California’s most atmospheric ghost town
You’ll find the town of Bodie on a windswept, Godforsaken, middle-of-nowhere, high-desert plateau in Eastern California. At the height of its gold mining heyday, some 8,500 people lived in this 19th century boomtown, weathering life on a frontier where winter brought 100 mph gusts, 20foot snowdrifts and singledigit temperatures.
These days, the ghost town is an utterly fascinating State Historic Park off Highway 270, some 50 miles north of Mammoth Lakes. Drive down a long road — the last 3 miles are passable, but kidney-jarring — and you’ll find the remnants of a once-thriving city. Today, just 110 structures remain of what was once more than 2,000 buildings.
But you can imagine what Bodie, which was founded in 1862 as a mining camp, was like in those days — not only the extreme physical hardships that came with living there, but the lawless Wild West atmosphere. Diaries and letters from those days tell the tale.
The Rev. F. Warrington described the town in 1881 as “a sea of sin, lashed by the tempests of lust and passion.” And “Goodbye God,
we are going to Bodie in the morning,” a young San Jose girl wrote in her diary in 1879.
During the town’s brief
heyday, from 1877 to 1881, there were 60 saloons and dance halls, along with an untold number of brothels. Shootouts and killings
were common. As mining operations dwindled, miners moved on. By 1886, the population was down to 1,500. Several hundred residents IF YOU GO
Bodie State Historic Park is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily through October, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from November through March. Admission is $5-$8. Find directions, maps and road closure information at www. parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509.
were still hanging on six years later, when a disastrous fire struck the town. Another conflagration in 1932 sealed the boomtown’s fate.
The ghost town has been part of the California Park System since 1962, its buildings kept in a state of arrested decay with foundations stabilized and intact roofs and windows to keep out the elements. Many buildings are just as they were when their last residents abandoned them, some with dinner plates on the table and food in the pantry, as if the townsfolk had scattered mid-meal.
Start your visit with a stop at the park’s museum and visitor center, which is open from mid-May to mid-October, and a stroll through the park, which is open, weather permitting, all year.