Abandoned Towns

Ghost town record · Nevada County, California

Rough and Ready

Census-designated place in California, United States.

Record

About Rough and Ready

Rough and Ready is a census-designated place in Nevada County, California, United States. It is located west of Grass Valley, California, approximately 62 miles (100 km) from Sacramento.

This is a site record: what public sources say about Rough and Ready, 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 Rough and Ready is

USGS topographic map around Rough and Ready
USGS topographic map, The National Map (public domain). The pin marks the coordinates in the record; old townsites are often a little off.

Historic maps

13 historic USGS maps cover Rough and Ready

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.

Directions

Getting there

Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

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 Rough and Ready

Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.

Sources

Sources

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Rough and Ready": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
  2. Wikipedia, "Rough and Ready, California": coordinates and summary.
  3. Wikidata Q3458646.
  4. USGS GNIS 2628785.
  5. USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
  6. USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).