Ever wonder what happens to towns after the crowds leave and time moves on? California has plenty of places that once buzzed with life but now sit quiet, carrying stories in their empty streets and weathered buildings.
These forgotten towns aren’t polished tourist spots. They’re pieces of history you can still walk through, and that’s what makes them so intriguing.
Driving into one of these places feels different. The roads get quieter, the signs look older, and suddenly you’re standing in a town that feels frozen in time.
Some spots are tied to mining booms, others to railroad days, and a few just faded when people moved on. What’s left behind is a mix of eerie silence and fascinating detail: old storefronts, abandoned homes, and landmarks that hint at what life used to be.
I’ve stopped at a couple of these towns, and the best part wasn’t just the sights; it was the feeling of stepping into a story that’s still unfinished.
So if you’re up for a road trip with a twist, California’s forgotten towns are waiting to surprise you.
1. Highway 270 To Bodie
Let’s start with the drive to Bodie on Highway 270, heading out from Highway 395 toward Bodie State Historic Park at Bodie, CA 93517.
Bodie feels frozen mid-sentence, with homes, shops, and schools left exactly where life stopped.
The emptiness is unsettling because nothing feels staged or cleaned up.
Wind rattles loose boards and broken windows.
It’s one of the creepiest places in California because it feels like people just vanished.
Pull into the dirt lot and you will hear nothing but wind and your own steps.
Walk Main Street and you can peer through glass at desks, chairs, and faded wallpapers clinging to cracked walls.
Look for the old schoolhouse and the mine works that sit like bones on the ridge.
I like circling the outskirts, where small cabins tilt and sagebrush crowds the doors.
The hills feel close and the air smells like dust and pine.
If you listen, you might catch the soft scrape of metal and the tap of something loose.
It is not spooky in a jump scare way, just deeply quiet and patient.
Bring shoes you do not mind getting dirty and a light layer because it cools fast.
The road is rough near the end, but it adds to the mood.
2. Route 66 Through Amboy
Roll east to Amboy on old Route 66, with the stop pinned around Roy’s Motel and Cafe, 87520 National Trails Hwy, Amboy, CA 92304.
Amboy sits isolated in the Mojave Desert along old Route 66.
The abandoned motel, gas station, and post office feel stranded in time.
I feel like silence stretches endlessly in every direction, the emptiness makes even daytime visits feel uneasy.
The big neon sign looks like it is holding its breath.
I like pulling over across the road and letting the heat shimmer around the buildings.
You hear tires crackle on gravel and then nothing at all.
The salt flats beyond look like a pale sea that forgot to move.
Take a slow loop around the parking lot and peek at the long row of doors, every number feels like a story with the cover torn off.
Trains pass far off and sound longer out here.
If the wind lifts, sand ticks against your legs and the air tastes mineral.
Turn your eyes toward the crater nearby and the desert suddenly feels young and old together.
California can be loud, but this stretch goes whisper quiet.
3. US-395 Past Cerro Gordo
Take US-395 south and then climb the road toward Cerro Gordo Ghost Town, 9 Cerro Gordo Rd, Keeler, CA 93530.
This steep mountain road climbs to one of California’s most isolated ghost towns.
Cerro Gordo’s crumbling buildings cling to cliffs above Death Valley.
The remoteness makes you feel watched even when alone.
Many visitors describe a heavy, unsettling atmosphere, and I understand why.
The switchbacks rise fast and the air thins just enough to make every sound carry.
Up top, you see roofs sagging and headframes cutting the sky, footsteps on gravel sound sharp and weirdly close.
I always stop and look out toward salt flats that shine like spilled light.
The bunkhouse and hoist house look like they are waiting for a bell that will never ring.
Old equipment sits where hands left it and never came back.
Make sure to bring a small flashlight for peeking into safe open rooms from the doorway.
Keep your footing steady because the ground can crumble without warning.
4. Highway 58 To Randsburg
Cut across Highway 58 and swing north on Rand Camp to reach Randsburg, around Butte Ave and Broadway, Randsburg, CA 93554.
Randsburg still has a pulse, but it’s faint in my opinion.
Half-abandoned buildings line dusty streets that rarely see traffic.
The mix of living residents and empty structures creates tension, it feels like a town slowly fading rather than already gone.
You can park along the boardwalk and just listen to doors creak.
There are a few shops, but the quiet edges tell the larger story.
I like tracing the old facades where paint curls like dry leaves.
Signs hang straight but feel tired of their own weight.
Desert hills crowd close and make the town feel pocketed and small.
When the wind drops, every step sounds too loud.
You look down side streets and see emptiness pools like shade; it is not sad exactly, more like a slow exhale.
Watch for the mining relics that sit beside the road like props without a stage.
History clings to this place in a stubborn way.
5. Death Valley Backroads To Ballarat
Drift into the Panamint Valley and take Ballarat Rd to Ballarat Ghost Town, 15501 Panamint Valley Rd, Trona, CA 93592.
Ballarat sits quietly near Death Valley’s edge.
Sun-bleached buildings and scattered debris tell stories of failed dreams.
The heat and isolation intensify the sense of abandonment.
It’s the kind of place where silence feels loud.
The general store stands with a stubborn lean and the porch boards groan.
I like walking the open flats where footprints last longer than memory.
You can trace tire marks to nowhere and back again.
Mountains wall the valley and throw long shadows that crawl slowly.
Metal scraps glint like fish scales in the sun.
I wouldn’t describe the emptiness as hostile, just wide and unbothered.
When the breeze comes, it carries dust and that warm mineral scent.
Take your time and let the quiet tell you what to notice.
6. Highway 4 To Calico
Head toward this town using Calico Ghost Town Regional Park, 36600 Ghost Town Rd, Yermo, CA 92398.
Calico is preserved, but parts still feel eerie after crowds leave.
Empty saloons and mine entrances echo at dusk, its Wild West history includes hardship.
When the sun drops, the charm turns unsettling.
Walk the boardwalk and you can hear your footfalls bounce off wood and stone.
I like the back alleys where wind drags grit across the planks.
Sagging roofs frame a sky that turns purple above the hills, and lights flick on and throw long shadows with sharp edges.
The staged parts fade and the old bones show through.
Stand near an empty doorway and the quiet feels heavy.
Look out over Yermo and the freeway lights blink far away.
California’s modern rush feels distant from this little ridge.
I think it is a good stop when you want something eerie without total isolation.
You roll out and the night swallows the town like it was never there.
7. Sierra Foothills Loop Through North Bloomfield
Wind into the Sierra foothills to North Bloomfield within Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park, 23579 North Bloomfield Rd, Nevada City, CA 95959.
This former mining town sits quietly within Malakoff Diggins.
Weathered structures fade into forest and earth.
Nature is actively reclaiming the settlement, that slow erasure makes it really haunting.
Walk the old street grid and you will feel the forest closing ranks.
Moss climbs porch posts and pine needles carpet the steps.
I like the way the air smells like damp wood and granite.
The museum buildings look patient and tired in the trees.
Stumps hint at the furious industry that once stripped these hills, and now the slopes knit themselves back together in a soft green hush.
Stand near the hydraulic pits and imagine the roar that shook this valley, it’s fascinating.
The state keeps rewriting itself and this place shows the edit marks.
8. Highway 49 Past Coloma
Follow Highway 49 to Coloma and park near Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park, 310 Back St, Coloma, CA 95613.
Coloma is famous, yet strangely still for some reason.
Old buildings and mining relics dot the landscape.
Some areas feel abandoned despite historical importance, the calm contrasts sharply with its violent Gold Rush past.
Walk the river path and the breeze moves lightly through willows.
I like the cabins that sit back from the road like they are listening.
Boards groan softly as you step onto shaded porches.
Interpretive signs fade into the scenery once you tune into the quiet.
Across the meadow, blacksmith sheds hold onto the day’s last warmth.
Even with visitors around, the silence returns quickly after footsteps pass, so you catch yourself speaking softer than normal without meaning to.
I like how history feels gentle here, which is its own contrast.
Take a final look at the river and you can almost hear pans swirl, then drive on and let the oaks close behind you like curtains.
9. Eastern Mojave Route To Kelso
Cut across the desert to Kelso Depot Visitor Center, 90942 Kelso Cima Rd, Kelso, CA 92309.
Kelso’s massive depot dominates an otherwise empty desert.
The scale of the building feels wrong without people.
I think it’s unsettling because it feels built for a crowd that never came back.
Train tracks slice the sand and disappear toward low mountains.
I like standing on the platform listening for a horn that never arrives.
You can walk the perimeter and hear your steps bounce off the walls.
Beyond the lot, creosote dots the flats like dark freckles.
Shadows in the arcade feel cool and a little echoey.
Make sure to look out toward the dunes and the building looks like a ship stranded at sea.
Deserts here hold that big space that resets your brain.
10. Highway 120 Near Hetch Hetchy
Angle into Yosemite’s quiet side and aim for Hetch Hetchy via Evergreen Rd toward O’Shaughnessy Dam, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, Groveland, CA 95321.
Old settlements near Hetch Hetchy were swallowed by water and time.
Ruins and foundations still surface in places, and the idea of a town erased adds emotional weight.
The quiet feels deliberate and heavy to me.
When you park, the granite walls throw your voice right back at you.
I like scanning the shore for squared stones that read like hints.
Trails slip along the reservoir and dip into pockets of shade.
Look long enough and the past moves like heat shimmer across the surface; it is not dramatic, just steady and sure.
On the drive out, pines close in and the scent turns cool.
The state feels layered here for me, with one life stacked over another.
Keep your pace easy and let the still water set the tone, you leave quietly without needing to say much at all.
11. Salton Sea Loop Through Niland
Drift south to the Salton Sea and circle through Niland, passing 701 Main St, Niland, CA 92257, and the shoreline access points nearby.
Abandoned communities surround the Salton Sea; decay, environmental damage, and empty homes dominate the view.
It’s creepy because the abandonment is recent and ongoing.
Roads run past lots where structures tilt and sag.
I like the long stretches where telephone poles step off into the haze.
Shorelines crunch underfoot and glint with salt crystals, the water sits flat and reflective like a mirror nobody cleans.
Muted colors make the sky look even bigger.
You might see a lone chair or a gate standing without a fence, it all reads like someone paused a move and never hit play again.
Give yourself time to roll windows down and listen to the odd quiet.
California can feel raw out here in a way that gets under your skin.
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