Record
About French Corral
French Corral is an unincorporated community approximately five miles west of California State Highway 49 in Nevada County, California, United States.
This is a site record: what public sources say about French Corral, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where French Corral is

Historic maps
13 historic USGS maps cover French Corral
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1888 Smartsville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1891 Smartsville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1892 Smartsville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1894 Smartsville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1895 Smartsville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1948 French Corral sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1948 Nevada City sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1950 French Corral sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Chico sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1960 Chico sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1993 Yuba City sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1995 French Corral sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 2000 French Corral sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near French Corral
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
- North San Juan5.4 mi NE · Nevada
- Rough and Ready5.4 mi S · Nevada
- Grass Valley8.2 mi SE · Nevada
- Nevada City8.2 mi E · Nevada
- Timbuctoo10.4 mi SW · Yuba
- Camptonville11.7 mi NE · Yuba
- Spenceville14.4 mi SW · Nevada
- North Bloomfield14.6 mi E · Nevada
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "French Corral": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "French Corral, California": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q5501726.
- USGS GNIS 260372.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).