Grass Valley honored in True West magazine 2015 heritage travel guide

Nevada City has racked up a number of “best” and “cool” small town honors, including awards from Lonely Planet and Outside magazine. Now Grass Valley has won a “best of heritage travel” honor for 2015 by True West magazine. Grass Valley received an honor for “best architecturally preserved Western town.”

Started in 1953, True West is headquartered in Cave Creek, Arizona, and publishes monthly. It is the world’s oldest, continuously published Western American magazine. The March issue — with a rather graphic image — is pictured here. More details about that controversial cover is here.

The controversial cover image notwithstanding, we were glad that Grass Valley earned this honor for its heritage. We featured a walking tour of downtown buildings that cited the historic preservation and architecture — both in the Visitor Guide we publish for the Grass Valley Downtown Association, as well as last Spring’s issue of our magazine. Among the historic buildings cited were the Holbrooke Hotel, Foothill Flowers, 151 Union Square, Smith Vineyard Tasting Room and the Del Oro Theatre, among others. “Preserving the Past” is here (in print) and here (online).

Here’s how True West introduced Grass Valley and the other Western towns on its list: “In 1840, trapper Joseph Meek led the first emigrant wagons over the Oregon Trail from Fort Hall to Fort Walla Walla in the Oregon Territory. Today, 175 years later, tourists come to the American West from around the world to follow the Oregon Trail, as well as numerous other historic trails, highways and back roads to discover firsthand the history of the West.

“While True West magazine provides the best articles and insights on Western travel in every issue, we especially hope that this month, our annual Heritage Travel Guide will inspire you to discover new trails and adventures across the West.”

The full article — the Best of Heritage Travel 2015 — is here.