Jones Bar, California

The Independence Trail is located approximately 7 miles from downtown Nevada City within the South Yuba River State Park in the Sierra Nevada foothills within Nevada County, in Northern California. The trail is the former Excelsior Ditch, which was found and repaired by John Olmsted and a large group of local volunteers. It is notable for being the first ADA approved wheelchair nature trail. It topped the list of "favorite trails for 2013" in The Sacramento Bee newspaper.Founded by Olmsted and Sally Cates, and built with help from countless locals, the Independence Trail transformed the historic Excelsior gold mining ditch into the nation's first identified handicapped-accessible wilderness trail. It was one of the most popular trails in the area, contouring along wooded hillsides, passing live streams, and crossing deep gorges on restored wooden flumes that once transported water for hydraulic mining. Due to safety hazards caused by landslides from heavy storms in 2017 and the Jones Fire of 2020 destroying the wooden walkways, the trail is closed until further notice. It is in the process of being rebuilt.The trail has two separate sections—West and East—that extend from one main trailhead on California State Route 49. Independence Trail West is oriented for most of its length around the canyon of Rush Creek, a large tributary stream that enters the South Yuba River at Jones Bar. The West trail features several wooden flumes, a large covered viewpoint, picnic tables and benches. Flume 28, over 500' in length, crosses above a waterfall on Rush Creek 1.1 miles west of the trailhead. It is a "must see" piece of mining history. The Independence Trail utilizes the old Excelsior Canal, built between 1854 and 1859 by hundreds of Chinese laborers. To bring high pressure water for hydraulic mining. The ditch tapped the South Yuba river more than 2 miles upstream from here, and ran all the way to what is now the dam at Lake Wildwood, then by the China Ditch to the Smartsville mining district, 15 miles west of Grass Valley. After hydraulic mining was outlawed in the 1880s the "Excelsior Ditch" was used for agricultural irrigation until it was abandoned in 1963. In 1969, John Olmsted rediscovered the rock-lined ditches, adjacent paths for ditch tenders, and wooden flumes that provided access over ravines. It is a gold country gem and part of the South Yuba River State Park.

The Woolman Semester was a semester school focused on the intersections of peace, social justice, and sustainability. The school operated from the Spring of 2004 through the Spring of 2016. Students came from all over the country to attend Woolman for a single semester during their high school junior, senior, or gap year. Students spent a semester deeply immersed in contemporary topics and exploring issues first hand . Students worked with each other, staff and interns to run the daily operations of the school, including cooking meals, chopping firewood, and growing and harvesting the food eaten at the school. The classes of the program were Global Thinking, Peace Studies, Environmental Science, Non-violent Communication, Ceramics, and Farm to Table. Woolman is the only Quaker (Friends) semester school in the country, and in accordance with the philosophy of Quaker Education the Woolman Semester curriculum centers around collaboration, activism, and open inquiry into local and global issues.

The 49er Fire was a large and destructive wildfire in September 1988 in the U.S. state of California's Nevada County and Yuba County. After igniting on the morning of September 11, when a homeless schizophrenic man accidentally set brush alight by burning toilet paper, the fire burned 33,700 acres throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, impinging on the communities of Lake Wildwood, Rough and Ready, and Smartsville, before being declared contained on September 16. Driven by severe drought conditions and strong, dry winds, firefighting crews were hard-pressed to stop the fire's advance until winds calmed and humidity levels recovered. The 49er Fire destroyed 312 structures, including more than 140 homes, making it the most destructive wildfire in Nevada County's history and—at the time—one of the five most destructive wildfires in recorded California history. It was also the seventh most expensive California wildfire in terms of losses, which amounted to approximately $23 million. The fire highlighted the rapid pace and potential consequences of development in the wildland-urban interface, or WUI, along with several other fires in that time period, such as the Oakland firestorm of 1991 and the Fountain Fire in 1992. The 49er Fire was sometimes called the "wildfire of the 1990s" by officials in attempts to raise awareness of the growing challenges of firefighting in areas where human structures are intermingled with wildland fuels.

Newtown (formerly, Sailor Flat, Newton and Sailors Flat) is an unincorporated community in Nevada County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2113 feet (644 m). Newtown is located 4.5 miles (7.2 km) west of Nevada City.Sailors discovered gold there, whence the name Sailors Flat.

Birchville (until 1853, Johnson's Diggings) is a historic mining and agricultural community in Nevada County, California. Birchville is located about 10 miles northwest of Nevada City and about 2 miles northeast of French Corral. It is situated at an elevation of 1,765 ft (538 m) above sea level.

Sweetland is a former settlement in Nevada County, California. Located approximately 20 mi (32 km) east of Marysville, It is situated at an elevation of 1,857 ft (566 m) above sea level.

French Corral is an unincorporated community approximately five miles west of California State Highway 49 in Nevada County, California. It was one of the first of several historic California gold rush mining camps along the San Juan Ridge. The name was literal as the town grew around a mule corral built by the first settler in the area, a Frenchman, in 1849. It had a post office during the period of 1859 through 1945.Few original structures remain besides an old Wells Fargo Bank building.

Deer Creek is a stream that flows through the Sierra Nevada Range in Northern California, USA. The 34 miles (55 km) stream begins above Scotts Flat Lake in the alpine region in the Tahoe National Forest, continues through the middle of downtown Nevada City, is a tributary to Lake Wildwood and ends as it enters the Yuba River below Englebright Lake. The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe advisory for any fish caught in Deer Creek due to elevated levels of mercury.

The Willo Steakhouse (also called The Willo) is a steakhouse and roadhouse located in Nevada City, California in the United States.

Bitney Corner is an unincorporated community in Nevada County, California. It lies at an elevation of 2356 feet (718 m). Bitney Corner is located 2.5 miles (4.0 km) west-northwest of Grass Valley.

Sunset View is a former settlement in Nevada County, California, located near Grass Valley. It was listed on an official map as of 1949.The 150 ft (46 m) long Sunset View Reservoir is located near the northeast end of the settlement.

Rough and Ready is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States. It is located west of Grass Valley, California, approximately 62 miles (100 km) from Sacramento. The population was 963 at the 2010 census. It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names.