Skip to Main Content

Randsburg, California: Living Ghost Town

A couple of saloons, a general store, a museum, a couple of touristy businesses, and a population of under 100 linger at a desert mining camp.

Address:
Butte Ave., Randsburg, CA
Directions:
General Store at Butte Ave and CR 797.
Hours:
Weekends 11-3. Closed 2nd half of Dec. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
760-374-2102
Save to My Sights

Visitor Tips and News About Living Ghost Town

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Ghost Town.

Living Ghost Town

Public bathrooms at the park. Nothing was open at 2 pm on a weekday. Beautiful artifacts. Complete wagons, mining equipment, wells.

[K Palma, 01/17/2023]

Ghost town of Red Mountain.

Historic Rand Mining District

The historic Rand Mining District in Southern California, which includes Randsburg, Johannesburg, Atolia, and Red Mountain, attracts visitors from all over. They are considered living ghost towns. Visitors still prospect here, off road, hike, and enjoy the scenery, old facades, mining equipment, etc. Randsburg makes good food at the old General Store and they have a wonderful museum. Red Mountain has the historic Owl Cafe and Mining Museum which has a colorful history -- from the mining days to Prohibition on up. Atolia still has many old structures left for the process of extracting gold and tungsten.

[Dan Stanton, 11/09/2019]

Bottle Trees.

Living Ghost Town

Randsburg is an interesting place and even has a working General Store, and "saloon" which often attracts motorcyclists and off-roaders (on the weekends only). Look for the numerous "bottle trees" which add color and sparkle to this dusty ghost town.

[Matt Gordon, 09/29/2013]

Opera House.

Living Ghost Town

Cute enough place. Worth a stop and a few photos. It was kind of busy when we went.

[Shantel, 03/25/2012]

Sept. 2013: Photo added.

Living Ghost Town

An old mining camp in the Mojave Desert. Has two saloons, General Store (great milk shakes and phosphorus sodas), art gallery, Old West photo studio, curio shops. The Joint (saloon) is 100 years old. Mining Museum.

[Tom O'Donnell, 01/27/2012]

Nearby Offbeat Places

Borax Visitor CenterBorax Visitor Center, Boron, CA - 23 mi.
Boron Aerospace Museum - The Right StuffBoron Aerospace Museum - The Right Stuff, Boron, CA - 25 mi.
Twenty Mule Team MuseumTwenty Mule Team Museum, Boron, CA - 25 mi.
In the region:
Painted Rocks - Military Boulders, Fort Irwin, CA - 54 mi.

Latest Tips Across Roadside America

Catch up on the latest discoveries from the road.

Explore Thousands of Oddball Tourist Attractions!

Unique destinations in the U.S. and Canada are our special obsession. Use our attraction recommendation and maps to plan your next road trip.

My Sights

My Sights on Roadside America

Create and Save Your Own Crazy Road Trip! ...Try My Sights

Mobile Apps

Roadside America app: iPhone, iPad Roadside America app for iPhone, iPad. On-route maps, 1,000s of photos, special research targets! ...More

Roadside Presidents app: iPhone, iPad Roadside Presidents app for iPhone, iPad. POTUS landmarks, oddities. ...More

California Latest Tips and Stories

Latest Visitor Tips

Sight of the Week

Sight of the Week

Easter Island Moai in America (Mar 25-31, 2024)

SotW Archive

USA and Canada Tips and Stories

More Sightings