Sierra Valley Art + Ag Trail Returns September 19

SIERRA VALLEY — More than 65 artists, makers, farmers, ranchers, historians, and exhibitors will open barns, ranch gates, and workshops across Sierra Valley on Saturday, September 19, for the Sierra Valley Art + Ag Trail. The self-guided tour runs from 9 AM to 4 PM, and visitors set their own route and pace through ranch country in Sierra and Plumas counties.

Much of the trail crosses private land that is otherwise closed to the public. Organizers say the day includes tours of working ranches and privately owned dairy barns, some of them more than a century old and built with hand-hewn timbers and wooden pegs. Sierra Valley once supplied milk, cream, and butter to miners at the Comstock Lode in Virginia City, and several of those barns still serve modern cattle operations. Artists working in wood, paint, glass, ceramics, metal, and fiber set up at the historic sites along the way.

Sites named for the 2026 trail include Sierra Valley Farms, Diamond S Ranch, the Sattley Cash Store, Hollitz Ranch, and the Genasci Barn. Also on the list are Roberti Ranch, Hobo Ranch, the Milton Gottardi Museum, the Old School House, and the Country Craft Bazaar in downtown Loyalton.

Admission is a wristband that comes with a trail map and access to the participating sites. General admission costs $20 on the event’s ticket page, and wristbands are also sold on the day of the event at the trailheads. The event is free for students.

Visitors pick up wristbands and maps at one of three trailheads, which organizers assign by the direction a visitor is driving from. Those coming from Reno are directed to the Sierra Valley Grange in Vinton, those coming from Portola to the Sierra Valley Preserve, and those coming from Truckee to Sierraville School. The preserve’s nature center, run by the Feather River Land Trust, sits at 495 Beckwourth-Calpine Road, also signed as County Road A23, less than a mile south of Highway 70 in Beckwourth.

The Plumas-Sierra Cattlemen’s Association will serve a grab-and-go tri-tip barbecue lunch from 11:30 AM to 2 PM at Loyalton City Park. Lunch is pre-ordered and sold separately from the wristband for $20. High Desert Country Line Dancing will lead line dancing at the park during the lunch hours.

Other stops include a hay maze inside the Roberti Ranch pole barn, a local 4-H petting zoo, the Sierra Valley Yaks, and demonstrations of chuck wagon cooking and indigo dyeing. The Sierra Valley Farms Farmers Market will also be open.

The trail is an event of the Sierra County Arts Council, produced by Musica Sierra with major funding from the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and Plumas Arts. Event information is posted at sierravalleyartagtrail.org.