Northern California is amazing thanks to our little known rural areas that are the perfect remedy for the stress and chaos of a busy city life. People from all over the world dream about our amazing lush forests, our rolling hills, our mountain visits and our rural way of life. If you weren’t already thinking about leaving city life behind and heading out into the country, you will after reading this list!
- Volcano
Flickr/ Craig Howell
Flickr/ Linda Tanner This quaint Amador County town was named for its setting in a bowl-shaped valley which early miners thought was caused by a volcano. It has numerous gold rush attractions and historical sites to discover.
- Pollock Pines
Flickr/ Thomas Hawk
Flickr/ Ray Bouknight If you love the mountains and being surrounded by tall pines, then this is the place for you. One of the original Pony Express stations was located here and you will love summer walks at Jenkinson (also known as Sly Park) lake.
- St. Helena
Flickr/ Terri Hodges
Flickr/ Ianan This Napa Count wine town is off the beaten path and incredibly cute. If you still want to be relatively close to the city but feel like you are off the grid, St. Helena could definitely be your new home.
- Coloma
Flickr/ PunkToad
Flickr/ Nick Ares This tiny community on the banks of the South Fork of the American River is your quintessential motherload town. In fact, it is where gold was first discovered in California! Walk along the river, hike in the rolling hills, and take in the history at the local state park. Whatever sounds fun, this close community is a great place to live.
- Carrick
Flickr/ Michael (a.k.a. moik) McCullough
Flickr/ Gina Collecchia This Siskiyou County town near Weed is located just off of the I-5 corridor, meaning that you can take in all the beauty of the Mt. Shasta area and avoid some of the traffic that stops in off the interstate. You will be charmed by the surrounding natural beauty.
- Hayfork
Flickr/ Gary Robertson
Flickr/LukeWhyte Unsurprisingly named for the plethora of account of hay fields near the South Fork Trinity River, this rural community is all about country living.
- Wilbur Springs
Flickr/ Meg Lauber
Flickr/Meg Lauber Wilbur Springs is an amazingly scenic area where you can totally get a break from the city life. Go for a soak in the hot springs or a hike in the hills!
- Geyserville
Flickr/ tq2cute
Flickr/Roy Luck Geyserville, located on the Rancho Tzabaco Mexican land grant, owes its foundation to the discovery in 1847 of a series of hot springs, fumaroles, and steam vents in a gorge in the mountains of Sonoma County, California, between Calistoga and Cloverdale. It’s another fun wine town where you have plenty of sophistication and country charm.
- Calpella
Flickr/ Antti T. Nissinen
Flickr/ Antti T. Nissinen If you are ready to beat the heat, this town on the banks of the Russian River will sound perfect. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °.
- Happy Camp
Flickr/ Robert Ashworth
Flickr/ Tony Webster The town of Happy Camp is known as the “The Heart of the Klamath” and is located on State Route 96. It was given this name by miners in times of prosperity, but it’s also a fun and incredibly happy place to make a home.
- Chester
Flickr/Ride to dine
Flickr/ Dan O’Brien This Plumas County town by Lake Alamanor is a place that depends on tourism and lumber as its primary industries. It’s a scenic and community oriented place that is easy to fall in love with.
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Flickr/ Craig Howell
Flickr/ Linda Tanner
This quaint Amador County town was named for its setting in a bowl-shaped valley which early miners thought was caused by a volcano. It has numerous gold rush attractions and historical sites to discover.
Flickr/ Thomas Hawk
Flickr/ Ray Bouknight
If you love the mountains and being surrounded by tall pines, then this is the place for you. One of the original Pony Express stations was located here and you will love summer walks at Jenkinson (also known as Sly Park) lake.
Flickr/ Terri Hodges
Flickr/ Ianan
This Napa Count wine town is off the beaten path and incredibly cute. If you still want to be relatively close to the city but feel like you are off the grid, St. Helena could definitely be your new home.
Flickr/ PunkToad
Flickr/ Nick Ares
This tiny community on the banks of the South Fork of the American River is your quintessential motherload town. In fact, it is where gold was first discovered in California! Walk along the river, hike in the rolling hills, and take in the history at the local state park. Whatever sounds fun, this close community is a great place to live.
Flickr/ Michael (a.k.a. moik) McCullough
Flickr/ Gina Collecchia
This Siskiyou County town near Weed is located just off of the I-5 corridor, meaning that you can take in all the beauty of the Mt. Shasta area and avoid some of the traffic that stops in off the interstate. You will be charmed by the surrounding natural beauty.
Flickr/ Gary Robertson
Flickr/LukeWhyte
Unsurprisingly named for the plethora of account of hay fields near the South Fork Trinity River, this rural community is all about country living.
Flickr/ Meg Lauber
Flickr/Meg Lauber
Wilbur Springs is an amazingly scenic area where you can totally get a break from the city life. Go for a soak in the hot springs or a hike in the hills!
Flickr/ tq2cute
Flickr/Roy Luck
Geyserville, located on the Rancho Tzabaco Mexican land grant, owes its foundation to the discovery in 1847 of a series of hot springs, fumaroles, and steam vents in a gorge in the mountains of Sonoma County, California, between Calistoga and Cloverdale. It’s another fun wine town where you have plenty of sophistication and country charm.
Flickr/ Antti T. Nissinen
If you are ready to beat the heat, this town on the banks of the Russian River will sound perfect. This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °.
Flickr/ Robert Ashworth
Flickr/ Tony Webster
The town of Happy Camp is known as the “The Heart of the Klamath” and is located on State Route 96. It was given this name by miners in times of prosperity, but it’s also a fun and incredibly happy place to make a home.
Flickr/Ride to dine
Flickr/ Dan O’Brien
This Plumas County town by Lake Alamanor is a place that depends on tourism and lumber as its primary industries. It’s a scenic and community oriented place that is easy to fall in love with.
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