The Complete List of Ghost Towns in California

California’s abandoned settlements trace the state’s fast-changing past: mining strikes, railroad shifts, and once-thriving agricultural towns left behind weathered buildings and empty streets. Walking these sites offers a quiet way to connect with local history, landscape variety, and stories you won’t find in guidebooks.

There are 35 Ghost Towns in California, ranging from Allensworth to Tumco. For each entry the list includes County,Country,Coordinates (lat,long),Description (30-50 words). All details are in the table you’ll find below.

Can I visit these ghost towns in person and are they safe to explore?

Many sites are accessible, but access varies: some are on public land, others on private property or protected areas. Check local rules, watch for fragile structures, tell someone your plan, and avoid night visits—seasonal weather and remoteness affect safety.

How reliable are the coordinates and short descriptions for planning a trip?

Coordinates and 30–50 word descriptions are drawn from historical records and mapping sources, but conditions change. Use the coordinates with a current map app, confirm access and road conditions locally, and treat descriptions as starting points for further research.

Ghost Towns in California

Images and Descriptions

Bodie

A classic Gold Rush town preserved in “arrested decay.” Bodie State Historic Park features over 100 standing buildings and a stamp mill filled with artifacts. Accessible by paved and dirt roads (seasonal closures). Park entrance fee required; no commercial services on site.

Calico

An 1880s silver boomtown, now a restored county park. Calico features a mix of original and reconstructed buildings, mine tours, and tourist attractions. It offers a commercialized but accessible ghost town experience with shops and food. An entrance fee is required to visit.

Cerro Gordo

An 1860s silver and lead boomtown overlooking Owens Lake. Numerous well-preserved buildings, including a hotel and hoist works, remain. The town is privately owned with extremely limited access, occasionally offered through pre-booked guided tours. Check their official website for any public visiting opportunities.

Ballarat

A supply town for prospectors from the 1890s at the edge of Death Valley. Today, a few adobe ruins, a cemetery, and a small store remain, managed by a caretaker. This rustic site is accessible by a graded dirt road suitable for most passenger cars.

Allensworth

The only California town founded, financed, and governed by African Americans. Established in 1908, it is now Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. Restored buildings tell its unique story. The park is easily accessible and offers a powerful look at early 20th-century history.

Shasta

Once the “Queen City” of Northern California’s 1850s mining district. Now a State Historic Park, it features impressive brick ruins of stores, a restored courthouse museum, and gallows. Located directly off Highway 299, this major commercial hub of the past is very easy to visit.

North Bloomfield

An 1860s hydraulic mining town within Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park. The massive mining pit is the main feature, along with several preserved town buildings, a museum, and a campground. The park is accessible via paved and dirt roads, which can close in winter.

Mentryville

A pioneering 1880s oil boomtown located in Pico Canyon. Now a historic park, it features the restored mansion of its founder, a period schoolhouse, and a barn. Easily accessible, it offers a unique look into California’s early oil industry. Popular for easy hiking.

Masonic

A remote gold mining camp from the early 1900s, north of Bodie. Substantial wooden ruins of the town and several mill sites remain. Accessible only by a rough, high-clearance 4WD road, offering a rugged and authentic ghost town experience for adventurous explorers.

Bennettville

A high-altitude 1880s silver mining camp near Tioga Pass. Two restored log cabins and the collapsed Great Sierra Mine tunnel are highlights. It’s an easy, short hike from the trailhead off Tioga Road (Hwy 120), making it a scenic and accessible stop in summer.

Panamint City

A legendary 1870s silver boomtown hidden in the Panamint Mountains. A prominent brick smokestack and numerous stone ruins of the town and smelter remain. Visiting requires a strenuous, 5+ mile hike up a rugged canyon, suitable only for experienced and well-prepared backpackers.

Skidoo

A 1900s gold mining town in Death Valley National Park. The site features the extensive ruins of the Skidoo Mill, with large wooden frames and machinery foundations, along with a small cemetery. It is accessible via a graded dirt road suitable for most vehicles.

Leadfield

A 1920s mining scam town in Death Valley’s Titus Canyon. Visitors can see several metal shacks, mine shafts, and concrete foundations. It is located along the scenic, one-way Titus Canyon Road, which requires a high-clearance vehicle and is subject to weather closures.

Ryan

A 1914 borax mining camp near Death Valley with a well-preserved complex of miners’ cabins, a church, and school. Now owned by the Death Valley Conservancy, access is typically restricted to special tours. Check their website for opportunities to visit this unique, preserved site.

Manzanar

A WWII camp where over 11,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated. Now a National Historic Site, it preserves sentry posts, a cemetery, and reconstructed barracks. The interpretive center provides a powerful, somber experience. Located directly off Highway 395 and is highly accessible.

Darwin

A remote 1870s silver-lead mining town, now home to a few dozen residents. Visitors can see the old schoolhouse, numerous mining structures, and quirky desert art. Public roads enter the town, but respect private property as it is still an active, eclectic community.

Garlock

An 1890s gold rush town that predated the Randsburg boom. A few weathered wooden buildings, stone foundations, and a cemetery mark the site. Located on a dirt road just off the main highway, it’s an easily accessible and evocative stop in the Mojave Desert.

Saltdale

A 20th-century company town for salt harvesting from Koehn Dry Lake. Extensive concrete foundations, ruins of the processing plant, and remnants of the townsite are visible. It is located on public land and easily accessible via dirt roads just south of Highway 58.

Kelso

A former railroad depot town in the Mojave National Preserve. The restored 1924 depot now serves as the preserve’s visitor center. While the depot is active, the surrounding townsite is abandoned, with building foundations, a jail, and other ruins offering a glimpse into railroad history.

Amboy

An iconic, nearly-abandoned Route 66 town famous for its mid-century Roy’s Motel and Cafe sign. While the gas station is often open, the rest of the town, including a school and church, is abandoned. It’s a popular stop for photographers and historians.

Dale

A remote gold mining district active from the 1890s to the 1940s. The site is split into Old Dale and New Dale, with extensive stone and concrete ruins, mine headframes, and abandoned equipment. High-clearance 4WD is required to explore the rugged desert tracks.

Drawbridge

A former railroad stop from the 1880s, now a sinking ghost town in the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge. Its dilapidated buildings are famously tilting into the marsh. Access is strictly prohibited and dangerous due to unstable structures; it can only be viewed from a distance.

Tumco

A major gold mining town from the 1890s, also known as Picacho. Located within Picacho State Recreation Area, the site features impressive foundations of a massive stamp mill, cyanide vats, and a cemetery. Accessible via a long, sandy dirt road, often requiring 4WD.

Hart

A short-lived but rich gold boomtown from 1907, near the Nevada border in Mojave National Preserve. Numerous stone ruins of buildings and a small, poignant cemetery remain. Accessible via sandy roads that often require a 4WD vehicle to reach this isolated site.

Coolgardie

A dry-placer gold mining camp from the early 1900s. The site is notable for its extensive and well-built stone ruins of numerous structures scattered across a wide area. It is located on public land near Barstow and is accessible via dirt roads, requiring high clearance.

Ivanpah

An 1870s silver mining camp that later supported the railroad in the Mojave National Preserve. Foundations, mine workings, and a well-preserved cemetery can be found. The site is remote and requires navigating a network of sandy 4WD roads south of the modern power plant.

Cima

A former railroad town in the Mojave National Preserve, now sparsely populated. Key remaining structures include the abandoned post office, store, and several homes. Cima serves as a quiet, atmospheric starting point for exploring the nearby Cima Dome and Joshua Tree forest.

Jamison City

An 1850s gold mining town near Johnsville, now within Plumas-Eureka State Park. Stone foundations, a small cemetery, and mining remnants are visible along a gentle interpretive trail. The nearby park museum details the area’s rich mining history, making for an educational visit.

La Porte

A major 1850s hydraulic mining town, once a county seat, now a tiny mountain community with only a few dozen residents. Historic buildings, including a hotel and store, still stand. Paved road access makes it an easy visit, though services are very limited.

Banner

An 1870s gold boomtown nestled in Banner Canyon below Julian. While a few residents remain, the area is scattered with stone ruins, old mine sites, and the small Banner Queen store. The drive through the canyon on Highway 78 offers glimpses into its past.

Carrizo Stage Station

An important stop on the Butterfield Overland Mail route from 1858-1861. The adobe and stone ruins of the station are now a landmark within Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. It’s a remote site accessible via a sandy 4WD road, offering a taste of frontier travel.

Providence

A 19th-century silver mining camp in the Providence Mountains, now within Mojave National Preserve. Only stone foundations and a small, fenced cemetery remain today. Access is via a rugged 4WD road, making it a challenging but rewarding destination for dedicated explorers.

Keeler

A former railroad and silver smelting town on the desolate shores of Owens Lake. Once bustling, it now has fewer than 50 residents. Visitors can see the old depot, numerous abandoned structures, and the vast, surreal landscape of the dry lakebed. Accessible via Highway 136.

Ludlow

A former railroad water stop and mining supply center. While a small gas station serves I-40 travelers, the original townsite across the tracks has extensive ruins, a pioneer cemetery, and crumbling foundations that tell the story of its more prosperous days on Route 66.

Greenwater

A massive but short-lived copper boomtown from 1906, located in the Black Mountains of Death Valley. The town once boasted thousands of residents but vanished quickly. Today, only scattered debris, street grids, and mine depressions remain. Accessible via a rough 4WD road.

Ghost Towns in Other US States