11 amazing, authentic ghost towns worth a road trip from L.A.

2hr from L.A.

Okay, so this technically was never a real town. Built as a Western movie set in the 1940s, the buildings were designed to provide a place for the actors to live and socialize while on location for shoots. Founded in part by actors Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, the town consisted of structures with 1880s facades on the outside, and modern-day attractions behind, including an ice cream parlor, a bowling alley and motels for actors and friends. More than 50 movies and television shows were filmed there.

Pappy & Harriet’s, a longtime local club (and built as part of one of Pioneertown’s original sets), sits on the edge of town, still serving burgers and hosting world-renowned musicians on their outdoor stage.

2hr from L.A.

This former silver-mining town had its boom in the 1880s, but was already on the decline by the 1980s when the price of silver began to drop. It was a ghost town by 1907, and wasn’t restored until the 1950s. Walter Knott of Knott’s Berry Farm directed the restoration, adding kitschy additions like a gold-panning attraction and an almost comical number of gift shops. Today, Calico is protected as a San Bernadino County Park; one-third of the town’s original buildings remain including one of the mines, the post office and a schoolhouse.

2hr 30min from L.A.

In 1908, four Black men purchased 20 acres of land along the Santa Fe Railway at a stop called Solita, and formed the first town in California to be founded, financed and governed by a Black population. By 1904, the town had a schoolhouse and was California’s first African American school district. It also became a judicial district, and was home to a Baptist church, a hotel and a library.

Unfortunately, the Santa Fe Railway moved its rail stop from Allensworth to Alpaugh, restricting commerce. Then one of the town’s founders, Colonel Allen Allensworth, was struck and killed by a motorcycle. The town declined from there, but was never truly abandoned, earning it the nickname “the town that refused to die.” In 1974, the remaining structures were preserved as the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, home to special events throughout the year. The area outside of the state park is still inhabited, more than 100 years later.

4hr 30min from L.A.

Another town that never truly existed, Silver City is actually a composite of historic buildings from many different mining camps. The structures were slated to be demolished, but couple Dave and Arvilla Mills went on a mission throughout the ’60s and ’70s to have them restored and moved to their current site in Silver City. The “town” is now a museum with thousands of artifacts on display in and around 20 historic buildings including a jail, post office, saloon and general store. Apparently the site is haunted, and there have been reports of eerie happenings over the years, including bottles floating in the air and a violin playing itself.

5hr from L.A.

This town, named for the local volcanic rock in the area, sprung up in 1905 near Death Valley National Park with the promise of gold. By 1907, the town had a school, hospital, stock exchange and symphony, but the gold never showed, and people began leaving within just a few years. In the 1920s, Rhyolite was revitalized for a short time as a movie set. Though not many of the town’s original buildings are left standing today, you can still see the bank, train depot and jail, along with the famous bottle house. Saloon keeper Tom Kelly built a home with more than 50,000 beer and medicine bottles, and legend has it that Kelly still haunts the building.

5hr 45min from L.A.

Goldfield was once the richest and most-populated gold-mining town in Nevada; founded in 1902, it grew to a population of 30,000 by 1906 and produced $11 million in gold. Tex Rickard’s Northern saloon had a bar so long, it was said 80 bartenders were needed to accommodate the patrons. The Goldfield hotel, built in 1907, was said to have Champagne flowing down its front steps on opening day. It was outfitted with pile carpets, mahogany wood and intricate chandeliers, and was populated by the wealthy elite of the town.

By 1912, ore production had dropped drastically, and the town’s population quickly declined. It’s said that the Goldfield hotel, once defunct, became home to several ghosts, including a local prostitute and her child. The building has been of great interest to both professional and amateur ghost hunters for decades.

6hr from L.A.

Tucked into the valley northeast of Yosemite sits Bodie, one of the most well-preserved ghost towns in the country. It boomed as a mining town beginning in the 1870s, with a population that reached more than 10,000; at one time there were reported to be more than 65 saloons in town. By 1913, the mine had shut down, and by 1920 the census recorded that the town’s population was just over 100 people. The town was designated a historical landmark in 1961, and in 1962 it became Bodie State Historic Park.

It is maintained in a state of “arrested decay,” with everything left as it was found when the park was established. Just over 100 structures remain, including shops stocked with goods, saloons with glasses strewn along the bar, and so on. Some debris can be found on the roads and paths, but removing anything is against the rules of the park. What’s more, it’s said that anyone who takes a piece of Bodie with them will have bad luck; the park ranger often receives envelopes with nails, bottles and glass shards being returned to the park with notes of desperate apology.

6hr from L.A.

This gold-mining town, located on the historic Apache trail, experienced small-time booms and busts from the 1880s through the 1920s. In the 1960s, the town was reconstructed as a tourist stop, with kitschy additions like the Superstition Reptile exhibit, scheduled gun shows and a train ride. There are plenty of period attractions within the town; one old saloon is now a steakhouse, another is a shooting gallery; a “floozy” leads a 15-minute tour of the old bordello; there’s even a zip line strung above the town. It’s more theme park than history lesson, but is well-suited for kids.

7hr 30min from L.A.

North Bloomfield came to be in the 1880s, when hydraulic mining brought more than 2,000 people to work the creek, as well as the saloons, hotels and groceries that popped up as a result. The town had a church, a school, a butcher shop, a bakery, a drug store and even a couple of breweries. By the late 1880s, however, hydraulic mining was made illegal due to environmental concerns and the town was slowly abandoned. It’s now part of Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, and has been impressively well-preserved over the years; some of the most notable buildings still standing are the church, school, barber shop and fire department.

30min from L.A.

Craftsmen in Ghost Town demonstrate the arts of the blacksmith, woodcarver, glass-blower, sign cutter, and spinner. Demonstrations of narrow gauge railroading and farm equipment hobbyists accompany additional merchant stalls of cottage-craft fairs seasonally at discounted admission which is restricted to Ghost Town only.

Western Trails Museum, relocated between the candy store and the General Store to accommodate Calico River Rapids (former Bigfoot Rapids), still features historical western artifacts large and small, from a hand powered horse-drawn fire engine to miniature replica of a borax hauling “Twenty Mule Team” and utensils necessary to survive the prairie and wilderness.

The Ghost Town area has a few other notable attractions. The Bird Cage Theatre only hosts two seasonal entertainments—during “Knott’s Merry Farm,” two small productions of “The Gift of the Magi” and “A Christmas Carol,” and a Halloween Haunt thrill show. The Calico Stage, a large open-air stage in Calico Square, hosts a variety of shows and acts, big and small, from those of elementary school students, Gallagher, a local band, and the summer-spectacular All Wheels Extreme stunt show featuring youthful performers demonstrating aerial tricks with acrobatics, trampolines, and riding ramps with skates, scooters, skateboards, and freestyle bikes to popular music. Calico Saloon recreates the revelry of music, singing and dancing, with Cameo Kate hosting a variety of acts. Jersey Lily, Judge Roy Bean’s combination courthouse/saloon, offers certified comical “genuine illegal hitchin'” alongside pickles, candy, and sports/soft drinks.

Ghost Town was based on Calico ghost town and other real ghost towns in the Western United States such as Prescott, Arizona. Walter Knott inherited his uncle’s silver mill and land, then bought more of the actual Calico ghost town in 1951 and developed it. In 1966, he donated that property to the corporate-municipal County of San Bernardino which then made the town of Calico, California into a public historic park, for which it charged an entrance/parking fee. Today it has themed rides such Pony Express, a horse themed family roller coaster, Calico River Rapids, Calico Mine Ride, Butterfield Stagecoach, Timber Mountain Log Ride, Calico Railroad, among others.

8hr 30min from L.A.

The historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, was founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town grew significantly into the mid-1880s as the local mines produced $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than seven years. It is best known as the site of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and presently draws most of its revenue from tourism.

The town was established on a mesa above the Goodenough Mine. Within two years of its founding, although far distant from any other metropolitan area, Tombstone had a bowling alley, four churches, an ice house, a school, two banks, three newspapers, and an ice cream parlor, alongside 110 saloons, 14 gambling halls, and numerous dance halls and brothels. All of these businesses were situated among and atop many silver mines. The gentlemen and ladies of Tombstone attended operas presented by visiting acting troupes at the Schieffelin Hall opera house, while the miners and cowboys saw shows at the Bird Cage Theatre and brothel.

Under the surface were tensions that grew into deadly conflict. The mining capitalists and the townspeople were largely Republicans from the Northern states. Many of the ranchers (some of whom—like the Clantons—were also rustlers or other criminal varieties) were Confederate sympathizers and Democrats. The booming city was only 30 miles (48 km) from the U.S.–Mexico border and was an open market for cattle stolen from ranches in Sonora, Mexico, by a loosely organized band of outlaws known as The Cowboys. The Earp brothers—Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan—as well as Doc Holliday, arrived in December 1879 and mid-1880. The Earps had ongoing conflicts with Cowboys Ike and Billy Clanton, Frank and Tom McLaury, and Billy Claiborne. The Cowboys repeatedly threatened the Earps over many months until the conflict escalated into a shootout on October 26, 1881. The historic gunfight is often portrayed as occurring at the O.K. Corral, though it actually occurred a short distance away in an empty lot on Fremont Street.