One Of California's Most Famous Ghost Towns Is A Once-Thriving Boom Town That's Now A Quirky Tourist Trap

Although it was utterly abandoned by the mid-1890s, the Old West ghost town of Calico, California, is now a state historic landmark that costs $8 to enter. Here, you'll find Maggie Mine, once the silver-laden lifeblood of the town, now filled with life-sized dolls in set-pieces and purchasable kitsch. There's also The Mystery Shack, a magic show meets Bill Nye hut complete with an entrance fee of $4.50, as well as Lil's Beer Garden and its souvenir shop decked out with shelves of sugary candies. Depending on how you look at it, Calico is either a family-friendly Old West theme park or a groan-worthy tourist trap.

Back when Calico was founded back in 1881 – about a 20-minute drive from nearby Barstow and around 2 hours from Los Angeles — its 30 miles of mines bred the biggest boom a boom town could want. By 1899, so much silver had flooded the market that Calico was basically dead, its miners having fled. Even most of the settlement's perishable structures were completely burned down. The "ghost town" that travelers can visit today — accessible via Ghost Town Road, no less — was built in the 1950s by Walter Knott, the man behind Knott's Berry Farm, an amusement park that's a cheaper alternative to Disneyland.

That's not to say that Calico doesn't make for a fun time, provided you know that it's basically a theme park. It's not period-accurate like the Massachusetts town that's a "portrait of old New England charm," Old Sturbridge Village, nor is it similar to Darwin, California, the remote ghost town filled with desert art. But it could potentially make for a neat (if not a bit touristy) trip, provided you temper your expectations.

So what exactly can you do at Calico, California, except get the wrong impression about turn-of-the-20^th-century mining boom towns? The truth is two-fold: Yes, there's a decent amount of things to do, but many of those things can be toured in 15 minutes or less, and cost extra. There's also no big, stand-out attraction like a mining cart roller coaster swerving through a fake mine shaft. That idea is on us, Calico. 

Calico does, however, have the short, circular Calico Odessa Railroad loop on a tiny, kids' train that lasts 8 and a half minutes and costs $5.50 for adults and $3 for kids aged 5 to 10. Therein lies the other problem with Calico: the additional costs. At $8 to enter, $4.50 each for the Maggie Mine Tour, Mystery Shack, and Gold Panning Adventure, $5.50 for the train ride, plus food, drinks, gas to get there, souvenirs, and knick-knacks ... Well, you can see how the whole thing might start to feel like a tourist trap. And the Gold Panning Adventure, by the way, is more of an exhibit where you learn about how to pan for gold and then purchase things to take home with you to pretend to pan for gold. We'll let you decide how fun that is.

As for the rest of what Calico has to offer, you can dress up in Old West-like clothes (except much less dirty) in Calico Photo Studio and take family, group, or couples photos. There's also the Lane House and Museum, full of furnished rooms meant to imitate the Old West, and which costs $10 to enter. Then there's the obligatory evening ghost tour that costs $25 per person.

Ultimately, Calico is a lesson in expectations. If you go there looking for authentic, crumbling saloons from the late 1800s, rusted and abandoned mining implements, and maybe a half-buried cattle skull, Calico's going to look like a fake, even satirical assemblage of cheap props. But if you go there wanting to poke around a cheaper version of Frontierland at Disney (but with far fewer mascots in full-body gear), you might enjoy yourself — so might your kids. At least it isn't the "World's Worst Tourist Trap," Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. 

Just beware that if Calico was amazing, folks probably wouldn't be complaining. And judging by the reviews on TripAdvisor, many of which are lukewarm or use the phrase "tourist trap," plenty of visitors haven't been impressed by the place. One reviewer also mentions a very odd Civil War reenactment on site, which is a strange bit of totally garbled history because the Civil War ended in 1865, Calico was founded in 1881, and California joined the U.S. as a free state, anyway. But for those who are interested, it goes on in February and has some finger foods like pretzels and tater tots available to purchase.

Another way to make the most of Calico is to stay overnight, which in the desert is a legitimately special, even spiritual, experience. The Calico Ghost Town Campground is well-rated on Google (4.5 out of a whopping 1,661 reviews). There's also room for 265 RVs, complete with showers, running water, bathrooms, grills, and electric hookups. In this way, you could use Calico as an interesting midway stop between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.