Over 500 ghost towns in Nevada & California. History & photos of ghost towns, mining camps, Pony Express, and pioneer trails. Scroll or touch the screen to start the Nevada Ghost Towns map upload.
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Locations are approximate. The map is for visual and planning purposes only.
You can find an alphabetical list of Nevada and California ghost towns at Ghost Towns Visited.
Not sure where to start?
Check out the complete list by county or the Top 10 lists by region. Links to each article in blue.
Ghost Towns by County at GHOST TOWNS & HISTORICAL SITES OF NEVADA, CALIFORNIA, & BEYOND
Top 10 Ghost Towns of Nevada: Northwest
Top 10 Ghost Towns of Nevada: Las Vegas
How it All Began
This is here solely to make Google happy. It reminds me of the saying about moms, “If Google isn’t happy, no one is happy.” They don’t like that the map has few words. So, here is the rest of the story of how Nevada Ghost Towns & Beyond started.
The Beginning of Ghost Towning
Growing up in Idaho, I loved visiting ghost towns. So, once a year, my family would make their annual pilgrimage across Nevada to visit relatives in the Gold Country. Each trip, I begged my parents to stop in Virginia City or at Hermit’s Cave at Dayton State Park, but we were always short on time.
We stayed in Murphys, walked around town, and visited nearby gold rush towns, including Angels Camp, Jackson, and Colombia. When we weren’t exploring, you would find me curled up on Aunt Erma’s recliner reading Time-Life Old West or the Wagons West Series. My favorites were about people, the challenges they faced, and how they created a life out of nothing.
I got my driver’s license and the first car at 14.5; it’s an Idaho thing and seemed reasonable to me at the time. Now, as a mom of teenagers, I’m not so sure. I learned to drive on trips to Idaho City and other semi-ghost towns. As soon as I had my license, I went my 1983 Pontiac Grand Prix everywhere, exploring the ghost towns of Owhyee and Cascade ranges.
It didn’t connect it until later, but the interest in ghost towns and people continued through my life. I earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in sociology, followed by a Master’s degree in Social Work. I became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and taught about people, families, and society at the local college. Who would have thought social work and ghost towns would be connected!
Renewed Interest
Flash forward to 2000, I married a third-generation Nevada boy and moved to Carson Valley, where his family had a ranch. Hubby had been away many years, and for our first vacation, he wanted to see more of the Silver State. So while planning the trip, I headed to the history section instead of the tourist shelves of Barnes & Noble. My first purchase was Stan Paher’s Ghost Towns & Mining Camps of Nevada. Using Stan’s book as a guide, I planned a week-long Nevada ghost towns trip, and we had a fantastic week in Death Valley, Gold Point, Belmont.
We took other ghost town trips and vacations over the years. When my son was a baby, we took him ghost towning based in Unionville. While visiting Star City, we ran into Stan Paher; I didn’t have his book with me one day. Years later, Stan said he remembered me as I was the only person who took a baby to ghost towns.
We spent several family vacations visiting ghost towns over the years: Jarbridge, Berlin, Tuscarora, Ward Charcoal ovens. Unfortunately, kids, work, and the ranch kept us busy, and we didn’t explore as much as I would have liked.
Mid-Life Crisis: Ghost Towning
Fast forward once again, my kids were older, and I had more time to spend on my interests. A friend’s goal was to drive every backroad in Nevada. I liked her plan, but it wasn’t exactly right for me. So I decided my goal was to visit every ghost town in Nevada.
I turned to my well-loved copy of Nevada’s Ghost Towns & Mining Camps. I started making more frequent trips, checking off towns, and making notes in the book’s margins.
2020 was my “Year of Travel,” with trips to ghost towns, the gold county, Florida Keys, and a girl trip to Poland. My first trip was to a photography workshop and ghost towns in early March. Everyone can guess how that worked out; the first shut-downs were the weekend of the conference.
I couldn’t make big trips, so I visited local ghost towns. Even with shut-downs, isolation, and social distancing, I traveled extensively and met many people who shared my passion for Nevada history.
Nevada Ghost Towns & Beyond is born
The trips grew, and I wondered what to do with my photographs. My ultimate goal was a book documenting the current status of all of Nevada’s ghost towns, but the idea of a book was overwhelming. So I discussed options with a book designer friend and decided to start a website.
I learned more than I ever wanted to know about domains, WordPress, and web design and management. My first post was on May 10, 2020.
I quickly realized people wouldn’t find my website through a search, and I set up a Facebook page.
My first posts documented the ghost towns through photographs and basic information. I never considered myself a writer, but I started researching and writing more about ghost towns and their history. Then, on my Facebook group, I started sharing my recent trips and personal experience with ghost towning. To my surprise, people responded more to that than posts about the town. So I began to add this information to my articles.
For more towns, but not a cool map, visit Wikipedia: List of Ghost towns in Nevada.
Happy Google?