[review] Calico Ghost Town San Bernandino, California

Calico Ghost Town

A ghost town is a town that has few or no remaining residents. The Calico ghost town was a former mining town located in San Bernandino county. It is not far outside of Barstow.

Calico has been around since 1881 and over 500 silver mines were being dug in the area. The actual history of Calico is fairly interesting. This stop felt like a major tourist trap though.

Walter Knott who had worked the mines of Calico came back and purchased the town and began restoring it. Today all the building that stand are open as shops of various types. The town was loaded with tourists. If you ignore all the tourists and shops trying to take your money the $8 admission fee isn't bad and it is dog friendly. It is interesting to see how people there lived and it is a nice spot to walk around.

Also there is an old silver mine you can walk through for an additional $3 which I did and enjoyed. In fact that mine was one of my main reasons for wanting to visit Calico.

Overall Calico is extremely family and dog friendly. There are also campsites and rv hookups available for an extra fee. I enjoyed my visit but if I didn't have time to visit I wouldn't feel like I missed out on much and I saved a little money.