13 Abandoned Places in California You Can Visit Today
History and modernity clash in California as there are places whose stories are being slowly forgotten. From ghost towns in the mountains to crumbling structures in the desert, these abandoned sites are a haunting reminder of structures that have succumbed to nature.
Visiting them is like stepping into a time machine, where you can’t help but wonder about the lives of the people who lived and worked at these sites. For the adventure seeker, history buff, or casual explorer, they’re an opportunity to connect with California’s layered past.
Bodie State Historic Park
Bodie was a busy gold rush town once, but is now a frozen ghost town. This was a preserved site near the Nevada border and a glimpse of the Wild West with weathered saloons, schools, and homes. In the early 20th century mining profits dried up and the town was abandoned. Today it is a State Historic Park, and you can safely explore and learn about its history with park guides.
Salton Sea’s Bombay Beach
In the 1950s this was a thriving resort town. The rising salinity levels eventually made the region a post apocalyptic landscape. The rusting trailers, abandoned art installations, and forgotten beaches also make this a favorite spot for photographers. It has become a strange creative haven and attracts avant garde artists.
Coit Tower’s Base Murals
Coit Tower in San Francisco is famous for its murals, but few people know that parts of the lower levels have been off limits for decades. The murals were painted in the 1930’s under the Public Works of Art Project and show life in the Great Depression. It’s a mix of art and intrigue
The Winchester Mystery House Grounds
The Winchester Mystery House Grounds is a famous tourist attraction. Parts of the sprawling grounds at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose are eerily quiet and unused. The gardens and outbuildings are left in various stages of disrepair, and a glimpse into the weird mind of Sarah Winchester, who thought that building forever would placate ghosts.
Nitt Witt Ridge
Built out of junk and trash by the artist Arthur Harold Beal of Cambria, the Nitt Witt Ridge is one of a kind. Technically it’s not abandoned, but it feels like a monument to creative chaos. Now the property is a historical landmark and people come to visit the property and see how Beal made art out of discarded items.
Alcatraz Island Lesser Known Ruins
Alcatraz isn’t only famous for its prison tours. The warden’s house, the officers’ quarters, and buildings beyond the main prison, have been overtaken by nature. These lesser visited spots, on the other hand, contrast the well preserved prison, with a quieter tale of decay.
Drawbridge Ghost Town
In the 1800s, this railroad town thrived, now the drawbridge is sinking and the waterlogged ghost town in the San Jose wetlands is only accessible by foot or train tracks (and technically off limits). It’s a pretty fascinating site if you’re willing to view it from a distance. The town is now left to the elements. The last resident left in the 1970s.
Eagle Mountain Mine
Once a booming industrial site, the deserted iron mine near Joshua Tree is now a sprawling ghost town with rusting machinery and deserted homes. Eagle Mountain was also the filming site for ‘The Island’. Although part of the twisty path is closed off, its eerie atmosphere attracts adventurers.
The Bridge to Nowhere
The Bridge to Nowhere is the only remaining trace of a failed 1930s road project in the Angeles National Forest. This bridge is a rare example of a gusset plate truss bridge. The bridge was left in the wilderness because floods washed the road away. This curious piece of infrastructure left to nature’s whims is now a hiking destination.
Kennedy Mine Amphitheater
Kennedy Mine Amphitheater was once a buzz of activity in Jackson. The amphitheater, used for historical reenactments and events, somehow seems like a relic from the past. Today the mine is closed and gives visitors walking the grounds a sense of the hard lives miners once led.
Fort Ord
This former military base near Monterey was decommissioned in 1994 as the naval air base. The abandoned barracks’ training facilities remain on the site, their peeling paint and graffiti a stark reminder of the site’s past. Now much of the site is a nature reserve. It’s been featured in several films and TV shows.
Randsburg
The small town of Randsburg, with fewer than 70 residents, is called the “Living Ghost Town.” Some of the town is operational, but many buildings are abandoned. The area has old mines to explore, and a general store for visitors to tour.
Mono Lake’s Negit Island
When water diversions caused the lake levels to drop leaving a land bridge to the mainland, Negit Island became deserted. Once home to nesting gulls, predators had decimated island bird populations on the eerily silent island. Now a protected site, visitors can view it from the shore of the lake.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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10 Best African Photo Safaris You Must Experience
Even if you’ve been on a safari in the past, an African photo safari is something you want to experience or at the very list add to the top of your bucket list.
But first, what is a photo safari? The phrase “photo safari” is not a common sentence structure but its meaning can be deduced easily. An African photo safari in general context means going on an adventure with the sole purpose of taking high-quality pictures.
10 Best African Photo Safaris You Must Experience
