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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Hite Cove (aka Hites Cove) is small mining camp tucked along the Merced River. John Hite discovered gold here in 1862 and ran the mine for 17 years.…
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…
Aurora Nevada is a fascinating ex-ghost town with almost nothing too see. How can there be an ex-ghost town? Well, that is the interesting part of Aurora. Once…
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…
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 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…
First settled in 1849 as “Nevada” but not incorporated until 1856 and the word “city” added in 1864. Today the town features many period buildings including hotels and…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
We visited Harrisburg in 2014. Moderately preserved with moderate vandalism, sadly. Harrisburg is located in Death Valley National Park only a short distance west of the Eureka Mine.…
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…
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…
Murphys was originally known as Murphys Camp, named after brothers John and Daniel who began placer mining in the area in 1848. Claims were limited to 8 sq/ft…
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…
Noonday Camp consist of upper and lower camp as shown in the USGS topo map in the photo gallery below. No structures remain only foundations with the exception…
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…
Briggs Camp is a popular 4×4 destination with a well cared for cabin. The Cabin was built by Harry Briggs a miner and is now cared for by…
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…
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…
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…
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…