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Welcome to Bodie, California’s most authentic ghost town! Located in the hills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, not too far from the incredible Mono Lake, Bodie is a beautiful reminder of the Wild West. But what you see today is a mere shadow of what was once a thriving gold-mining town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in Mono County.
A Brief History of Bodie
In 1861 a mill was established here and the town began to grow. It started with about 20 miners. Due to other strikes in the area Bodie’s development started very slowly, but it eventually boomed.
By 1879 Bodie was a thriving, bustling place, containing some 600 to 800 buildings and a population of about 10,000 people. But with the growth of the population also grew the town’s bad reputation for wickedness and bad men.
The town of Bodie was named after Waterman S. Bodey who discovered gold here in 1859. It’s not certain how the spelling of the town’s name came about. Some sources attribute it to an illiterate sign painter. Others claim the spelling was deliberately changed by the citizens to ensure proper pronunciation.
Bodie – a Gold-Mining Town With a Bad Reputation
Bodie was considered one of the most violent and lawless towns in the Wild West. Killings, staged robberies and street fights occurred almost every day. At some point there were about 65 saloons in town, numerous brothels, gambling halls and opium dens.
The story goes that one little girl, whose family was taking her to the infamous town, wrote in her diary: “Goodbye God, I’m going to Bodie.” The phrase became known throughout the West. Bodie had a bad climate reputation too: melting hot summers and savage winters, with winds that can sweep across the valley at close to 100 miles per hour.
How Did Bodie Become a Ghost Town
Bodie’s downfall was caused by a series of unfortunate events. The first one was a big earthquake that struck, causing severe damages to the main vein of the mine. The investors decided it would be too much trouble and cost to relocate it. Then, in 1892 a disastrous fire destroyed much of the town, followed by another devastating one several years later.
Although some mining continued, Bodie was already dying. Its citizens were leaving. The town’s decline was also accelerated by the Prohibition and the Depression. By the 1950s all the mining ceased and Bodie became a ghost town. In 1962, after years of neglect, the Ghost Town of Bodie became a California Historic Site.
They say that although over $75million in gold was taken from Bodie Butte, there is still as much gold left in the ground as it was taken out. However, water invaded the tunnels and shafts and the cost of mining would exceed the gold’s present day value. So for now, the gold will probably stay where it is.
What to Expect in Bodie Ghost Town
Today there are only 168 remaining structures in Bodie. Nonetheless, the town is one of the most authentic gold-mining towns of the Old West. In contrast with other ghost towns like Calico, or Jerome, which are more commercialized, Bodie looks really abandoned and isolated. It’s like an open-air museum where you see authentic structures from 160 years ago.
Strolling through the quiet, dusty streets gives you a peek into the heart and soul of this town that was once bustling with life. The abandoned buildings and old furnishings stirred your imagination. You can almost envision those whose lives played out here over a century ago.
There are no commercial facilities at Bodie, or within 14 miles of the Historic Park. So if you are planning a visit you should bring your own food and water.
Restrooms are located in the parking lot and the picnic area. There is no smoking allowed in the park, except in the parking lot. Certain areas in the park are uncertain and thus closed to the public.
How to Reach Bodie Ghost Town
Bodie State Park sits on the California/Nevada border of U.S. Highway 395, about 135 miles south of Reno. South Lake Tahoe is only about an hour away.
Reaching Bodie from the Highway 395 is quite difficult. The 270 Road leading to town is actually a dusty and bumpy dirt road. With so difficult access, it’s surprising that over 200,000 people come to visit Bodie every year.
Bodie ghost town make a great California getaway
Best Time to Visit Bodie
The ghost town of Bodie is technically open year round. The hours of operation are: 9:00am to 4:00pm from November 1 to May 14, and 9:00am to 6:00pm from May 15 to October 31.
Bodie sits on a high altitude plateau, so weather-wise you can count on dry, hot summers and long, cold winters, filled with snow. In fact, Bodie is one of the coldest spots in the country.
If you plan to visit Bodie in winter, you have to be aware that the road that takes you to town is not plowed. Even if you drive a 4-wheel car, I recommend you check the road conditions before making the trip. The best time to visit is from from spring to fall.
We visited the town in mid winter, when very few visitors were around. However, the place is quite vast so I can’t imagine it’s ever too crowded.
Costs are: $8 per adult, $5 children for 4 – 17; children 3 and under are free. Only cash or checks are accepted at the park entrance station.
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anda
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Good piece, and thank you for the part most ghost town writing skips: Bodie was not abandoned, it was defunded. The mines stopped paying, the mill closed, and the town was only kept standing after the state started paying to keep it standing. That is the honest shape of a preserved place. A ghost town is not a town nobody loves. It is a town whose renewals stopped and whose repairs became somebody else’s bill.
I keep a short list of places with that shape, mostly on coasts, where the sea is the one that stops paying.
Thanks for your comment, Dimitri.
One number I’d tighten, since Bodie is a place I’ve spent real time on: “about 10,000 people” is the folklore figure. The 1880 census counted 5,416. Still the biggest town Mono County ever had, but the 10,000 belongs to the town’s legend rather than the ledger. Everything else here rings true, especially the wind.
Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it.
My ex’s great great great uncle was a sheriff at Bodie and i know the history about what happen to the people there
It must be very interesting to people who eye-witnessed of what happened in Bodie.
Anything about the history would be great to read if you’d post it. We’re going there this year.
There is already a brief history of Bodie in this post.
I have to laugh at your description of the ‘dusty’ road in to Bodie. It wasn’t dusty when we visited. It snowed the night before and we only just got through. I remember David talking on the phone to my brother (in Australia) asking, in jest, where all the heat and tumbleweeds that he had described to us were. He visited Bodie in the heat of summer and we were there in autumn. The several feet of snow on the ground was such a contrast to his hot and dusty experience
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I can imagine how difficult the road to Bodie must have been in a few feet of snow. I think it was very brave of you to attempt it in winter. That road is not serviced and if you get stuck there you may not even have phone reception to call for help.
I’m surprised, and happy, that this hasn’t been commercialized. When I hear of ghost towns in California, I always think of Columbia which was an old ghost town that has been over-commercialized. I will certainly make my way to Bodie at some point in time. Thanks for linking in to
I’ve never heard of a ghost town named “Columbia” in California, Jim. You made me really curious. I believe the one you are referring to is Calico. That one has really been commercialized.
This is a true ghost town. amazing to think this could exist today, Nice find!
I like the sepia tone photos of Bodie. Thanks for the interesting history on this mining town. I’ve visited ghost towns but not this one.
Bodie is on my itinerary for a trip I’m taking next month. Thanks for the preview of what I’ll see. I’m looking forward to it.
Incredible story. We went to gold rush country some years ago and I found it absolutely fascinating – all these ghost towns had such a palpable sense of history about them.
So evocative and what exquisite pictures. There’s nothing like visiting a ghost town and you found a real gem.
Wow Anda, your photos are stunning!
Happy to have found your blog!
Happy travels and have a great week.
Allane
I have wanted to go to Bodie for a long time. It looks so interesting and all this history and information you provided is great. What a neat little town to visit.
What a coincidence; my father-in-law was just talking about Bodie a few days ago. He has been there twice. As a long-time California resident he has seen his share of ghost towns and said this is the most authentic of all. Apparently the historical society has established a policy to keep Bodie exactly the way it was found and not do any restoration.
You are right, Linda. Bodie is being kept in a “state of arrested decay”
I love places like this. Your sepia editing makes it so much more realistic. I just found you and will be linking up sometimes soon 🙂
Hope to see you here every week-end, Betty.
I find these ghost towns like Bodie fascinating, we don’t have anything similar in the UK
The reason the Wild West Ghost Towns are so fascinating is exactly because you can’t find them anywhere else, Suze. But don’t worry, you have other fascinating things in the UK that we don’t have here.
So interesting!! Ghost towns always strike me as ‘something typical for the US’ as it makes me think of westerns 😉 Ha,how about that stereotype! I have seem some ghost towns when I was in Nevada, impressive!
Thanx for the link party!!
You are welcome, Esther. Thanks for linking up.
After winding up my road trip around the ghost towns of the Mojave I began reading a lot about Bodie. What an incredible piece of wild west history.
Fascinating story, thank you for sharing! Was it eerie visiting it, to see an entire town with no one around?
I visited Bodie the second time after 2o years, and found it unchanged, except the presence of security vehicles and people. I think there still is gold there, and that is what they are there for, not the visitor’s safety!
The views of the Sierras on the drive back to the highway are magnificent, and the place is a gold mine if just for the amount of stuff left over, witness of human struggle 150 years ago! Much has changed for the better!
I love old ghost towns! You’ve captured Bodie perfectly in your article and black & white pictures.
Hi Anda, very very interesting post. I heard about Bodie but didn’t learn about it in so much details until now. It sounds like a modern day Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s a true Ghost town indeed. It’s amazing to see the state they were left at and that they’re still intact. If I didn’t read your narratives, I would think this is a movie set. Your photos are beautiful – they capture the loneliness and the ghostly atmosphere of Bodie.
hi Anda, these are such great pictures! And a very interesting story.
How long is the dirt road into Bodie? Do you need a truck to drive it?
Thank you for hosting #TheWeeklyPostcard.
Steve
The dirt road is about 13 miles. We had a 4-wheel drive truck, but if there is no snow you can manage with any car.
We visited Bodie years ago with our two boys. My brother had been there previously and told us we just had to go to see and feel the heat and desolation. He described tumbleweeds blowing along the street pushed along by hot gusty winds. When we arrived there was about three feet of snow covering everything. The road in was only just passable. We loved it – it felt so much like the ‘wild west’ but the contrast with my brother’s description of heat and drought couldn’t have been stronger.
Indeed, Lyn, the climate is very extreme: torrid summers in contrast with very harsh winters. We were lucky to get a very mild weather when we visited (although it was February). Those poor people living in Bodie … can you imagine?