"Meet the past in Bodie..." Bodie by gubbi1

Bodie Travel Guide: 33 reviews and 106 photos

Very early on my trip I reached one of the destinations I was planning to visit right from the beginning of my first trip to California: The ghost town of Bodie. This place is very unique. Years after the town was abondoned, it was declared as State Historic Park. Unlike Calico, which is now very touristic with shops, restaurants and fun stuff, Bodie is intended to be preserved in its state when it was declared as State Park. Nothing is restored (except the houses of the rangers, they stay there even in winter), just kept as it was.
Coming to Bodie you should bring a lot of time, half a day can easily pass when you try to look into each house. And that is in my opinion the most fun of the park. In some houses, I was surprised about the amount of houses, you will see the interior how it was left behind when people moved out of town.

To give you an impression of Bodie, you should know that about 10,000 people lived there during its best time. Many houses have been destroyed by fire in the time when still people lived there, so what you see today is about 5% of the buildings which used to form the town.

My recommendation to you is to spent the money (I think it was 3 dollars) for the guide, which you can purchase when entering the park (my suggestion) or in the small shop in town. In it you will find a map on which each house has a number. With this number you can look up a lot of information about the house and the people who lived there. Much is known about the inhabitants, it was quite a wild town ... :)

Here are some links which can help you in advance to plan your visit:
The one and only official Bodie page...
Interested in Ghosttowns? That's your page!
About Bodie with some pics of the Mining Buildings which are only accessible with a guided tour.
Pictures of Ghosttowns, just found it...
Very nice private page dedicated to Bodie.