Sierra County
Gold Country Region

Sierra County, population 3,555, is located in the heart of the northern section of the Sierra Nevada on Highway 49. Nine-hundred-fifty-nine square miles of unparalleled beauty, heavily forested canyons, the largest alpine valley in North America, wild rivers, unspoiled mountain lakes and streams, charming gold rush towns and century old ranching and logging communities.

Sierra county is divided by the Pacific Crest. Both the east and west have a rich history. The county was once home to both the Maidu and Washoe Indians, but today’s history is tied to the Gold Rush. The discovery of gold resulted in some 16,000 miners settling the county between 1848 and 1860.

The Pacific Crest Trail (also known as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail) is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail that runs from the United States border with Mexico to its border with Canada and follows the highest portion of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Range which parallel the Pacific Ocean by 100 to 150 miles. The Pacific Crest Trail is 2,650 miles long and ranges in elevation from just above sea level at the Oregon-Washington border to 13,153 feet at Forester Pass in the Sierra Nevada.

It was designated a National Scenic Trail in 1968, although it was not officially completed until 1993. The Pacific Crest Trail, the Appalachian Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail form the Triple Crown of long distance hiking in the United States. The PCT was conceived by Clinton C. Clarke in 1932; however it was not given official status until the National Trails System Act of 1968.

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