The Defense Mine is a popular jeep, 4×4, rock crawler and hiking destination located 2 miles up Stone Canyon in the western slopes of Panamint Valley. Discovered in…
The Winkeye Mine peaked our interest after watching a YouTube and reading a blog post by Justin Ames aka The Velvet Rocket. One of Justin’s earlier explorations before…
The Burgess Mine, a gold mine, sits high atop the ridge of the Inyo Mountains at 9600′ just SE of New York Butte. I thought I had read…
The Mission Mine has become the old standby for every trip to Joshua Tree and the Old Dale Mining District. It is easy to get to with a…
When a mine has its own Trip Advisor and Facebook you know its a popular destination. So why is the Reward Mine aka Brown Monster Mine such a…
On a sunny spring morning way back in 2015 we set out for our second trip to the Allegheny district. This time we had the Morning Glory stamp…
One of my favorite over-landing destinations the Whiteside Mine is a great explore. A relatively easy but distant destination that has plenty to offer for the novice explorer.…
Poker Flat history begins with the gold rush when extreme quantities of gold were pulled from the district as much as $700,00 per month (period values). Major hydraulic…
Like many offroaders we had driven right past the Gold Standard Mine on previous trips in our rush up to the Brooklyn Mine. Just north of JTNP the…
The Mugwump Mine is a drift mine only yards outside the town of Forest City along Oregon Creek below American Flat. We visited the Mugwump on a rainy…
Masonic is a true ghost town just a few miles north of Bodie. Originally founded as three towns by the Free Masons “Upper Town, Middle Town, and Lower…
Where is the Death Valley Mine you ask? Well, its not in Death Valley, it is smack dab in Mojave National Preserve. Mining the rich lead/silver/gold ore began…
The Carlyle Mine is a fairly popular explorers destination. There is a lot to draw an expolorer there. First of all its fairly easy to get to with…
Goldome is one of the largest most modern milling operations we have visited. The tunnels have been sealed but the milling operation remains wide open for the random…
In May of 2017 on a 4×4 trip from Washington, CA to Alleghany we stopped along side Washington Road at Washington Creek to let the dog go pee. Within…
Jim Crow Creek has a long and extensive mining history reaching back to the 1860’s including numerous “Bonanza” claims. On a hot summer day in July 2017 we…
Some of my favorite mines to explore are the one man operations. The Golden Egg Mine was bought in 1940 by German immigrant Karl Schapel who worked the…
Why another silver mine on this Gold site? Well, honestly I could not help myself. I stumbled upon Cerro Gordo on a California travel website that had mistakenly…
The Moser Mine or Moser Claims are a series of workings shown on USGS Topo only as prospects. In actuality there are extensive works including numerous adits, several…
The Big Horn Mine is located in the southern part of Mojave National Preserve. Most noted for Hilltop House, a cabin built in the 30’s by mine owners…
The 16 to 1 Mine is one of the big boys on the block. Originally producing over one million ounces of gold the 16 to 1 is one…
Found this one merely by topo. The adit is 1400 feet long with stopes, winzes and drifts galore. We didn’t enter as we were in no way prepared…
The Gold Bug Park features an underground tour of the authentic hard rock mining shaft of “Gold Bug Mine”. The mine started in 1888 and now has a…
The Kentucky Mill is one of the best preserved stamp mills I have had the pleasure to visit. A large part of that preservation is its more modern…
The Empire Mine has been on our list to explore for several years. We finally got a chance to drop in for the mine yard tour. The Empire…
Not much history on the Ophir Mine is out there. It does appear on USGS Topo but that’s about it. The Ophir is best know by off roaders…
The Live Oak Mine is located up Keystone Canyon on the eastern side of the New York Mountains in Mojave National Preserve. We drove right up to the…
The North Fork Mine was worked from 1875 to the 1930’s with a 13 degree shaft 1000′ long and a crosscut 1000′ long and 3 levels of inclines…
Originally I had written off the Kennedy as a mine to tour because it lacked a stamp mill or underground tour. Then in Oct 2014 we decided to…
Malakoff Diggins is California’s largest hydraulic gold mine. There are no shafts (except for massive drain tunnels) because the gold was dug up by using high pressure water…
The Plumas-Eureka State Park consist of the Plumas-Eureka (Mohawk) Stamp Mill, the museum was built in the old miners barracks, the Eureka Tunnel, nearby Jamisin City and mine, and the…
Clair Camp is a popular 4×4 destination located 5 miles east of Ballarat. The road up Pleasant Canyon is flanked by dense vegetation and a tight squeeze for…
The mighty Plumbago Mine (aka lower Plumbago) and Stamp Mill has a long and rich history. Millions of dollars of high grade have been pulled from small pockets…
I added the Hiller Tunnel as a mine to visit because the 600 ft long tunnel is about as authentic as it gets. Though the tunnel is not…
A popular hiking destination located within Plumas-Eureka State Park. The Jamison was a top producer that once yielded a 52lb nugget. The mine site is also known as…
The Lippincott Lead Mine aka Lead King Mine was discovered in 1906 and extensive works began by 1908. The mine, located in Racetrack Valley produced heavily during WWI.…
The Mexican Mine has been on our to do list for a while. It wasn’t until our third trip to the area we were able to find it.…
The stamps at the Herman Mine still stand tall as of our visit in May 2016 despite several forest fires sweeping the steep ravine below Deadwood Ridge. There…
According to Mindat.org the Hambey operated from 1900 to 1916 and sooner. Workings include underground openings comprised of a vertical 300 foot shaft with levels at 200 feet (the…
The Sunset Mine is located in the Old Dale Mining District just yards outside the Joshua Tree National Park boundary. Famous for the United States and California Flag…
Years ago on a trip from Arizona near the California border I opened up my handy dandy topo to look for gold mines nearby. We spotted the Gold…
We stumbled upon the Red Cloud Mine on route from Pleasant Canyon to South Park Canyon in Death Valley. After spending the night near Claire Camp at the…
What can I say, one of the coolest mining camps around. Only 30 remote minutes from Mariposa. The Sweetwater mining camp has a long and well documented history.…
Located just east of Ballarat up Pleasant Canyon around the corner from Clair Camp only yards outside Death Valley National Park the World Beater Mine and Cabin are…
The Discovery Dondero Mine was submitted by Sean Berry-Kelly who also took the photos. Sean writes; “This is now an abandoned mine, down a 2 mile access road…
One of my all time favorites. The Lost Burro almost has it all. A well preserved cabin with bed, table and artifacts, many open underground shafts to explore,…
William “Burro” H. Schmidt began gold mining in the area in 1906. Rather than haul his ore over the steep hill to the smelter in Mojave he decided…
Located in Mesquite Canyon between Burro Schmidt Tunnel and Garlock lies a group of six tunnels according to USGS Historic Topo. I couldn’t find any real history on…
Gwin Mine was posted by an anonymous author who wrote, “It was once the fostoria mine & then asenator bought it. It is really neat & is what…
The Eureka Mine is located in Death Valley National Park only a short distance west of the Harrisburg, California. The mine was opened in 1905 by Shorty Harris…
With Lake Don Pedro water levels at an all time low in November 2014 and much ado in the press we set out down Highway 49 to take…
I found this mine searching USGS Historic Topo maps near La Grange. The maps show two shafts only a few minutes north of La Grange. Mindat.org indicates a…
We have driven by and through Chinese Camp several times over the years on our travels up and down Highway 49 but never stopped. But now with Lake…
The Tarantula Mine can only be seen when Lake Don Pedro is at extremely low levels as it was when we visited in November 2014. Part of the…
The Argonaut is the site of the worst gold mining disaster in California History. On August 27th, 1922, 47 immigrant miners became trapped at the 4,650 foot level…
Located right off old Highway 49 is what used to be the North Star Mine (according to USGS Topo) now owned by Sutter Gold Mining Inc.. Sutter Gold…
The Keystone Mine was a significant contributor to gold production in the Mother Lode producing $24,000,000 in gold to a depth of 2680′ from 1851 until it’s close…
Its amazing that one of California’s most productive mines has faded into a barely visible steel structure among the trees and has even been used as a cell…
Opened as the Rancheria Mine in 1853 and renamed the South Mayflower Mine in 1893. In 1899 it became the Bunker Hill Consolidated Mine and operated until 1922…
Mining began in the 1850’s with an 8 stamp mill added in 1867. The mine reached a depth of 3030′ on incline and a drift connected to the…
I have never seen a headframe so twisted, mangled and distorted. I really wonder how this happened, to much load, wind, who knows? The claim is composed of…
Certainly one of my all time favorites. The giant stamp mill sits right next to a well maintained gravel road only a short distance from the highway. Virtually…
Not much is known about the Ryan Mine except it has a 400′ deep shaft and produced 1700 tons of ore in 1940. We were able to drive…
The Green Mine is located just east of Mi-Wuk Village. I found it on a USGS Historic Topo map showing a shaft and a structure, I also found…
The Dawn Mine Trail was a popular moderate 2.2 mile hike past Millard Falls up to Dawn Mine but the trail was closed and fenced by forest service due to a…
The El Doarado Mine is located at the northern edge of the Whiskytown National Recreation Area. The nps.gov site makes no mention of the mine so it is…
Lucky me! I was perusing local USGS Historic Topo’s and came across this awesome find. From Google Earth I could clearly see a mine shaft, a ball mill,…
There are hundreds of mines and several headframes in the gold rich hills east of Goldfield NV. Prominent are the Florence Mine, the Little Florence Mine, The Laguna…
There are hundreds of mines and several headframes in the gold rich hills east of Goldfield NV. Prominent are the Florence Mine, the Little Florence Mine, The Laguna…
Located only 1 mile north of Searchlight NV and only a few yards off Highway 95 the Southern Nevada Mine is in remarkable condition. The mill house still…
The Lucy Gray is a popular 4X4 destination. Several structures are still standing in the camp and many adits have been sealed with bat gates but doubtful all as…
The Noonday is one of three mines frequented in the Shoshone Mines group. Along with the War Eagle and the Columbia these mines are popular among underground enthusiast.…
The Columbia is one of three mines frequented in the Shoshone Mines group. Along with the War Eagle and the Noonday these mines are popular among underground enthusiast.…
The War Eagle is an extremely popular destination for underground adventurist, very little remains at the surface. Massive tailings are indicative of the extensive tunneling. The mine runs…
Don’t let the name fool you. This federal government owned mining site began operation in the early 1900. Modern operations began after WWII and continued into the 80′s.…
Bodie is the king of the ghost towns and also the most authentic mining town remaining in California. You wont find any hot dogs or souvenirs here (well,…
I stumbled upon some photos of the Yellow Jacket Mine, New York Mine, Caledonia Mine, and the Kentucky Mine. All seemed haunted, abandoned and isolated in the middle of…
Several miles up the rugged and remote Jail Canyon exist the remarkably unaltered Corona Mine. The road up Jail Canyon has been washed away by flash flood many…
Want to buy a gold mine? There are plenty for sale near Standard Hill, W. W. Bowers first found gold here in March of 1894. There are dozens…
When I found this on Google Earth I thought the satellite image showed a standing stamp mill. However when we drove by we could see it was…
Mount Gaines is a huge operation with a long history of owners, financial battles and politics that continue to today. Just search google and you will find scattered…
I got excited searching USGS Historical Topo’s when I stumbled upon St Marys Mine. I got even more excited when I saw what looked like a standing stamp mill…
On a trip from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon we stumbled upon Chloride after a stop for gas in Uranus. Gold and other minerals were first discovered…
I found this stamp mill searching the internet. No real information other than it is near Salado Creek off Hunt Rd near Milton, CA. You can see it…
A standing 5 stamp mill in LA County, next to a freeway? Hard to believe but true. A website created by the late Hugh Blanchard chronicles much gold…
The “May Lundy Mine” is located at 11,000 ft on the east side of Mt. Scowden near the Tioga Crest. I doubt anyone has been up there for…
Not much info is out there on this mine other than production data from the late 1800’s, early 1900’s and a few pictures. The mine’s claim to fame…
The Big Bell Mine (Death Valley) is located in the Chloride Cliffs between Chloride City and the Keane Wonder Mine. Most certainly named after the Big Bell in…
The Keane Wonder Mine (Death Valley) was discovered by Jack Keane in the early 1900’s along the Chloride Cliffs below Chloride City. In 1906 investors made the mine…
The Wall Street two stamp mill is located in the Joshua Tree National Park. The dry desert air along with the corrugated roof and heavy timbers have kept…
Skidoo, located in Death Valley National Park was famous in the early 1900′s. Producing over 75,000 ounces of gold. But by 1917 the town was abandoned. The only…
This Southern California gold mine located in Joshua Tree National Park has been plugged with expanding foam then covered with dirt. But the original stamp mill exist in…
There were hundreds of “Eagle” mines in the West but this is the real deal. So close to the millions of residents of LA county but so remote…
Discovered in 1895 by Tom Vincent the Big Horn Mine was named after the sheep he was hunting. He sold the mine and it was worked for many…
USGS historic topo maps show dozens or maybe hundreds of mines around the town of Bodie. Particularly Silver Hill and Bodie Bluff. So much that satellite images of…
The owners have closed the mine tours. After a landslide at the mine they were no longer able to continue tours due to the insurance company. I believe…
This is the real deal. The Eagle and High Peak mines are open for guided tours through a 100o’ tunnel up and down ladders and stairs. Lots of…
The Castaic Mine is perhaps one of the most infamous LA area gold mines. It is here that legendary gold mine explorer Hugh Blanchard met his death. Property…
Sometimes the temptation to go ghost towning and exploring abandoned mine shafts is overwhelming. On a family road trip from Vegas to the Grand Canyon I couldn’t help…