Nevada County Gold Districts

Nevada is considered the biggest little county in California and more gold has been retrieved from Nevada than in any other county in the whole state. It was last estimated that there was a production of $440 million which is twice as much as its closest rival Amador County with its $200 million.

Nevada County continues to produce gold for prospectors and is a favorite since it seems to go quite well. Nevada County is also known to have been the home of the three Mother Lode queens who were Lola Montez, Lotta Crabtree, and Madame Eleanor Dumont; this last one was known as Madame Moustache and was said to have been a famous woman gambler.

Gold Districts

Badger Hill
The district of Badger Hill was once mined by hydraulicing that started in the 1850’s. Badger Hill includes the Cherokee area as well. There is not a whole lot of gold in the tailings here because the Chinese were very thorough about the work they did on them.

The gold in this area was found in the Tertiary gravels, however the riches gravels were the ones that were located further down. To get to Badger Hill you will need to take the Tyler Foot Crossing road east off of Highway 49 south of North San Juan. Go three miles up and you will find yourself in Badger Hill.

Blue Tent
The district of Blue Tent was a small hydraulic mining district. To get there you can take the North Bloomfield Road north out of Nevada City. This was located south of the South Fork of the Yuba River. The gravel in this area was never very loaded with gold though.

English Mountain
The district of English Mountain has had some gold quartz veins that were worked on around English Mountain close to Bowman Lake. To get here you will need to take the Meadow Lake Road east out of the Graniteville area.

French Corral
The French Corral district was a hydraulic mining district. The biggest diamond to have ever been found in the state of California was found in a sluice box here in 1863. The diamond’s weight was of 71/2 carats.

The Tertiary gravels in this area have had gold scattered in them however the gravels located on the lower end have proven to be the richest. The area of Birchville is also part of this district. To get to French Corral you will need to take the Pleasant Valley Road west off of Highway 49 south of North San Juan. The road passes by French Corral and Birchville.

Graniteville
The district of Graniteville is also known as the Eureka district. The Tertiary gravels in this area used to be very rich and were worked on during the time of the gold rush. After just a short time lode mining started to be done in this area. In order to get to Graniteville you will need to take the North Bloomfield Road off of Highway 49 at Nevada City, and go east around twenty five miles in order to get to Graniteville. The North Bloomfield Road turns into the Graniteville Road as soon as you pass North Bloomfield.