12 Best Ghost Towns To Visit In California

California is home to many historical towns that thrived in the 1800s, thanks to the abundance of gold, silver, and oil that was mined in the State.

Over time, these towns were abandoned, leaving behind empty houses, streets, and decay. Many of them have since been restored and are open to the public for visitation.

If you feel like stepping back in time, I cover 12 of the best ghost towns to visit in California.

Whether you’re a history buff or looking for unique stops to see on a road trip, add these ghost towns to your California bucket list!

Tip: Be sure to check out my interactive Google Map at the end of the post to see which of these ghost towns is closest to you.

1. Bodie State Historic Park

Bodie State Historic Park is one of the most famous ghost towns in California.

Bodie State Historic Park is one of the best-preserved and most visited ghost towns in California. The town is named after W.S. Bodey, who discovered gold here in 1859.

It is a bit of a drive to get to Bodie State Historic Park. This ghost town is located near Bridgeport off Highway 395, about an hour drive north of Mammoth Lakes.

You will need to take a dirt road for a bit to get there, but any passenger car can easily make it. There is no food or gas at this historic park, so be sure to stock up on supplies before heading out there.

The last mine at Bodie State Historic Park closed in 1942, and since then, the town has stayed in a state of arrested decay. Instead of restoring the buildings, they are rather preserved in their original state.

On your visit, you’ll see original structures as they stood in the 1800s, creating a sense of traveling back in time. There used to be around 2000 structures, but after two major fires, it’s now down to only 110 to 170 buildings.

As you walk around, you’ll be able to peek inside the various houses and see how people used to live here 150 years ago. Some of the most notable buildings that you’ll see are the bank, general store, hotel, post office, school, and church.

Cost: Entrance costs $8 for adults, $5 for youth, and kids under 3 are free.

2. Calico Ghost Town

Calico Ghost Town in Southern California.

Located in San Bernardino County, Calico Ghost Town is one of the best historical mining towns to visit in Southern California. The town was established in 1881, but abandoned soon after.

Unlike other California mining towns, this is a ‘silver rush ghost town’, not a gold one. The Calico mines produced $86 million in silver, which made it the top silver-producing mine in the 1880s.

Calico Ghost Town is very well preserved, but it’s also a lot more commercialized than Bodie State Historic Park. This former mining town was purchased by Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm and turned into a ‘theme park’ style attraction.

Many of the town’s buildings have been converted into various shops, gift stores, and restaurants. There’s even a pet store on site!

If you wish to stay overnight, you can book a campground, a rustic cabin, or a mini-bunkhouse for the ultimate ghost town experience.

Cost: The admission is $8 for adults, $5 for youth (ages 4-11), and kids under 3 are free.

3. Mentryville Park

Pico Cottage in Mentryville California — Built in 1880, Pico Cottage was the home of Charles Alexander Mentry, who drilled the first commercially successful oil well in the western US.

Mentryville Park is a historic oil boom town in the Santa Clarita region that served as the base for oil operations in Pico Canyon from 1880 to 1930. Home to historic buildings and beautiful hiking trails, this is the perfect destination for history buffs and nature lovers.

At Mentryville Park, you can walk around and see old wooden buildings that remain after the town was disassembled and abandoned in the 1930s, once the oil industry here slowed down.

Felton School at Mentryville Park — Felton School was built in 1885 to accommodate the 100 families that lived in Pico Canyon during the oil boom.

During your visit, you will see an old school, a mansion, a barn, and a house that was built for a movie set.

This location is also the starting point for the Pico Canyon Trail, which leads to Pico Well Number 4, the first commercially successful oil well in California.

Cost: It costs $5 to visit Mentryville Park. You can pay the fee at the pay machine upon arrival.

4. Columbia State Historic Park

Columbia State Historic Park is home to 30 historical buildings that were built during the Gold Rush times.

Columbia State Historic Park is a unique destination located a 1.5-hour drive east of Stockton. I spent a day in this historic town while visiting Sonora and the surrounding small towns.

Unlike other California ghost towns, Columbia State Historic Park is a living town with real businesses that operate today.

This park covers around 30 buildings that date back to the Gold Rush times in the 1850s. As you walk around, you can stop by various gift shops, candy stores, a blacksmith shop, a saloon, a firehouse, and take a ride in a stagecoach.

Cost: It is free to visit and walk around the Columbia State Historic Park.

Visitor Tip: If you’re looking for something else to do in the area, I highly recommend taking a tour of the nearby Moaning Caverns Adventure Park. This site is home to the largest single cave chamber in California!

5. Silver City Ghost Town

Historic buildings at Silver City Ghost Town — Silver City Ghost Town is one of the best ghost towns in Central California.

Silver City Ghost Town is a small museum and a ghost town in Bodfish, just an hour drive northeast of Bakersfield. This is a great spot to visit for Central California locals planning a trip to Lake Isabella.

There are about 20 western-style buildings preserved at the Silver City Ghost Town that were transported here from the local area.

During your visit, you’ll see a saloon, a bank, a post office, residential cabins, and a jail. All of the buildings featured at this museum are at least 100 years old!

Cost: Silver City Ghost Town is privately owned. The entrance fee is $7.50 per person to visit it.

6. Shasta State Historic Park

Shasta State Historic Park in California (Photo courtesy of California State Parks, 2025).

Shasta State Historic Park is a small historic town that you can see while traveling through Northern California. This park is located off Highway 299, just 15 minutes west of Redding.

Here you can walk around and see about a dozen red brick buildings from the 1850s. At the time, Shasta town had the longest row of brick buildings north of San Francisco.

Shasta was established in 1849 after gold was found in the nearby Clear Creek. Soon after the gold ran out, the town remained and ended up becoming the main supply center for miners in Northern California.

As you walk around, you can read various information plaques about the town’s history. Some of the businesses that used to operate here include a bakery, saloon, hotel, bank, grocery store, and clothing store.

Cost: The museum entry fee is $3 for adults, $2 for kids, and kids under 5 are free.

7. Cerro Gordo Mines

Cerro Gordo Mines near Lone Pine, California (photo by @cerro.gordo.ca).

If you’re into hidden gems and unique attractions, plan a visit to Cerro Gordo Mines! Established in 1865, this was once one of the most profitable silver mines in California, producing nearly $500 million in silver and other minerals.

A YouTuber, Brent, purchased Cerro Gordo Mines in 2020. Brent now lives and restores the town and vlogs about it on his channel, Ghost Town Living, which has nearly 2 million followers.

The town is now open to visitors, but it’s not the easiest of ghost towns to visit in California. It is located up on a remote mountain near Lone Pine and Death Valley.

You will need to take a windy, single-lane dirt road to get there. A high clearance vehicle or 4WD is highly recommended to reach it safely. But the views of the Owens Valley and the surrounding Sierra Nevada mountains along the way are well worth the drive!

Cost: It is free to visit the town. It is open to visitors every day from 9 am to 5 pm.

8. Empire Mine State Historic Park

Empire Mine State Historic Park in California (Photo courtesy of California State Parks, 2025).

While Empire Mine State Historic Park is not exactly a ghost town, it is home to one of the largest mining sites in California that operated for more than 100 years.

Empire Mine State Historic Park is located near Grass Valley, about an hour’s drive north of Sacramento. Here you can visit and walk around one of the oldest, richest, and deepest gold mines in California.

Since its establishment in 1850, this site has produced over $120 million in gold. It eventually shut down in 1957 after the mine was no longer profitable. It was turned into a State Historic Park in 1975.

On your visit, you can walk around on your own or take a guided 45-minute tour of the grounds. Here you can see various mining buildings, the cottage where the owners used to live, beautiful gardens, and even go on hiking trails.

Cost: $5 for adults, kids under 5 are free.

9. Ballarat Ghost Town

Ballarat Ghost Town at the edge of Death Valley National Park.

Ballarat Ghost Town is one of the most remote ghost towns that you can visit in California. It is located deep in the Death Valley region, far away from civilization. If you plan to visit it, be sure to stock up on gas and supplies before heading out there.

Ballarat served the nearby mining camps from 1897 to 1917 after gold was discovered in this area. The Ballarat mines extracted 15,000 tons of gold valued at over a million dollars before shutting down in 1903.

During the peak times, it was home to 3 hotels, a post office, a bank, a jail, a school, and seven saloons. Notoriously, it did not have a church like many other gold mining towns.

After the gold ran out, miners started to leave, and the town’s population dropped. The post office shut down in 1917, marking the end of this town. Now only the jail and a few other buildings remain.

Visitor Tip: It’s best to visit Ballarat Ghost Town in the cooler seasons from Fall to Spring. Avoid traveling to Death Valley in the summer when temperatures reach over 110°F.

Cost: It is free to see the town, but donations are encouraged.

10. Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park

Historical buildings at North Bloomfield ghost town within Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park (Photo courtesy of California State Parks, 2025).

Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park is one of the most unique mining destinations in California. Located near Grass Valley and Nevada City, this area was the site of the North Bloomfield mining town and the largest hydraulic gold mine in California.

North Bloomfield town was established in 1852 after gold was found in Humbug Creek. North Bloomfield remains a well-preserved ghost town with many original buildings still standing intact.

Hydraulic mining was an effective but very destructive way to mine for gold in California. This method used giant cannons to shoot large amounts of water at a mountain, stripping away the sand to reveal the gold underneath. Visitors can now hike around the forest and see abandoned cannons and eroded cliffs carved out by the water.

Eroded mountains at Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park from hydraulic mining.

Eventually, this type of mining was outlawed because it was disastrous not only for nature but for the farming community as well. As the runoff water from the mines reached the valley below, it contaminated the water, leading to major disagreements between the industries.

Visitor tip: On Saturdays, you can take a guided tour of the North Bloomfield mining town.

Cost: The vehicle day-use fee is $10.

11. Randsburg

General Store at Randsburg town in California.

Randsburg is a small ghost town just off Highway 395 in the Mojave Desert. This is a living ghost town with businesses still operating there.

Randsburg was established in 1895 after gold was discovered on the Rand Mountain. This town grew quickly, and by 1899, it was home to more than 3500 residents. Over the years of its mining operations, Randsburg produced more than $60 million in gold. Now, fewer than 100 residents call it home.

Many of the original buildings here are still intact and have been turned into businesses, while others have been abandoned and left for natural decay.

Visitors can see an old jail, visit the saloon, peek inside a barber shop that still has the original furniture, see old abandoned cars, mining equipment, and even a historic train.

Cost: Free to visit the town and walk around.

12. Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine

Old wooden building at Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine in Mammoth Lakes, California.

Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine is a hidden little gem just outside of Mammoth Lakes town. Not many people know of its existence, which makes it even more special.

Located at the beginning of the Heart Lake Trail, this historic mining settlement is located in a forest. You can access it from the Duck Pass Trailhead parking lot at the end of Coldwater Campground.

Old mining equipment abandoned in the forest at Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine.

After silver and gold deposits were discovered in the Mammoth Lakes region, this mining town was built and operated from 1927-1933.

Here you can walk around and explore paths leading to mining offices, wooden cabins, a school, a mill, and see various abandoned mining equipment.

After checking out the mines, I recommend hiking the 2.4-mile-long Heart Lake Trail that leads to a heart-shaped alpine lake.

Cost: It is free to visit Mammoth Consolidated Gold Mine and hike the Heart Lake Trail.

Map Of Ghost Towns In California:

Map Tip: Click on each location to see more details!

I hope this post has helped you discover some of the best ghost towns in California to add to your travel bucket list!

Looking for more things to do in California? Be sure to check out these popular posts next:

This post is written by Laura. Hi, I’m a California local and the founder of the California Wanderland travel blog. I currently live in Ventura County and help 50,000 readers a month discover things to do in Central California! Read more about me here.

Pin This For Later!