Fall Weekend in Gold Country: Grass Valley, California

Autumn in Grass Valley is a golden time: By day, late summer sunlight burnishes the South Yuba River canyon; by night, cooler temperatures trigger vibrant displays of foliage. Along the historic Main Street, restaurants and cafés showcase local end-of-season bounty.

Clydesdales, Percherons, and other sturdy breeds pull antique carriages and execute intricate maneuvers at the Draft Horse Classic, Sept. 19–22. The celebration also features a harvest fair and live bluegrass.

Water flumes were built all over gold country to power hydraulic mining and transport timber. You can follow one such waterway along the flat, wheelchair-accessible Independence Trail West. From the trailhead on Highway 49, walk west to cross Rush Creek on 500-foot-long Flume 28. It's also a great place for dramatic views of the leaf canopy in its seasonal glory.

Lazy Dog Chocolateria began as a popular food truck before taking over a gift shop downtown. There, it dispenses fresh ice cream sandwiches and hand-dipped ice cream bars. Don't leave without some sea-salt-and-dark chocolate peanut butter cups to munch on later.

In the erstwhile powerhouse of a 19th-century gold mine, the North Star Mining Museum displays one of the best collections of antique mining equipment in California. The massive 30-foot Pelton wheel—the largest ever made—used waterpower from Wolf Creek to run rock crushers and stamp mills. Bonus: The sugar maples and sweet gum trees surrounding the museum produce some of the area's most vivid fall leaves.