheel said to be the largest ever built. The wheel, used to power mining operations, was a forerunner of modern turbines that generate hydroelectricity. Other exhibits document life in the mines and the environmental effects mining had on the area. You can picnic nearby.