Cold Spring
Ghost town · Sierra County, California

Cold Spring is a ghost town in Sierra County, California. It is one of 17 former communities in Sierra County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 17th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Cold Spring as a historical populated place on the Pike 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 39.4607° N, 120.9122° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Pike |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 4,567 ft |
| Nearest living town | Alleghany, CA |
| Distance to it | 3.8 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1701205 |
| Coordinates | 39.46073, -120.91217 |
What's there now
Cold Spring is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Alleghany, CA (population 35), about 3.8 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 4,567 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Tippecanoeghost town · Sierra County · 2.9 mi
- Grizzly Gulchghost town · Sierra County · 3.2 mi
- Unionvilleghost town · Sierra County · 3.3 mi
- Forestghost town · Sierra County · 3.8 mi
- Centervilleghost town · Sierra County · 4.2 mi
- Indian Hillghost town · Sierra County · 5.3 mi
- Snow Tentghost town · Nevada County · 5.4 mi
- Snow Pointghost town · Nevada County · 5.7 mi
- North Bloomfieldghost town · Nevada County · 6.4 mi
- Malakoffghost town · Nevada County · 6.5 mi
- Mount Vernonghost town · Sierra County · 7 mi
- Shandsghost town · Nevada County · 7.4 mi
Questions
Where is Cold Spring?
Cold Spring is in Sierra County, California, at 39.4607, -120.9122.
How many ghost towns are in Sierra County?
Sierra County, California has 17 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
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.