California

The San Francisco Bay Area
Alcatraz - Famous ghost prison of San Francisco.
Alviso - Historic town now part of San Jose.
Drawbridge - An unusual hunter's ghost town on the edge of San Francisco Bay.
New Idria - The remnants of mercury mining in the Diablo mountains.

Gold Country
Amador City - This early mining camp is now a stop on the tourist itinerary.
Bridgeport - The longest single-span covered bridge in the United States.
Butte City - The shell of the general store.
Campo Seco - Small town with some impressive stone ruins.
Columbia - The "Gem of the Southern Mines", now a state park.
Coulterville - A well-preserved mining supply town.
Dutch Flat - Hydraulic-mining and transportation center.

Fiddletown - Superbly preserved 1850's supply town.
French Corral - A nicely preserved Wells Fargo Express building from 1853.
Gold Run - An early hydraulic mining town.

Hornitos - A small, sleepy town with many gold-rush era remains, including the original Ghirardelli store.
Knight's Ferry - Old mill town with the longest covered bridge in the western United States.
La Grange - Some original structures left in this old French mining colony.
La Porte - A once-bustling centre for hydraulic mining in Plumas County.

Lotus - A relic of the gold rush days with an old cemetary.

Mokelumne Hill - Picturesque mining town with many historic buildings.
New Chicago - A once bustling mining town in Amador County.
North Bloomfield - Inside the Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park -- a must see!
North San Juan - A town that supported nearby hydraulic mining.
Smartville - Small gold town west of Grass Valley.
Timbuctoo - Only the Wells Fargo Express office remains.
Volcano - Rich mining area with an interesting civil war history.

Death Valley
Ballarat - Famous mining town and one-time home of Charles Manson.
Cerro Gordo - "Fat Mountain", high up in the Inyo Mountains.
Darwin - A silver town at the base of Mount Ophir.
Dolomite - The remains of a small mining town at the foot of the Inyos.
Eureka Mine and Aguereberry Camp - Interesting mine remnants to explore.
Keane Wonder Mine & Mill - An early 20th century gold mine and one of the must-see sites of Death Valley.
Keeler - On the shores of Owens (dry) Lake, a shipping point for ore to the smelters at Cartago.
Mock - Only a few scattered boards mark the site of Mock.
Skidoo - Some scattered remains are all that is left of once prosperous Skidoo.
Swansea - Silver-lead furnaces on the edge of Owens Lake.
White Mountain City - Remembered for its part in an election fraud.
Wildrose Charcoal Kilns - Well-preserved charcoal and lime kilns in Wildrose Canyon.

The Eastern Sierras
Benton Hot Springs - A 19th century rest stop near Bodie.
Bodie - Famous gold town turned into an historic park -- a must see!
Chemung Mine - A lot to explore in these ruins near Masonic.
Masonic - Ghost town north of Bodie.

Southern California
Kelso - A train station in the Mojave desert that died with the advent of diesel engines.

 

Miscellany.

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