Selecting the top ghost towns is a very personal choice. While some tourists prefer more bleak outposts left in eloquent ruin, others enjoy the theme park experience with gunfights and activities.
We have created a picturesque route that offers you both extremes: a 500-mile trip through some of California’s most breathtaking, isolated, and untamed scenery.
You may truly experience what life was like for the daring explorers of the Gold Rush era here, a world away from Los Angeles’ celebrity sightings and wine country in Napa Valley.
Bodie
Bodie, located high up (about 8,300 feet) in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevadas, is another three and a half hours north of Cerro Gordo. After a prospector named W.S. Bodey found a gold seam in 1859, it began as a mill and mining settlement.
With about 10,000 residents and all the facilities you’d expect from an Old West boomtown, including gambling dens, brothels, and a total of 65 saloons, the colony grew over the following few decades to become the third-largest city in California.
The town is now preserved in a gorgeous state of halted deterioration by California State Parks.The buildings are kept in their original Gold Rush condition rather than being renovated.
Because of this, Bodie is a picturesque ghost town that welcomes about 200,000 tourists annually, but it feels more genuine than some of the more popular locations like Calico or the family-friendly Goldfield activities in nearby Arizona.
You can explore the village for $8 ($5 for kids), but it’s well worth the money. But watch out for Bodie’s spectral reputation—it’s said that if you take anything out of the town, a horrible curse will come after you.
Ballarat
Ballarat is a much more isolated ghost town located two and a half hours north of Calico’s comparatively brilliant lights. The remote community began as a supply hub for miners operating in the Panamint Mountain Range in 1897, straddling a crossroads on the outside of Death Valley National Park.
Food and water had to be shipped in because the conditions were so bad. At its height, Ballarat had about 500 inhabitants, but the harsh weather and desolate surroundings quickly deterred many of them. Nevertheless, Ballarat was never entirely deserted.
Charles Manson and his followers resided in the neighboring Barker Ranch until their arrest in 1969, while a couple of elderly prospectors stayed there for decades.
A few resilient people still live in Ballarat today, such as the proprietor of the local store that also serves as a tiny museum. Another aspect of the draw is that there isn’t much to see.
The only true indication that this was once a bustling town are a few dilapidated buildings, and a rusty abandoned truck that the Mansons left behind is a popular spot for pictures.
You may Also Read:
- 7 Chilling Locations in and Around New York: Where to Watch Out
- Must-Visit: The Creepiest Ghost Towns in California You Need to Experience
- Ghostly Encounters: The 5 Spookiest Haunted Locations in Georgia
Cerro Gordo
A hard dirt road off Highway 136 takes you 4 miles into the hills to Cerro Gordo, another former silver settlement, after you continue north through Death Valley for a few more hours from Ballarat.
After a significant amount of silver ore was found nearby in 1865, “Fat Hill” (in Spanish) grew into a thriving community with 4,000 residents at its height.
In 1877, a devastating fire destroyed most of the silver mining infrastructure in Cerro Gordo, ending its heyday. In 2020, an electrical fire swept through the town once more, impeding efforts to make it a tourist destination.
Cerro Gordo is currently privately owned by two friends who are passionate about reviving the town. One of them, influencer and businessman Brent Underwood, has been living alone in the town for more than four years while managing the rehabilitation of buildings like the hotel, which got a new roof in September 2024.
Cerro Gordo remains a fairly well-preserved ghost town despite the setbacks.
Final Thoughts
These three abandoned communities provide a window into California’s past, each with its own distinct beauty and history.
These deserted towns have something to offer everyone, whether you’re looking for a frightening adventure, a historical experience, or just a peaceful getaway.
Thus, gather your belongings and set out on a historical expedition to discover the relics of California’s mining heyday and the legends that cling to its eroded exterior.
