Several years into exploring we surprisingly enough had never heard of New Idria. After binge watching Wonder Hussy’s YouTube Channel we realized the site was no secret and…
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…
Unlike many of the sites we visit, Atolia has tons of data out on the web. Its relatively modern past from 1907 to 2007 combined with its extremely…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
Silver was found at the Bonanza King mine in 1880. By 1882 a large vein was struct valued at $1200 per ton. The mine was sold that year…
Silver-lead mining began in 1882 at the Ibex Mine but was never very profitable and shut down by 1892. For the next 15 years the mines only resident…
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 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 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…
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…
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…
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,…
In the foothills above the affluent San Jose suburb of Almaden Valley lies dozens of mercury mines and the ruins from nearly 140 years of mining operations. The…
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…
The Old Dutch Cleanser Company obtained its pumice from this mine from 1923 to 1947. I know this is a gold mine site but I just could not resist…
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…
Bonnie Claire began it’s life as a mining camp named Thorpe’s Well in the 1880’s. It became a town in 1904. Later the Bonnie Clare and Bullfrog Mining Company purchased…
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…
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…
The Newton is the only copper mine so far that we have visited and added to this site. It sits only yards off highway 88 so it was…
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…
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 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…
Located along the 1 mile El Cariso Nature trail is an abandoned mine with an unsealed entrance. A favorite spot among hikers and an easy hike. Access to…
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…
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 Blue Light Mine has a fascinating yet grim history. Brothers Nicholas and Glen Anderson entered the mine in 2002 and never made it out. Notorius for low…
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.…
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…
Everyone knows the Barker Ranch as the Manson Family hideout and probable location for several Manson Family murder clandestine graves. Located in Death Valley’s Goler Canyon. The ranch…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Chemung mine operated from 1909 to 1938. Mining both high grade and low grade ore totaling one million in production. During this time three mills were erected…