15 Slow-Paced Small Towns In Northern California Where Life Is Still Simple
By Joanne Kraft|Updated on February 17, 2021(Originally published February 11, 2021)
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Joanne Kraft
Author
Joanne is a fourth-generation Northern Californian. She knows good sour dough bread when she tastes it and understands the best parts of the Golden State are nowhere near Los Angeles.
Looking for some slow-paced small towns in Northern California? Believe it or not, not all of California subscribes to the hustle and bustle of the larger cities. Small towns make up a large portion of NorCal’s physical area and population. In these smaller towns, we like things a certain way: we’re repulsed by traffic and crowds. We’d much rather retreat to a slower pace of life. Lots of us are happy when gargantuan cities around here like San Francisco, Sacramento, and San Jose make the news. It keeps your focus off of us, after all, and that’s how we like it.
Take a peek at some NorCal small towns where we’re just fine living where life is still pretty simple.
Callahan is an unincorporated community in Siskiyou County with a population of 50. First a booming gold rush town and later a booming ranch town, Callahan is now slowly making its way toward the status of ghost town.
A town of 3600 people, Weaverville is in Trinity County. Back in the gold rush days there were over 2,000 Chinese gold miners here. This tiny town had its very own Chinatown. Pretty cool, right!?
Archaeological digs place humans here since well before recorded history. In the spring of 1848, a group of French miners camped at the river and discovered gold. A local Auburn dentist created this sculpture of the discovery by Claude Chana so many years ago. A giant of a piece, it's an awesome spot for a photo.
John and Daniel Murphy were the first to immigrate here and bring wagons over the Sierras. While gold was the moneymaker here, it was their merchant business that brought in huge profits. The population was around 2200 in the last census. This town was once a booming gold magnet. Folks came from all over to strike it rich in Murphys, and many succeeded. Miners were only allowed eight square miles to mine, and, even then, many were successful.
Neighbors with Mendocino, this tiny town boasts a population of 168 souls. Named in 1844 after Sir Francis Drake's reference to his name for California "New Albion" which means white after the white cliffs of dover. Small town living at its finest right here.
Founded in 1846, Benicia was originally going to be named "Francesca" after General Vallejo's wife, Francisca Benicia Carillo de Vallejo. But, San "Francisco" beat them to the name-punch. A lovely, unassuming bayside town, this was where the Zodiac killer began his notorious legacy in December 1968. Yikes!
With an approximate population of 2368, Hayfork was originally called named Nor'el Pom, after a Native American tribe that lived in the area. This small town lays claim to just 72.1 square miles, and .03% of it is water. That's a lot of trees!
Located about as far north as you can go in beautiful Northern California is the little town of Hornbrook. The town is actually getting smaller, according to the last census. The population today stands at just around 248 folks.
NOT to be confused with Eureka (only someone from SoCal would do that). Yreka was once upon a time the capital of the movement to form the State of Jefferson. Over 7300 people make their home here; some historians believe Yreka gets its name from Native Americans who lived around Shasta. Their language was called "Waika", however, author Mark Twain argued a different story. According to him: "There was a bakeshop with a canvas sign which had not yet been put up, but had been painted and stretched to dry in such a way that the word BAKERY, all but the B, showed through and was reversed. A stranger read it wrong end first, YREKA, and supposed that that was the name of the camp. The campers were satisfied with it, and adopted it."
Located right in the heart of gold rush country, there's debate over how Cool, California got its name. Some believe a transient hitchhiker referred to the town this way years ago, while others are standing on more solid history, claiming it to be the name of preacher Peter Y. Cool. Either way, there are 4100 people who think this place is really... cool (sorry, I couldn't help myself).
Ever heard of the small town of Arbuckle? Over 2300 people have, because they live here. A mostly agricultural spot, they're known for growing almonds, and we'd love to know what else. Do you know?
Formerly known as "Occident," Maxwell is a farming community of around 1100 people in Colusa County, California. The main crop-of-choice is rice, but that's not all! They also grow grapes, almonds, squash, and sunflowers.
With a population of approximately 14,947 people, and located in San Joaquin County, Ripon was previously known as both Murphy's Ferry and Stanislaus City. Eventually, "Ripon" stuck. Known for their almonds, this small town is just 5.5 square miles!
Located in El Dorado County, this town has a population of just 50 people! Blink, and you'll no-doubt miss it. It's just 3/25th of a square mile of history; it was made popular in the 1850s as a resort town when the Pony Express rode through. Today, it's quite sleepy.
This town was known during the gold rush as "Growlersberg" because the gold nuggets were so big they "growled" in the miners' pockets. Established in 1849, a fire ripped through the town in 1851. When the town rebuilt, they proudly considered their small town "the pride of the mountains." Gold was such a hot commodity here that mining went on well into the 20th century. There are still gold miners who camp out in the forest there today - trespassing on their claims is still a bad, bad thing. We advise that you don't.
Yes, we know we didn’t include every single small town. But, we bet you haven’t heard of a few of these, right? Let us know which small towns YOU could live in forever!
Craving some more Northern California goodness? Check out this article for our picks of 21 places in NorCal that you MUST see before you shuffle off this mortal coil.
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Slow-Paced Small Towns in Northern California
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What are some Northern California hiking trails?
You can take your pick of literally hundreds, if not more! Some of our very favorite NorCal hiking spots include Stout Grove Trail, which takes you among the mighty redwoods, the trails at Eagle Lake, and Ediza Lake Trail, where you'll forget you're still in California and might suspect you crossed into Alaska. For a complete list of our favorite Northern California hiking trails all in one place, take a look at this article!
Are there scenic spots in Northern California?
Northern California is arguably some of the most beautiful land in the United States. The coastline alone is jam-packed with hundreds of stops, all of which are stunningly beautiful in their own ways. Don't miss out on places like Carmel-By-The-Sea, a little NorCal town where the homes (and the beach) will remind you of an enchanted fairy-tale locale; in fact, you just can't pass up the coastal California drive on Highway 1, which is considered the tip-top of the best that the west coast has to offer.
What is a good time to hike in Northern California?
There's good hiking in Northern California all year round, but the most popular months, by far, are the summer months. However, due to that popularity, we encourage adventurers to get out at other times of year, too, because NorCal is ridiculously beautiful even during the cooler months. It does snow up here, though, so definitely make sure to check the forecast when you're planning your NorCal hiking trip.
