Record
About Onion Valley
Onion Valley, California is a former California gold rush mining settlement and supply station in Plumas County, California, United States.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Onion Valley, 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 Onion Valley is

Historic maps
12 historic USGS maps cover Onion Valley
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.
- 1891 Downieville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1893 Downieville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1895 Downieville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1896 Downieville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1897 Downieville sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1950 Onion Valley sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1951 Onion Valley sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1951 Quincy sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Chico sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1960 Chico sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1979 Portola sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1994 Onion Valley 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 Onion Valley
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
- Grass Flat8.8 mi S · Sierra
- Johnsville10.0 mi E · Plumas
- Elizabethtown12.3 mi N · Plumas
- Monte Cristo13.8 mi S · Sierra
- Scales14.9 mi SW · Sierra
- Downieville16.2 mi S · Sierra
- Genesee18.4 mi N · Plumas
- Brandy City19.4 mi SW · Sierra
Sources
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Onion Valley": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q30693606.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).