CALIFORNIA — November 9, 2026. Does California have 200 ghost towns, 400 or several thousand? The answer depends on what counts. California58 has reviewed federal geographic-name guidance, California State Parks, the National Park Service, East Bay Regional Park District and three independent ghost-town directories. Below is a substantial county-by-county research index, with clear warnings about surviving communities and private land.
No official ‘all ghost towns’ list
California’s vanished communities range from empty mining camps to railway water stops, former lumber towns, flooded settlements and historic parks. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) contains many historical features, but the agency explicitly says a ‘historical’ designation does not by itself mean a settlement was abandoned or that it is a ghost town. Names, historical maps and county documents should be reconciled before assigning a label. The Census Bureau’s place lists measure current communities for statistical purposes and should not be confused with a ghost-town register.
Why the numbers vary: 240, 355, 410 and thousands
Different private directories use different definitions. One mapping project currently plots 240 California ghost towns, another directory lists 355 named entries, and a broader historical-site index includes 410 towns, camps and other former places. That last index contains living towns such as Auburn, Folsom and Julian; they should not be announced as abandoned. Another historical place-name atlas includes thousands of historical names, railway stops and mines, but a name in such an archive is not proof of a vanished town. No one number is a certified statewide count.
Five places with strong public documentation
Bodie in Mono County is preserved in ‘arrested decay’ by California State Parks, while Calico in San Bernardino County is a restored historical silver-mining attraction rather than an untouched abandoned settlement. North Bloomfield is interpreted within Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park. Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park preserves and reconstructs part of a historically Black-founded agricultural town; its present-day historic district is managed as a park. The East Bay Regional Park District documents five 19th-century coal towns at Black Diamond Mines: Nortonville, Somersville, Stewartville, West Hartley and Judsonville. For Death Valley, the National Park Service documents Panamint City, Ballarat, Skidoo and Chloride City with separate histories and access requirements.
Not all listed places are abandoned
A ‘ghost town’ website can include partially inhabited places or ordinary living towns with older historical districts. Randsburg and Johannesburg in Kern County, Julian in San Diego County, Columbia in Tuolumne County, and Bombay Beach in Imperial County are examples where a blanket ‘abandoned’ label could mislead readers. Some sites like Calico are restored tourist attractions; others, including Cerro Gordo and Eagle Mountain, involve private ownership or controlled access. The status of each place requires independent verification.
A forgotten town is not the same as a publicly visitable site
Land ownership, wilderness restrictions, weather and old mine hazards matter. California State Parks warns that Bodie’s final road section is unpaved and winter access can require skis or snowshoes. The National Park Service describes remote approaches to Panamint City and Skidoo, not easy everyday drives. Some sites lie behind gates or on private property; a pin on a map is not permission to enter, park, dig, use a metal detector or take artifacts. Never enter an unsecured mine opening.
County-by-county research index — 192 place-name entries across 30 counties
Editorial status: This is an initial working inventory of historic settlements, abandoned camps, ruins, lost townsites and some still-inhabited historic towns. Inclusion does not establish that the entire modern place is abandoned. The names have not all been individually ground-verified, and this is not a complete list. Counties are taken from historical-directory entries and require further place-by-place checking where place names are reused.
San Bernardino County
Calico, Atolia, Bagdad, Amboy, Ash Hill, Goffs, Kelso, Cadiz, Ludlow, Essex, Barnwell, Belleville, Ivanpah, Hart, Vanderbilt, Providence, Rice, Siberia, Daggett, Stedman.
Inyo County
Cerro Gordo, Ballarat, Panamint City, Skidoo, Leadfield, Chloride City, Ashford Mill, Greenwater, Swansea, Ryan, Narka, Noonday Camp, Dublin Gulch, Reward, Kearsarge, Keeler, Dolomite, Laws, Little Lake, Ubehebe, Bend City, Furnace (the former Greenwater mining camp).
Mono County
Bodie, Masonic, Bennettville, Belfort, Mono Mills, Mammoth City, Lundy, Dog Town, Benton, Dunderberg.
Kern County
Garlock, Havilah, Asphalto, Randsburg, Johannesburg, Freeman Junction, Keysville, Gold Town, Freeman, Goler, Silver City, Claraville, Neuralia.
Nevada County
North Bloomfield, Red Dog, Graniteville, French Corral, Meadow Lake, Rough and Ready, Grass Flat, Moore’s Flat.
Contra Costa County
Nortonville, Somersville, Stewartville, West Hartley, Judsonville, Eckley, Winehaven.
El Dorado County
Coloma, Salmon Falls, Logtown, Volcanoville, El Dorado.
Tuolumne County
Columbia, Chinese Camp, Big Oak Flat, Sawmill Flat, Second Garrotte, Jamestown, Tuttletown.
Tulare County
Allensworth, Silver City, Tailholt, Fountain Springs, White River, Atwell Mill.
Mariposa County
Agua Fria, Bagby, Coulterville, Hornitos, Indian Gulch, Horseshoe Bend, Mount Ophir, Bear Valley.
Madera County
Grub Gulch.
San Benito County
New Idria.
Santa Clara County
Alma, Holy City, New Almaden, Wrights, Lexington.
Riverside County
Eagle Mountain, Midland, Berdoo Camp, Hall City, Styx, Pinacate, Fertila, Kenworthy.
Alameda County
Drawbridge, Alisal, Russell City.
San Diego County
Cuyamaca, Banner, Julian, Coleman City, Stonewall, Bankhead Springs.
Imperial County
Picacho, Hedges, Ogilby, Tumco, Bombay Beach, Mullet Island.
Shasta County
Shasta, Kennett, Horsetown, Gas Point, French Gulch, Bully Hill.
Humboldt County
Falk, Crannell, Camp Grant, Bull Creek, Blocksburg.
Sierra County
Brandy City, Gibsonville, Forest, Poker Flat, Port Wine, St. Louis, Grass Flat.
Plumas County
Elizabethtown, Seneca, Onion Valley, Johnsville, Walker Mine, Caribou.
Sacramento County
Mormon Island, Norristown, Hoboken, Michigan Bar.
San Mateo County
Purissima, Searsville.
Amador County
Camanche, Drytown, Fiddletown, New Chicago, Volcano.
Calaveras County
Campo Seco, Carson Hill, Greasertown, Hodson, Melones, Oregon Bar.
Siskiyou County
Negro Flat, Oro Fino, Gullion’s Bar.
Trinity County
Helena, Minersville, Dedrick, Denny.
Solano County
Collinsville, Cement.
Yuba County
Timbuctoo, Fremont Landing, Hammonton.
Los Angeles County
Llano del Rio, Mentryville, Eldoradoville.
How to find the broader 410-entry A–Z index
A public research directory titled Ghost Towns in California — Map, Directory and Guides currently advertises 410 California historical sites, towns and camps; it is a convenient A–Z place-name discovery tool. A separate 355-entry California directory provides a second starting point. Neither is a state-certified list of 410 or 355 entirely deserted towns. The California58 index deliberately separates candidates from verified status.
What our newsroom will verify next
Before publishing any site-specific guide as a final history, California58 will cross-check county, aliases, USGS GNIS identifiers, legal access, preservation status, surviving structures, active residents if any, hazards, National Park Service and California State Parks instructions and the site’s landowner or manager. Existing local community papers can cover historic sites within their actual service areas; we will not create fake local news offices at abandoned sites.
Primary sources and research directories
- USGS: What ‘historical’ geographic features mean
- USGS: Search and download the official names database
- California State Parks: Bodie
- California State Parks: Calico historical landmark
- California State Parks: Malakoff Diggins
- California State Parks: Colonel Allensworth
- East Bay Regional Park District: Black Diamond Mines
- National Park Service: Death Valley ghost towns
- Broader research directory: 410 California candidate sites
- Alternative A–Z directory: 355 California candidate entries
- Mapping project: 240 California ghost-town locations
- Wikipedia working list (explicitly incomplete)
Editorial note: Do not use this directory as a navigation or permission-to-enter document. A dated official closure, private-property boundary, evacuation order or fire restriction overrides any general visitor description.
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