Grass Valley, Calif.— On Saturday, August 24th, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., enjoy a treasured local tradition at Empire Mine State Historic Park!
Miner’s Picnic, which began in 1895 as a benefit for the families of deceased miners, is an opportunity for visitors to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy on the historic park grounds, accompanied by live music and performances by the Nevada County Tommyknocker Cloggers, Fire in the Kitchen, Blended Metal Saxophone, and Buffalo Crossing.
There will also be historic children’s games, hard rock mining activities to try your hand at, and mine yard volunteers blacksmithing and running the mining equipment. The historic buildings on the lush estate grounds will be open for viewing for the duration of the event. Orlo Steele, the last living miner that worked the Empire Mines, will share his mining memories and answer questions at the mine shaft.
The Mine Disaster Rescue melodrama returns this year! Witness the traditional reenactment of the 1888 mine explosion, with Grass Valley Fire Department’s vintage fire truck responding to treat the “injured miners.”
The park opens at 10:00 a.m., and the activities and entertainment begin at 11:00 a.m. Ice cream, hot dogs and Cornish pasties will be available for purchase, or bring your own lunch. Don’t forget the picnic blanket!
Entrance fee is $5 per person; age 5 and under are free. Fourth Graders and their families get in free with the California State Parks Adventure Pass (please obtain pass prior to arrival; visit www.parks.ca.gov/AdventurePass for information).
For more details about this year’s Miner’s Picnic, visit “Upcoming Events” on www.parks.ca.gov/EmpireMine. This annual event is organized in cooperation with the Sierra Gold Parks Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports educational and interpretive programs for the three California State Parks in Western Nevada County.
When: Saturday, August 24, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
The park is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Empire Mine State Historic Park, 10791 East Empire Street, Grass Valley CA.
Directions: From Auburn, drive 24 miles north on Highway 49 to Empire Street exit in Grass Valley
Cost: $5 per person; age 5 and under are free.
Fourth Graders and their families: free with the California State Parks Adventure Pass
Empire Mine State Historic Park is the site of one of the oldest, deepest, and richest gold mines in California. In operation for more than 100 years, the mine extracted 5.8 million ounces of gold before it closed in 1956. The park contains many of the mine’s buildings, the owner’s home and restored gardens, as well as the entrance to 367 miles of abandoned and flooded mine shafts. The park also encompasses 856 acres of forested backcountry and fourteen miles of trails.