We first visited this fair last year and loved it so much that we returned just this past weekend. The standout feature of this location is definitely the setting, there are so many beautiful, tall trees providing large amounts of shade, making it easy to escape the summer heat.My son had a blast. He thoroughly enjoyed playing the fair games and loved the live bird show near the entrance, where he got to see a vulture and a majestic eagle up close.The fair was definitely busy, but the fast pass ride wristbands came in handy to bypass the long lines. He kept asking to try the mechanical bull ride, and he did absolutely great! He held on tightly and didn't even fall off toward the end; he just asked for it to stop when he was done. I also hopped on a couple of other rides with him, and we had a lot of fun together.It is a fantastic, family-friendly event. We saw that they host a holiday fair here during Thanksgiving weekend, and we are already thinking about coming back for it! read more

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Nevada County fair 2026 is happening right now. Today 8/16 is the last day of this four day extravaganza. Small town, county fair feels. Overall I had a good time, but gear up for the long lines for the food booths and carnival rides. You may end up spending more time in line than enjoying the fair. That'll make anyone grumpy. I waffled between rating a 3 to 4. Next year, the dates of the fair will be a month earlier and over two weekends versus one. The weather would be hotter in July but it's cooler there a bit than at lower elevation and the fairgrounds have tall pines, ponderosa, and oaks providing shade. I got here on Saturday early afternoon and left around 9:30pm. About 6 pm, that is when the attendance seems to significantly more than double. Got extremely crowded. The food and ride lines got longer as well. The lighting on the fairgrounds is limited and after dark it gets difficult to see the ground. Be careful of the uneven ground in the picnic and grassy areas. Alcohol is sold throughout the day and not limited to certain areas. You and your drink are allowed to be mobile throughout the fairgrounds. Parking is $10, we paid cash so not sure if they took other forms of payment. Oh and remember to recall where you parked. This is important especially if you parked in the far fields and intend to venture out to the car after dark. There are no lights out there and minimal to no landmarks. The terrain is a natural field with bumps and holes and all. They have a free shuttle from Tinsloy Transit Center (in Grass Valley ) to the main gate running every 30minutes from 9:30 am to 11pm. Treat Street is an area filled with non profit organizations food booths. Below are some of my favorites. But the lines are loooong! ~ Job daughters (Masonic organization) - corn dogs! These corn dogs are the most popular fair food, thus having a long line. They are legendary. Frankfurter dipped in a cornmeal batter and deep fried. $6 ~ Rough & Ready- baked potatoes! Big, fat plumb baking potato. ~ Nevada City Little League-roasted corn on the cob! $5 ~ Nevada City United Methodist Church- bratwurst and sauerkraut dogs! Flat grilled brats. Yum! - Nevada City United Way- nachos! Yes please. - Penn Valley Lions - caramel popcorn! Fresh made. - Watt Park Firefighters- - soft serve ice cream. - Nevada City Elks- - charbroiled hamburgers . Root beer floats. read more

My family has lived here for over 50 years and I come visit and stay here all the time. After today, I will never ever stay here again! Had a woman come by at 9:30 this morning to let us know we had to leave because they had rented out the whole park. Fine no worries. We'll move across the street to the other park at checkout. Come 10 o'clock the guy shows up with his RV to let us know that this is his spot and we need to leave. An hour before our reservation ends, no apologies from the RV park manager or whoever came by on her golf cart. No sorry for the short notice, basically told get out. I do not understand why we are being forced to leave when our reservation time isn't even over yet. The audacity! I'm done with this place and will be staying across the street from now on. This is not how you treat people that paid to stay at your park. We were the only ones forced out of our spot before our reservation even ended. read more

From parking to leaving it was horrible. So crowded and the lines for rides were so long that my children only got to go on 2 rides in 4 hours. So I spent $400 to stand in line and then it took over an hour to get out of the parking lot. Never coming back, in fact I am never going to another county fair . Ruined it. Nice. Thanks read more

Christmas Craft Fair! Making it happen holiday style! I have never been to such a quaint fairgrounds in my whole life. Like, seriously. Usually fairgrounds are places of desolation, save for whatever stressful exhausting event you've been likely tricked into attending... I'll admit... I did get kinda dragged into going. I just wanted to kick it today but it is what it is. The good news is it turned into a really fun time! There is a lake with next to the grounds with a little trail. There are geese and even turtles! All free to see! The even this year cost $5 a person. They had many crafts (not totally my thing but I like to look at stuff) and different food outlets. Even a lobster roll truck! Not to mention the cocktails on offer, all with holiday cheer! I was glad to see a little gingerbread house contest, although between us I feel the judging was a little too kind. But I'm not from around here and can be a competitive jerk. It is what it is. In all it was a fun time for all of us, and it wasn't stressful or overcrowded. Fun little outing! read more

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Fun, fun, fun & most often hosting incredible events from: the amazing draft horses to the gem shows. The local community is outstanding as well. Making g this a top venue! read more

More fun than a barrel of monkeys. Only there ain't no monkeys. But there sure are a lot of pigs! And I don't mean those of us stuffing our faces on Treat Street. 4-H was well represented showing their swine. It was fun watching the youngsters guide their entries with their whips. For the most part they did well, but some pigs have a mind of their own, and wanted to go where they wanted. Luckily there were some dads who assisted in keeping the swine in line. I could sure use one of those show whips. It would help move things along when my girlfriend is window shopping. I could guide her into a store that has a bar close by. We'd both be happy. The fair has the usual attractions, games, rides, gift stalls, entertainment, and friendly folks. But what stood out at this absolutely beautiful venue were the food options. There were the standard vendors selling what one would expect at a fair. Then there are the these small buildings along Treat Street that house various organizations selling their concoctions to the visiting public. This is a huge fund raising opportunity for their organizations, and a huge opportunity for one to feast on some pretty darn good eats. Huell Howser got me interested in this fair, so I had to come see it for myself. When he taped his show on Treat Street, the Job's Daughter Corn Dog concession was doing land office business. Nothing had changed on my visit. The line was as long as long could be. It would make the Daughters proud, and for that matter, the Sons too! However, corn dogs were not on my menu for the day. What intrigued me was the baked potato with all the fixings. And boy I wasn't disappointed. I must have smiled at someone just right, for I was handed a plump potato with fixings stacked sky high. Those fixings broke my diet. I should have taken a picture, but I had a beer in my other hand and no spare fingers. I know what you're thinking, and yes, the beer may have had something to do with messing up my diet too. But after all, it's fair time. It wouldn't be fair to the organizations to not indulge just a bit. There's plenty to see and do at this fair. Too much for just one day. Plan on two days at least. If nothing more than to see if it was a smile that got extra attention, or if it was some kids first potato. Quick Tip: Be careful when sending fair pictures to animal lovers. I sent my girlfriend a picture of a young lady ushering her pig with the show whip. My girl said that it made her nervous that the pig would get hurt. I told her that farm children don't hurt the pigs, they eat em! She didn't respond to that text.....city girls. read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - My hero. - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

Trailer park has tons of trees and a dump station and some rustic buildings and a lake. the sites are cool but muddy. I came to look at this place for a group of 50 and to get some pics for our newslettter but when I was walking around some karen lady in a golf cart drove out and started taking my picture with her phone and asking why I was there. To look at the park to see if we want to stay here. We don't now. read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

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If you search for RV Parks in Nevada County the Fair Grounds does not show up but they have a very nice RV Park. We stayed in site 39 with full hookups, they also have sites with just electric and water as well as dry camping spots. See website for full info: https://nevadacountyfair.com/rv-park/ We did not use the restrooms so I cannot report on them. Cell service is not good here, they do have WiFi, the quality of connectivity depends on how close your site is to the router. The grounds are nice there is a pond and walking path. This is a nice place. read more

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The campground itself is fine. We parked on dirt with water and electric hookups. Pretty level, but dusty. Even tho there was a big horseshow going on, the campground was very quiet. The staff were great, especially the maintenance crew. They arrived very fast to our site. We were having water quality issues and found out we needed to put on a new water filter. Problem solved. The office ladies were prompt in responding. CONS: I use a walker and went to the bathroom to take a shower. There is absolutely no ADA or handicap facilities. No grab bars in the showers, no shelf for toiletries, no grab bars in handicap toilet, no counters in the sink area. You have to put your toiletries on the floor! The water leaks under the sink made it so I had to park my walker in water and stand in water to use the sink. REALLY???? I nearly did a face plant in the shower room as the bench is not secured in any way and it tipped over when I went to put on my shoes. These bathrooms are a danger to people with disabilities as well as the able folks. The only saving grace is that the shower "pan" is made out of aggregate concrete so slipping is not an issue and the water pressure, hot water and shower head were A+. NEVADA COUNTY NEEDS TO STEP UP AND DO THE ADA UPGRADES. I will write them a letter. read more

The owner Jay knows exactly what to do And his employees ate great too He is completely hands on and training his people and showed a lot of attention to detail Great company!!! read more

I have attended Draft Horse Classic and thoroughly enjoyed it for four years. Traveling from the Bay Area. Tonight after both Hispanic -Felix Santana and Tomas Garcilazo- acts the announcer felt it necessary to explain that they were both citizens even though they came from Mexico. I felt it was a very racist comment. Offensive. Do better. read more

What a beautiful camp ground ! I went to a music festival and was concerned about so many things before getting to the camp ground BUT they went above and beyond and this was such a magical place to be ! Bathrooms clean campgrounds clean big beautiful trees music sounded amazing ! Looking forward to next years event at this location ! read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

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This is our favorite fair. I think it is probably one of the best small fairs in the country. For sure in California. We of course had the Jobs Daughters homemade corn dogs. Probably 600 calories, but worth it. They are really good and we washed them down with ice cold cervezas. One thing different about this fair is you are free to walk around with your beer or wine. You don't have to stay in a certain area like a beer garden. If you haven't been to this fair watch this video https://vimeo.com/24800703 read more

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I love this county fair and all of the other events throughout the year. The venue is home town feeling and I always have a fun time.

This place is great! It's a hot day yet we are in the shade most of the time. The trees are huge. And they are everywhere. It's so beautiful here. On to the corn dogs. Lol we got here about 15 minutes before the official opening. So we got to watch the raising of the flag, bag pipe music etc. we go straight from there to the corn dog shack. There is already like 30 people in line. We waited in line for like 45 minutes. Boy was it worth the wait! Those corn dogs are big and delicious. Cornbread batter. Crispy as can be. You can see the guy hand dipping each one. He dips it in does a little twirl and if it doesn't look perfect. He dips it again. Later when we walked by about an hour later there was like 50 people in line. So get there early. read more

The grounds of the Nevada County Fair are my favorite fair grounds. Nestled amongst mature trees in the foothills of Grass Valley/Nevada City. The air is clean and the area represents the small town and community culture I love. I've been here for the annual County Fair, Harvest Fair, and this the annual Draft Horse Classic. During the County Fair, these grounds are bustling with people from all over Northern California. Lots of food vendors, music venues, craft and product vendors, displays of local works, and plenty of people (and animal) watching available. Easy all day adventure and one that's worth repeating. Such a serene forested setting with large grassy open areas. read more

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First and foremost I love the Nevada County Fair, that said a few things I observed this year bothered me. Gate 5 The Jehovah Witness booth that was set up out side the gate not paying the fair their booth fee, the fact that cell service SUCKED, and having tickets bought online that could not be downloaded to get in to our event. Beer cost at $7 per serving come on that's way out of line. The number of missing vendors in the commercial building and on the fair grounds. The poor maintance and Quality of Butler Amusements rides. I know that this the first year coming out of Covid I am praying that next years fair is much better.. read more

This year's fair is going to be beautiful!!!! There has been significant changes going on here and all are great improvements :) the landscaping in key areas are amazing representations of the Gold Country in which we live in. They have completely rebuilt one of the beer stands which looks more functional and attractive. I am enjoying watching these improvements happen as I walk along the various pathways through the grounds. read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - Outside of show barn ;) - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

My first time at this fair. It's cool to see the fairground rides among the tall trees. Lol. They had a nice variety of fair foods to choose from. Hot dogs, burgers, corn dogs, baked potato, rice bowls, ice teas, lemonade, water, etc. Fun times with the animals. Vendors were interesting to chat with. It was cool that small town locals came together and put together this event. It was nice to see all the different talents in their artwork. Great presentation!! Kudos to them for having clean bathrooms and washing station. That's a job in itself for having that many foot traffic. Even though it was small...they did a great job of having a variety of things. It was really hot out so thank goodness for some of their indoor stuff with fans. read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

I have been coming to this fair every year since 1992 when my husband and I first started dating. He grew up with this fair. I immediately fell in love with this fair and with him. I always joke it was the fair that did it to me. I will start with what I love about this fair. Its a small country fair without the flair. It has the most beautiful setting amongst shady trees and dirt so don't wear white shoes or any shoes you mind getting a bit dirty. The people are all very nice. You don't get questionable people and you don't hear loudness, rudeness, or vulgar behavior even though they serve alcohol. It is small. You can go through the whole thing in 5 hrs. OMG the food! is the best part. Not only yummy but most of them are run by different charities which makes it a little easier to fork out a bit of money. My absolute favorite is Job's daughters Corn dogs. I am not a corn dog fan at all but these are hand dipped with such an incredible thick corn crust. Suffice to say the line is forever long. You can buy corn dog tickets in advance if you don't feel like eating now but I have observed that the pre-paid ticket line is usually longer than the regular line! Tested this theory last year and my husband who stood in the regular line got through about 6 customers ahead of me. With that said, they did away with the tickets this year, put two cashiers in and the line moved much faster. I go for the fresh corn on the cob and I have to support the Rough n Ready Firemen by buying a loaded baked potato! Then on the way I out I buy a large carmel popcorn and bring my 1 gallon ziplock that fits perfect and much on the way home. It has your stereotypical carnival rides but I never trusted them much as they always look worn and dirty along with the carnies, lol. Plus to play anything costs a dollar. I miss the dime toss but I guess that is gone everywhere. I have seen it change for the worse over the years and why the 4 stars and not 5. Admission tickets have increased greatly. It use to be $5 to get in for the longest time and now it is $9. The arena tickets use to include your admission and now it does not. The BBQ place ditched the ribs and replaced with pulled pork sandwiches which i miss very much. The bingo was my all time favorite and now it is completely gone. We used to sit for a bit and play while we rested our stomachs. Honestly it is the corn dogs that keeps me coming even though it is now $5 for a corn dog. I remember when they were $3. Otherwise, it has lost some of its magic/shine. Still prefer it over any other fair and I tell everyone to try it out. It is unlike any other fair in the area. read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - Corn on the cob and baked potato - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

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I'd really love to give 4.5 (a minus half star for a few of the carnies), but overall I spent an amazing day at the fair shaded beneath the pines. Heat usually keeps my family & me from fairs as we quickly wilt, but there is so much shade at this fairgrounds that the temp is at least 10 degrees cooler in the shade & shade is everywhere. The food was not all fair food; some was excellent. Corn dogs with more corn than dog were at Job's Daughter's booth. Deep fried Foster Farms' were found elsewhere. The Girl Scouts hustled with their Orange Julius, lemonade & other yummy drinks. There were so many great looking dishes that I plan to try next year if I can limit myself to one Job's corn dog. & if anyone tells you $5 is too much for a corn dog, you just tell them where to stick that empty corn dog stick of yours because they are The Best! This was my first year here, but I was happy to find all the rides from my childhood: the Zipper, Gravitron, Tilt O Whirl... Maybe they truly are the very same rides. There was a kiddie ride & game area for toddlers as short as 36inches & a big kid/adult area. I liked that they were separate, so the littles wouldn't be run over by the big, rowdy tweens. The Budweiser Draft horses all looked happy as did most of the livestock. The exhibits were very fun, but the one that I was looking forward to seeing that I'd been told they had years' past were the veggies reconstructed by kids into various animals & shapes was not there. It sounded fun, but maybe it will make a return next year. Carnies: When you sell your game to children with the promise of a prize no matter what the outcome you need to follow through. read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

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The park is nice enough but the reservation system this year is a mess. No one is ever in the building where you need to go to get parking passes, etc. The wifi doesnt work because they dont have it setup prpoerly. read more

So disappointing! Power went out during our monster truck show....that we paid extra for! Then we got stuck in the parking lot to leave and it took way over an hour to get out. Yes...no joke! Over an hour...closer to two hours! Our car did not move and there were no attendants there to tell us why we weren't moving or to direct traffic! Thank goodness there was no major emergency as I don't see they have any evacuation process or trained people to help. Also....it's just one big DRUNK fest! Loud, obnoxious and falling all over themselves. Not something your children should be around for sure! For a fair that has been around for years....I thought it would have been better and more organized. Beyond disappointed! :( read more

Conveniently located off highway 20, was able to get a spot midweek, for a smaller unit the same day. Full hook up $40 + $9 reservation. Designated a space beside toliet at entrance, which was noisy and a little dusty. Park is unavailable during any festivals in fairgrounds so plan accordingly. Propane refills available during office hours 9-5 No camp fire pits. No fishing in pond near by, Liz the host says it's just for children to play near. Very pretty, tall pines and near shops/town read more

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Large, flat sites with full hookups and plenty of room to spread out. Nice pond for dog walking (under age 12 for fishing). Gravel and pine needle pads. Relaxing area to set up a chair and read or hang out. We were in the first site and it's far back enough from the road that it felt like a great site. Nice, tall pine trees for shade. Very easy in and out, and great for Nevada City or Grass Valley or local areas exploring. No cable tv here, and you can rent a picnic table for $10 or $20 but nobody does so they're piled up at the office. Bathrooms are as expected for a fairground. Husband said bathrooms are "really nice" and "recently redone" so maybe men's side is better. read more

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Thanks to the relatively cooler weather, this could be one of the best years ever for the County Fair. The pulled pork sandwich on Treat Street is its usual excellent self. The Lazy Dog peppermint ice cream bar, covered in dark chocolate, is superb. Protesters outside Gate 1 are objecting to the elephant rides this year, but they are no problem. Everyone is pretty mellow. And to take care of anyone who is not mellow, there are plenty of uniformed Sheriff's Deputies patrolling the grounds. Went back the last day and tried the baked potato, which was what you might expect, and the barbecued pork ribs, which were a disappointment. read more

Our experience started out rough. Our truck broke down and the fairgrounds would not honor our reservations. They would not allow our 5th wheel to be towed in. We slept at K-Mart for two nights. After our truck was fixed and we still needed to stay at the fairgrounds, they were quite gracious. The park was gorgeous. read more

I believe this is our second visit to this fair. It is a very nice setting for a relaxing day wandering and looking. People seem much more civilized here than at a lot of fairs I have attended. It is just the right size with the right exhibits to make for a perfect day. read more

This is the best fair I have ever been to. I can not wait to go next year! From the animals, workshops, booths, rides and free shows it is awesome! read more

The prettiest fairgrounds I have ever seen! Shady from the big ponderosa pines and always nice crisp evenings. Have to try a cornish pastie! 8-12 August 2007 read more

So I am probably biased as this is my home county fair, but it really is the best in CA. The grounds are so pretty, the food vendors are all local groups, the animals are cute and the giant cinnamon roll vendor is always there for a ass-expanding treat. read more

Sadly, after using the NC Fairgrounds for a decade, the quality of services has continued to deteriorate while the price continues on an increasing upward spiral. Now at $40 per night, the 50 amp power provides just 114 volts max, which if used, puts your electronics at risk, trees impede satellite use, the TV cable in the power box hasn't worked for years, and when it rains the sites quickly turn into mud holes. Adding insult to injury, if you want a picnic table, they now charge an additional $10! The fee for dry camping is now $30 per night - which is ridiculous. Even though I come up each year to visit family, we won't be returning. This park isn't worth $10. The people here are warm & friendly, the water excellent, & the sites are reasonably level. This park could be wonderful with new management & upgraded utilities. Unfortunately the county takes no pride in this facility & it shows. Too bad, as it could be a show place & the public officials could be proud. If planning a visit to this area, I strongly recommend finding an alternative. No one deserves to be ripped off! read more

I've been going to this fair for as long as I can remember, and I love it. If you're looking for a fair with a small town, country atmosphere, then this is the one for you. The livestock exhibits, while getting smaller, are great to see. There are multiple stages playing live music, a rodeo, a decent sized midway, great food, and great art exhibits. A lot of the food vendors are local businesses and community services, so your money isn't just going to some random company. The highlight of the food vendors is Job's Daughters' corn dogs; there is a reason why people wait in line for an hour to get them. As for the safety of the fair, there are plenty of law enforcement officers around to keep everyone safe. Out of the 12+ years that I've been going to this fair, not a single thing has happened while I was there. It is no worse than any other fair, and better than many others. read more

Um yeah, I am a native of GV. Born and raised and still live here!! WooHoo!! So of course I think that the Nevada County Fair is the best fair!! :-) I have been attending the fair since I was 10 months old, so it's family tradition. They have the best of everything...food, exhibits, livestock, music/bands, kids activities, arts/crafts, rides, and of course our local (and some not so local) vendors selling virtually everything and anything . So with all this goodness, can there be anything bad about the fair? Yes....they have removed the "petting zoo" for the kids, and I hope they bring it back soon, as this has made me sad :-( Well, we all can't wait till next year!! read more

Most beautiful fair grounds in all of California! The mid way is set amongst the tall Pine trees the food is incredible and the people are pretty nice too! read more

We stayed three nights to attend family gatherings in our home town (we live two hours out of town). Upsides: Close to the freeway entrances and both Grass Valley and Nevada City. Tall trees and close proximity to the fairgrounds. Quiet. Level sites. 40$ a night. Downsides: Office staff has a difficult time communicating over the phone. Poor signage for entrance. Didn't get the code to unlock the gates in email (hence we waited outside the locked gate until someone came along to open them). In fact, the gates are now locked to prevent homeless and transient populations from gaining access and you need to unlock the lock with a code, open the gate to leave, and then close behind you and lock the lock. This was never explained by the office staff over the phone when we made reservations. When we did get in to the campground our reserved space was occupied and we were moved to a site closer to the road and the street lamp that flooded our rig with light all night. So, not happy with several issues there. Rigs are also jam packed close together in the area where we were (not the pull through site we were promised). Cell service in the area is very spotty. So, depending on what you want out of the stay, it could work for most campers. It served our purpose and saved us exorbitant costs of a motel stay, or the extra exorbitant cost of staying at the InnTown Campground (68$ a night!!) read more

Where do you begin? Overall, it's still the best hometown fair I've ever been to. It has a small town feel and a country atmosphere. Treat street is always a favorite. Jobe's Daughters corndogs are excellent. There's always a line, so I would suggest going early and plan on waiting, but they're worth it. The cinnamon roles are to die for, the corn on the cob is dipped in butter (yum), the tempura has always been fantastic, etc. There are some burgers which leave a lot to be desired, but you can't win 'em all. The livestock area seems to be getting smaller and smaller every year. However it's still worth checking out. It's a good place to chat with local farmers who supply places like Briarpatch, and get to know where your food comes from. The various exhibits give you a wonderful look into the lives of local residents and their talents. The carnies can be a little hit and miss, but that's to be expected, I've never been to a fair where the carnies aren't strange. read more

We enjoyed staying here, though there isn't much to this campground. However, it's a beautiful area and right next to the fairgrounds, which we were able to walk through even though there wasn't anything going on at the time. They were preparing for the fair near the end of our stay, and it then got pretty crowded with some interesting fair vendor types! It was peaceful and comfortable and a good location if you are interested in visiting downtown Grass Valley. Staff was friendly. We'd stay here again. read more

Nevada County Fairgrounds - Fairgrounds near campground - Festivals Near Me - Grass Valley, California

This is a rather small fair but there's plenty of food options and parking is rather inexpensive. We enjoyed it.