Approximate location — plotted from published sources, not a site visit, and not a guarantee of access.
California's best-preserved gold-rush ghost town sits at ~8,400 ft in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra, maintained by State Parks in a deliberate state of arrested decay. Dozens of original buildings, stamp-mill ruins, and a cemetery remain open for self-guided walking when the seasonal road is open. The remote high-desert setting and intact street grid make it a defining Southwest mining-town stop.