"Calico Ghost Town - Historical Landmark #782" Top 5 Page for this destination Calico by PartyRambo

Calico Travel Guide: 42 reviews and 137 photos

"There's borate in them thar hills!!!"

April 6, 1881, several claims were located in this mining district. All bunched together, they formed one of the richest deposits of borate minerals around.
Gold? No, but borate? Borate mineral structures incorporate either the BO3 triangle or BO4 tetrahedron in which oxygen or hydroxyl groups are located at the vertices of a triangle or at the corners of a tetrahedron with a central boron atom, respectively... OK, OK, I stole that text from http://www.death-valley.us/contentid-8.html - so sue me! ><

What are they good for? The most common commercial name would be Borax... sound familiar? It's soap... detergent soap.
No wonder they thought it was valuable as gold - you ever been in a saloon with a miner? Boy, they need a wash!!!

The town's history:
1881 - Born
1907 - 'died' when the mines dried up
1951 - Restored
1966 - Donated to San Bernardino County
-Produced $86,000,000 in silver
-Produced $45,000,000 in borax
Famous Mines of the more than 500 that eventually worked here - the Silver King, Odessa, Waterloo, Garfield, Oriental, Bismarck & Maggie.

Silver was King!

Freight train

"In 1881, silver was king here," notes the pamphlet, "with 22 saloons, mercantile stores and sterling mines."
You can walk the tunnels of Maggie Mine, ride a narrow guage train, or watch water roll uphill in the Mystery Shack.
There's a bunkhouse for those wanting to stay overnight, trails to explore, horses to ride.

Where are we?

Overview of the metropolis

Take I-15 to Ghost Town Road exit, just 10 minutes north of Barstowe, CA.
1-800-TO-CALICO
1-760-254-2047 FAX
http://www.calicotown.ca
Open all year except Dec. 25
8:00 AM - dusk
Shops/attractions open 9:00-5:00
Population: 10 today from a peak of 1,200 in 1887.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Never seen a ghost town before...
Cons:Typical tourist trap - bring your OWN water...
In a nutshell:Interesting stop, and just a few minutes off the freeway!

Last visit to Calico: Aug 1999
Intro Updated Oct 23, 2003
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Reviews (13)

Calico Rambo... sounds like a fighting cat! - Calico

Take a picture of yourself in a ghost... Tourist Traps (1)

Yep, can't say I was strong enough to pass it up - had to sneak in a picture of me & the town. more travel advice

Mountains of miscellaneous mined mineral. - Calico

Mountains of miscellaneous mined... Favorites (3)

Piles and piles of tossed-away rock & dirt are piled around the outskirts of town. Yet when you think about what a... more travel advice

Miners were here! Favorites (3)

Born in March 1881, Calico was a boomtown in just a few years, boasting its own Chinatown and red light district. When,... more travel advice

Fun in the sun? or Run in the sun? - Calico

Fun in the sun? or Run in the sun? Sports & Outdoors (1)

You can get a tan out here in the desert, or go for a jog. It's about 8 miles from the highway, so you can get a good... more travel advice

Shopping (3)
See All Calico Leather Works
Hotels (1)
The bathroom takes a little getting used...
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Comments (3)

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DEBBBEDB May 28, 2008 at 7:23 AM

VT has TWO Calicos This one is near Hollis and Bakersfield and does not have the ghost town in it to visit
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grandmaR Apr 16, 2005 at 8:48 AM

This place where you have your Calico page is near Hollis in California
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KristaB Jun 20, 2004 at 5:21 AM

I just found the picture of me being arrested by Calico sheriff, so I went to check if this place exists on VT- what a find! Great fun, reading through this page!