Bodie was a rip-roaring gold mining town. Over fifteen million dollars in gold and silver came out of the mines between 1878 and 1881, ten thousand people lived here (including a large Chinatown), stagecoach robberies and gun fights were common. By the 1930's Bodie was a ghost town and today it's one of the best preserved wild west towns in California.

Kids will have a great time just running around Bodie State Historic Park, all the weathered wooden buildings, including many houses, hotels, church, stable, the jail and cemetery. Be sure to peer through the windows in the houses, you'll see all the stuff people left behind when the town was deserted.

Download park brochure with info about town history and map: Bodie brochure & map.

This is great place to bring a picnic (there aren't any restaurants or snack bars in Bodie).

Tip: The road to Bodie is 13 miles off Highway 395 (the last 3 miles are dirt road, so don't try this in a rental car with low clearance). Bodie is open year round, but in winter there can be snow, and four wheel drive vehicles are required at that time.