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Bear Valley

Ghost town · Nevada County, California

Blue Canyon quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:24,000)
Blue Canyon quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Bear Valley is a ghost town in Nevada County, California. It is one of 28 former communities in Nevada County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 8th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Bear Valley as a historical populated place on the Blue Canyon topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 39.3093° N, 120.6844° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleBlue Canyon
Elevation4,564 ft
Nearest living townWashington, CA
Distance to it6.6 miles
GNIS feature ID1682840
Coordinates39.30934, -120.68438

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Bear Valley is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Washington, CA (population 124), about 6.6 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 4,564 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Bear Valley?

Bear Valley is in Nevada County, California, at 39.3093, -120.6844.

How many ghost towns are in Nevada County?

Nevada County, California has 28 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.