WE LOVE SHARING LOCAL HISTORY
Folks Trails Hiking Club and Inn Town Campground invites history and nature lovers of all ages to join them on an urban hike through historic Nevada City and its outlying neighborhoods. Led by Jesse Locks, a California Naturalist and founder of Folk Trails Hiking Club, these hikes are perfect for both residents and visitors looking for a deeper understanding and connection to this beautiful and unique corner of the world.
We’ve taken a pause from the regularly scheduled hikes, but are excited to welcome back our crowd favorite of Historic Cemeteries Tour on Thursday, October 24th, 4pm. We’ll meet at the Robinson Plaza in downtown Nevada City and start our walk to the Pine Grove Grove Cemetery. Pre-registration required, click here for a free ticket. For those who would like to take a self guided Historic Cemeteries tour, check here for a great round up of who’s who.
TRAILS AND HISTORY
No time to waste, adventures await!
The hikes finished our seventh season with the largest attendance ever! With so many hiking trails in Nevada City we covered a lot of ground. We are honored to have teamed up to organize these “micro adventures”. Over the last seven years the hikes have attracted at least a thousand locals and visitors.
“The hikes bring out locals, guests from the campground, and visitors to the area who are all interested in learning more about Nevada City’s rich history,” explains Erin Thiem, owner of the Inn Town Campground, and curator of Visit Nevada City on Instagram. “Because of the variety of hikes over the year, we’ve had repeat guests and as well as a range of folks who join us just once.”
A micro adventure is an adventure that is short, simple, local, cheap – yet still fun, exciting, challenging, refreshing and rewarding. Each hike varies in distance from two to four miles, but would be considered easy to moderate (Nevada City is known for its 7 Hills!). Each hike is organized around the time of year to showcase the very best of what Nevada City has to offer. The hikes focus on subjects such as the fall colors, architecture, historic figures, cemeteries, bird watching, Deer Creek and the Tribute Trail, and much more.
“The hiking series is a great collaboration of all things Nevada City, both for locals and visitors,” says Thiem. “It forces you to stop and appreciate the small details around town that you might otherwise miss.”
To prepare for each hike, Locks spends many hours reading and researching books, websites, and libraries.
“It’s a lot of fun for me to do the research and because so many people come back every month, I’m always trying to keep it fresh and new,” says Locks. “It’s important to both Erin and I, that people learn the history of our community, but it’s more important to us that they get outside, meet new people, and build relationships with their neighbors and community. We want people to care about and love Nevada City as much as we do.” While we took a pause for the 2024 season, Nevada City still offers so many opportunities to celebrate the outdoors, check out Nevada City hiking to get inspired and get outside. In addition to our favorite local Nevada City hikes, check out the Bear Yuba Land Trust Trails Portal for more suggestions.
