Secret Town, California

Gold Run was a former mining town of the California Gold Rush, located in Placer County, California.The former settlement is a listed California Historical Landmark (#405).

Little York (previously: Little New York) is the name of one of the first gold mining towns established in Nevada County, California as well as the name of the township in which it was situated. The town was located on the Lowell Ridge between Steephollow Creek and the Bear River, about 13 miles east of Nevada City, California and about 1 mile southwest of Dutch Flat, California at an elevation of about 2800 feet.

Iowa Hill (formerly, Iowa City) is an unincorporated community in Placer County, California, United States. The town is located 6.5 miles northwest of Foresthill 9 miles east of Colfax and 58 miles northeast of Sacramento. It lies at an elevation of 2861 feet. The community relies completely upon solar panels and generators for power. Its population is around 200 people. Iowa Hill Road claims a small handful of lives every decade, and along with the community's "off grid" status, prevents the town from growing in population. The community boasts many hardcore cyclists and is appealing to visitors due to the abundance of recreational opportunities. Iowa Hill Road is a very steep, one-lane, winding road embedded within the mountains. There are no safety guardrails. Since ambulance service from Colfax takes a long time, emergency medical transport is supplemented by CALSTAR, the area's air rescue helicopter. A landing pad is located next to the town fire house.

You Bet is a small unincorporated community in Nevada County, California. You Bet is located in the Sierra Nevada foothills, 7 miles (11.3 km) east of Grass Valley and 5.5 miles (8.9 km) northeast of Chicago Park.

Dutch Flat (also, Dutchman's Flat, Dutch Charlie's Flat, and Charley's Flat) is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Auburn along Interstate 80. It was founded by German immigrants in 1851 and was once one of the richest gold mining locations in California. Dutch Flat is now registered as a California Historical Landmark.The community's ZIP code is 95714 and its area code 530.

Red Dog (also known as Brooklyn or Brooklin) was a California gold rush mining town located in the Gold Country in south-central Nevada County, California, United States, 6 mi (9.7 km) northeast of Chicago Park. Red Dog Hill, a mine and campsite, was founded by three men all under the age of 22, and was named by their youngest, a 15-year-old prospector. As mining operations grew, the campsite became a settlement, and then a town with a population of 2,000 residents, before it was eventually abandoned. Still considered important today, Red Dog Townsite is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rollins Dam (National ID # CA00255) is a dam on the border of Nevada and Placer counties in northern California, in the United States. The earthen dam was constructed in 1965 by the Nevada Irrigation District, with a height of 228 feet (69 m), and a length of 1,840 feet (560 m) at its crest. It impounds the Bear River, a tributary of the Feather River, for hydropower, flood control, irrigation water storage, and municipal water use. The dam is one of the ten facilities owned and operated by the Nevada Irrigation District. The dam is part of the Yuba-Bear Hydroelectric Project. The reservoir it creates, Rollins Reservoir, has a normal water surface of 1.3 square miles (3.4 km2), and a maximum capacity of 66,000 acre-feet. Recreation includes trout fishing in the spring, and bass fishing in the summer. The California Office Of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has issued a safe eating advisory for any fish caught in Rollins Reservoir due to elevated levels of mercury.

Sugar Pine Dam is an earthfill embankment dam in Placer County, California, approximately 7 miles (11 km) north of Foresthill. It impounds North Shirttail Creek, a tributary of the North Fork American River, and serves as the primary municipal water supply for the Foresthill community.

Shady Glen is an unincorporated community in Placer County, California. Shady Glen is located 1.25 miles (2.0 km) north of Colfax. It lies at an elevation of 2451 feet (747 m).

Alta (Spanish for "Upper") is a small unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Placer County, California, United States, about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Auburn. The village is located off Interstate 80 and along the historical First transcontinental railroad. The ZIP code is 95701 and the area code 530. One of the few buildings other than private residences is the Alta-Dutch Flat Grammar School serving kindergarten through eighth grade students. The high school that serves Alta is named Colfax High School. Colfax High School is 11 miles southwest in the incorporated town of Colfax. The population of Alta was 615 at the 2020 census. A historical California place once named Alta was located in San Diego County near the present-day La Mesa–El Cajon boundary. This historical place was along the San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, now the San Diego Trolley Orange Line, at its Murray Drive undercrossing in La Mesa. The community was named after the Spanish word meaning "upper" or "high".

The Alta-Dutch Flat School District is a school district in Placer County, California. It currently maintains two schools, one in Alta, California and one in Emigrant Gap, California. Emigrant Gap Elementary School District was consolidated with Alta-Dutch Flat Elementary School District in 2001. Alta-Dutch Flat School was recognized as a California Distinguished School in 2004. Alta-Dutch Flat School had 8 teachers in 2005, a decrease from 11 in 2003. Currently, Emigrant Gap School has one teacher and six students. The district currently has 123 students. The current interim superintendent is Jim Roberts. Pete Keesler, a former superintendent-principal in the district, is the part-time principal. The current school board for the district is Lindsay Ostrom, David Rosenquist, Joel Baiocchi, Lynette Vrooman and Kathy Mutto. The 2008 Academic Performance Index (API) was 812. As in over 60% of school districts in California, due to declining enrollment and reduction in state funding, the district has made difficult, but significant reductions in staff, but not in programs. Alta-Dutch Flat teachers and staff are among the best in Placer County, and the success of their students, and the support of the community, reflects their training and dedication.

Hunt's Hill (also, Hunts Hill and formerly, Gouge Eye) is a former mining camp in Nevada County, California, United States. Hunt's Hill was located in the Sierra Nevada foothills about 6 miles in a straight line southeast of Nevada City and about 2 miles northwest of You Bet, on the north side of Greenhorn Creek, not far from the present intersection of Red Dog and Buckeye Roads. Hunt's Hill was founded in 1852 by a miner named Hunt. It was located on one of the deepest parts of the rich Blue Lead channel of gold-bearing gravel. In 1855, one of the mining claims established by some French miners, was “jumped". During the fight, one of the French miners lost an eye. Thereafter, that mine, and sometimes the town, were called Gouge Eye. By 1857, the town boasted two saloons, a hotel, a blacksmith and stable, a butcher shop, a boot and shoe store, and several grocery stores. In 1858, a stage line from Nevada City arrived. In 1866, seven cement mills for extracting gold from the “blue cement” were operating in the area. By 1880, the town was reduced to a combined store and saloon and a few houses. In 1895, one directory summed up the state of the community thus: "At the present time there is not much doing there." Since that same directory identified the town's justice of the peace and constable, what little happened must have been interesting. Today, it is just a historic site.