Guide To Visiting Bodie Ghost Town, CA: The Wild West Frozen In Time

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I love time travel experiences – the opportunity to immerse yourself into past eras and a imagine how life once was. So I was excited to be able to explore a real-life, Wild West town at Bodie State Historic Park .

Walking around this former gold mining town, now nicknamed Bodie Ghost Town, put it into perspective for me the life I now have – why I can be grateful for it, how I can give thanks to those who came before me to make so much possible, and to reflect on what the values and priorities of the past may have been, and how they’ve now changed.

truck in front of old wooden building Loved this truck scene!

After visiting Bodie State Historic Park, a once thriving but also isolated gold-mining town set 8,275 ft. high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of Northeastern California, I felt compared to share my experience with everyone.

This is a genuine California gold-mining ghost town, where I witnessed the best example of “life frozen in time” – but in the gold rush.

Here is everything you need to know about visiting Bodie State Historic Park.

The History of the Bodie Ghost Town, California

bodie ghost town home with wildflowers The homes on the good side

The town of Bodie is named after William (a.k.a. Waterman) S. Bodey, who in 1859, while prospecting with three prospectors in this gold-laden valley, discovered gold in a stream bed near what is now called Bodie Bluff. (a sign painter mistakenly changed the spelling to Bodie later!)

Sadly, Bodie never even saw his fortune realized or the beginnings of this town as he perished in a fierce blizzard not long after discovering the gold.

A mill was established in 1861 and the town began to grow. It’s beginnings were faltering until in 1875, Bodie’s luck changed when one of the mines caved in revealing a huge body of gold.

Word made it to San Francisco and Bodie went Boom!

There’s even a story about a little girl who wrote in a diary discovered here, “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie!” though this story changes depending on who tells it!

bodie gold mining town of california The saloon and the gym

By its peak in 1879, Bodie had a population of 7,000–10,000 townspeople, one of the biggest towns in this area at the time, and it produced more than $35 million in gold and silver.

As with most gold mining towns the wealth didn’t last long.

By 1881, the mines began to deplete, and soon the population dwindled to about 1500 people. A kitchen fire in the summer of 1892 destroyed much of town to the west of main street.

The bodie stamp mill ghost town california The Bodie Stamp Mill

By the 1890 hydraulic machinery bought a little more growth to Bodie, but by 1932 another fire wiped out most of the town (started by a cheeky three-year-old. See below). The last person left in the 1940s.

In 1962, California State Parks moved into protect Bodie by designating it a National Historic Site and State Historic Park.

It is preserved in a “State of Arrested Decay”, meaning Bodie is exactly as it looks when abandoned in 1942, right down to goods still on the grocery shelf and the weights lying around on the gym floor.

The state park does not restore or recreate the buildings, instead preserving them in their aged and weathered 1880s appearance.

There are over one hundred abandoned wooden buildings lining the dusty, streets of the Bodie ghost town for visitors to explore either on their own on a Bodie guided tour.

Taking prominence on the hill and overlooking the town is the Bodie Stamp Mill, which is closed off to gawkers due to unstable sections of the park, but I believe you can join a Stamp Mill tour to visit here specifically.

Things to do at Bodie State Historic Park

1. Learn about the spirit of Bodie Ghost Town on a guided tour

tour group standing in bodie ghost town california Enjoying Bodie ghost town tour as a group

There are various public and private tours available of the Bodie Ghost Town. See here for options.

I highly recommend it as it your knowledgeable guide will bring the town of Bodie to life for you. Our guide actually lives in the town of Bodie California for most of the year along with a handful of other workers.

Our guide shared the history of Bodie and more about the spirit of the town as she walked us around the streets including the mile long main street which divided the town between the good and bad side.

the dusty streets of bodie The wide dusty streets of Bodie

In Bodie you were either rubbing shoulders with industrious miners and successful businesspeople or nefarious gunfighters and gamblers.

It had a reputation for lawlessness, stage holdups, street fights, and gun fights and became known as a shooters town.

Tombstone had nothing on the Wild West-style gunfights often erupting throughout the town, no doubt after a shot or two at any one of the rumored sixty-five saloons, as well as brothels and gambling dens.

people looking at abandoned building

The “bad side” was riddled with opium dens and a red light district (aptly named Virgin Alley or Maiden Lane) where many women were forced into prostitution to cover their costs when their husbands died in the mines.

Bodie even had its own Chinatown, pushed over the ridge and (out of sights of the whites). It created by the Chinese immigrants who wanted to maintain their own customs and traditions.

They had their own general stories, boarding houses, gambling halls, cabins, and even a Taoist Temple.

black and white photo showing life in bodie gold mining town Note the backward S on the Shooting Gallery sign

Our guide shared black and white photos of Bodie in its hey day including life outside the constant 24-hour noise of the mines operating, such the old baseball field and racetrack, where the townsfolk gathered to play and celebrate.

We walked around the remains of their homes, some fancier than others, and all with gardens where nothing grew, except a lonely rhubarb plant and the ubiquitous yellow wildflowers overtaking the dirt.

All food and supplies had to be shipped into Bodie, further highlighting the challenges of life in this California high mountain town.

The availability of lumber, which was necessary for building construction, mine support, and fuel, was a major issue as there were so few trees and it was hauled in and out by mules until the a railroad was built in 1881 called the Bodie Railway & Lumber Company, bringing lumber, cordwood, and timbers to the top of the mining district from Mono Mills south of Mono Lake.

person looking at abandoned homes Peeking into the homes of Bodie

We peeked into the windows of the Methodist church, schoolhouse, jail barbershop, saloon, and other buildings where bottles, stocked shelves, desks, and trash was left strewn on the floor.

It’s as if everyone just walked out and left it as it was.

Wait a minute they did!

It was too expensive for the residents to take their possessions with them. They were charged high toll fees by the weight on the roads out. It was cheaper for them to leave it and then begin anew in their new homes.

bodie ghost town buildngs old rusted car in field wooden bulding with glass windows historical buildings on ghost town street person looking in building methodist church bodie

Peeking into the buildings was my favorite part to the tour as it gave a great insight into life back then and how quite similar it was to us now.

The village gym had punching bags and weights lying around, the bar had a pool table, the schoolhouse had drawings on the chalkboards, a globe, and maps lying around and whale pictures on the walls depicting alphabet sounds, and the general store even had dusty condoms still on the shelf.

What surprised, more shocked, me was how similar the school room of the Bodie past is to our school rooms today.

Not a lot has changed, and with education I feel it should be ever evolving! I mean look at those desks – are they too different to the uncomfortable things we still make our kids sit in?

A room filled with furniture Schoolhouse inside the schoolhouse bodie The globe in the schoolhouse a room with a pool table Saloon wrecked room Rooms filled with coffins saloon bodie gold mining town Saloon general store bodie General store

The tour will share the story and history of Bodie and its gold mines, but also that of the characters who lived here creating the “Bad Man from Bodie” reputation.

My favorites were the gun fighter who had his arm shot off and became a defense lawyer to make something go his life, and the cheeky three year old, who upset with being reprimanded at a party, snuck away, and threw a match on the ground, returning to show the townsfolk what he had done – well they Kinda saw the flames that destroyed much of the town!!

After that fire, the town slowly began to demise and soon after the last remaining residents left.

The cemetery overlooking Bodie Town

Except for those in the cemetery. They are still standing guard over the town and running muck at night keeping Bodies reputation as THE Wild West town of California.

The cemetery is located at the end of a short footpath on the outskirts of town behind an ornate fence. It’s worth walking out here for the view back over the town and surrounding hills alone.

Buried in this cemetery are the respectable residents of the town, most noted by the fancy headstones.

headstone of angel A Poignant headstone

I’ve only since learned that outside the ornate fence is the unmarked Boot Hill cemetery, reserved for the nefarious Bodie characters. I wish I got to see and experience that presence! Do tell your stories.

2. Enjoy a public afterhours Ghost Walk evening

You can visit afterhours on a Ghost Walk of Bodie on specific nights of the year, run by the Bodie Foundation. These ghost walks allow you to stay in the park until 10pm on Bodie Ghost Walks.

3. Take a Stamp Mill Tour

You can purchase tickets for a Stamp Mills Tour from the museum. Tours run seasonally and are $6 per person and take around 45-60 minutes.

4. Take a trip to Mono Lake Tufa State Natural Reserve

tuftas of Mono Lake California The mystical Mono Lake, California

Less than 40 minutes drive away is Mono Lake, a unique natural phenomenon worth exploring. This lake has no runoff, and so the water has become saline – causing huge tufas of mineral rock to form on its water’s edge.

You can read all about it in our complete guide here.

Bodie State Historic Park Opening Hours & Entrance Fee

billboard showing bodie ghost towns of California Welcome to Bodie Ghost town

Bodie State Park, CA is open all year. However, because of the high elevation (8375 feet), it is accessible only by skis, snowshoes or snowmobiles during winter months. Snowmobiles must stay on designated roads in the Bodie Hills.

Bodie State Historic Park costs $8 for adults, $5 for children under sixteen.

Tips for visiting Bodie Ghost Town

There are no commercial facilities like fuel at Bodie State Historic Park, because that is so 1990s. Check the weather and road conditions before visiting, as mud can be an issue following Spring, and the road will be impassable after a snowstorm.

So, fill the tank and your bags with plenty of snacks and food. I’d allow for at least two hours to explore properly. There are a few small hills to walk up but worth it for the view!

There are restrooms by the parking lot and a small museum, gift shop and bookstore selling souvenirs in one of the old buildings.

Wear sunscreen and prepare for harsh sun, this is the desert afterall.

You can bring dogs in the park as long as they are kept on a leash.

How To Get To Bodie Ghost Town

Bodie is located in the Eastern Sierra close to Bridgeport, June Lake, Lee Vining, Mono Lake and Yosemite National Park.

It is located in a remote area accessed by State Route 270, seven miles south-east of Bridgeport. The last three miles into Bodie is along a rough, gravel road. The views, while sparse, are beautiful.

We were staying in Mammoth Lakes, in the heart of Mono County, which is forty-eight miles south of Bodie.

Final Reflections

wooden building of ghost town

This visit to Bodie had me thinking about how would they preserve our towns would in one hundred years’ time? Would people be roaming the streets and gawking through windows?

It feels like we live such transient disconnected lifestyles now that many people don’t become ingrained in a community enough for our stories to be recalled and shared.

This blog is the place I keep my stories and memories to share because I’m a traveler always moving to the next place that holds the gold for me and definitely leaving my possessions behind as they’re too cumbersome and expensive to drag along.

Or will be the bad generation that left all towns empty?

row of wooden buildings The museum and bookstore

I guess now I’m writing a different story to be remembered and shared. One with roots in a Raleigh neighborhood where neighbors visit with homemade cookies and tomatoes grown from their gardens.

Where our girls have friends knocking on the door to go out ride bikes on the street together, and we have a firepit as a gathering space. And I hope we’re using this part of our story to serve our community in a good way.

And I’m glad, I, and my girls now live in a society where they can create their own income, and not have forced into prostitution if their husband dies. Perspective on how now our life has changed thanks to the thousands who have gone before us to pave an easier path.

So, I guess there may be stories told after all. I just hope no one throws any matches down in a good old 3-year-old dummy spit and destroys my pot of gold. (That’ pacifier for Americans)

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