Malakoff Diggins, Nevada City Scenics Photo
Malakoff Diggins State Park
Malakoff Diggins, Nevada City Scenics Photo
Have you been to Malakoff Diggins State Park?   I often tell people that taking a hike on the loop trail is like visiting the moon as you have the opportunity to see California’s largest hydraulic mine and the lasting effects of the environment.  The mining led to California’s first environmental protection by the federal court in 1884.  The Discover Malakoff programs has a great selection of upcoming events, click here for the 2019 calendar, the second Saturday program continues this week with a hike on the Upper Humbug Trail with Chris WardThe family-friendly guided 4-mile loop hike is considered moderate in difficulty, with less than 1,000’ total elevation gain.  Chris Ward, author of Cemeteries of the Western Sierra, will guide the custom loop of Malakoff Diggins SHP trails and share stories and snippets of history, from the pre-history of the first inhabitants, the gold-mining era, and post-mining occupations, to the modern day.

“Why visit Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park?  The drive is so worth it! Explore the ghost town of North Bloomfield, take a hike, have a picnic, camp, dip your feet in a cold stream, enjoy multiple waterfalls and the sounds of nature. Check out the brand new educational panels, and learn about the multiple cultural influences responsible for exploring, exploiting and then preserving this landscape. Preservation actions continue to this day, with restoration and stabilization of historic buildings, and plans for more visitor access,” explains Syd Brown from the The Friends of North Bloomfield & Malakoff Diggins non-profit organization.

The park visitor center/museum officially opened May 1st, but self guided tours are available sunrise to sunset.  You can get a tour of the historic North Bloomfield town at 1:30pm during the spring and summer season.  Plus, mark your calendars for the the upcoming Malakoff Diggins Humbug Days on Saturday, June 8th from 11am – 4pm.  Humbug Days features living history, crafts, games, wagon rides, bbq picnic, gold panning, candle making, tin punching, a parade and hydraulic water cannon demos.  Click here for more information about upcoming events.  The drive to the state park takes about 35 minutes from downtown Nevada City.  Have you been out to Malakoff Diggins?  Feel free to share a comment and your favorite part of the park.  The photos from this blog post are from last year’s photo meet up with myself and Kial James, many thanks to those who joined the fun.  If you’ve never been on one of our free photo meet ups the next one is coming up on Sunday, May 19th at the Inn Town Campground.
Malakoff Diggins State Park
 © 2019 InnSide Nevada City, © Photos by Erin Thiem, Kial James/Nevada City Scenics and Heather White
1 reply
  1. Steve Nicholson
    Steve Nicholson says:

    When my birth mother was growing up in San Francisco, her mother sent her and her sister up to Nevada City every summer. We visited Malakoff Diggins about fifteen years ago and she was amazed at how much it had changed since the 50s. She said back then it really looked like the surface of the moon. Her recollection was that there was no plant life at all.

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