If you’ve always been fascinated by the Old West, the cowboys, and Sergio Leone’s movies, then you should definitely go to Bodie, the ghost town par excellence, the most authentic and well-preserved Western town you will ever visit.
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Things to do in Bodie Ghost Town
Bodie, California… “a small town frozen in time”… This is how the town is described on the official website and no description could be more fitting. Bodie was abandoned in the days of the Old West and, despite having suffered the damage caused by the inevitable passage of time, is now well preserved.
As soon as you enter the Old West town, you will be surrounded by typical, perfectly preserved wooden houses, as well as saloons, shops, private homes, the sheriff’s house, a small Methodist church, the mine on the other side of the hill, and much more.
Visiting Bodie is definitely the most impressive experience of the Old West. In some cases, you can even enter and walk around the houses, venture into the rooms among the furniture and utensils of the time. So this is not a reconstruction, but a real town (a ghost town!) that is a valuable historical testimony to the legendary Far West.
Some Historical Information
Bodie was founded by William S. Bodey, who discovered a gold mine nearby in 1859. Since then, the city expanded as a hub for miners, but soon gangsters, prostitutes, thieves, and gamblers gathered there. The town became populated with saloons (65) and brothels, and became a very dangerous place to live. People were murdered on a daily basis.
The peak of the town was in 1880, when the population reached 10,000 inhabitants. Today, there are about one hundred preserved buildings.
Where is Bodie and how do you get there
Bodie is in California, east of the Sierra Nevada, and is part of Mono County, best known for the beautiful Mono Lake (we talked about it in this itinerary). To reach the town, you’ll have to take the US-395, the major road that connects the Mojave Desert to the Canadian border.
Once you arrive in Mono County you will have to take State Route 270, a rather short road, which ends just as you arrive in Bodie. The final part of the route is on a dirt road and is a bit bumpy, nothing dramatic anyway.
Make sure you have enough gas. Before entering the heart of the Far West, remember that there are no gas stations in the ghost town (and it seems natural…). So, if you are running low on gas, refuel at Lee Vining or Bridgeport (depending on which direction you’re coming from).
Here is the route that awaits you!
Best Time to Visit Bodie
While getting to Bodie is quite easy, it’s not as simple to plan an itinerary, as it is always subject to change depending on staff availability or weather conditions (call to be sure).
In general, however, the ghost town is open from the end of May to September from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and during the rest of the year from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm (check the official website of California state parks in case the times change over time). In the winter, Bodie is often covered in snow and you need to plan accordingly to visit it. In this western jewel, there is also a museum that is open between May and October.
Where to Stay in Bodie
Are you looking for a hotel in the heart of the Wild West? You can search in Mono County, where you’ll find a variety of accommodations near the ghost town. You can find a list of hotels that will suit you at the link below:
If you follow the classic route to travel through this area (you usually cross Yosemite via the Tioga Road down to Death Valley along the Eastern Sierra), my advice is to look for accommodations in Mammoth Lakes.
List of accommodations in Mammoth Lakes
I’ll conclude this article with some pictures of Bodie. See you next time!
Photo Gallery
