Calico Ghost Town, Southern California

[darkfairycthulu]

Roughly two hours by car away from Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm lies Calico Ghost Town, up in the hills near Yermo, CA. It is now a regional park, after being donated to the county in 1966 by Walter Knott, who refurbished it during the fifties and sixties. A very interesting and fun sidetrip, and any fan of Knott's Berry Farm will recognize and be nostalgiac over certain aspects of the place, some of which are now lost from Knott's itself. Let's have a look, shall we?






Sweet potato pone and pig's feet? Awesome.










A wall of photos of some the very dedicated former employees....


Caution: DEATH!


Walter Knott's dedication carving.












Knott is honored by having a bust still in town with a small plaque.








There are a few peek-in/window scenes, reminiscent of Knott's...more to come.




There's even just a touch of Haunt










Pole Cat Pete was indeed inhabiting his jail cell. It looked to be trying to match the effect of Sad-Eyed Joe, but Pete wasn't talkative while we were there...










The saloon, with it's very oddly executed paintings of famous gunslingers and outlaws.


Plastic dinosaurs!


And the required plastic cowboys and native americans...though why they are psychadelic rainbow colors, I am not sure.






Mmmm. Deliciousness.




Bottle House.



Not pictured, but there is also a operating Mystery Shack attraction, with guided tours, like the old days at Knott's.














Looks to me like this cowpoke had his cement hand broken to remove his gun. Ah, good old historical revisionism.




Calico also has a walking mine tour, for those interested in walking through poorly lit caves and having creepy, dusty mannequins leer at you. Count me in!






The first section of cave had something familiar to fans of the old Mineral Hall at Disneyand, a case full of rocks and a display where the lights went down and small blacklights came on to make them glow.


As a Haunt veteran and fan, the mine tour was the most interesting heh from the standpoint of being full of opportunities for potential scares...as well as hosting several scenes reminiscent of the Mine Train attraction at Knott's.










Time for lunch!


After a very tasty pulled pork sandwich, it was time to saddle up and make the drive out to the land of Disney, to make it in time for Bat's Day the next morning....

Definitely a landmark worth visiting for old-west afficinados, as well as those who enjoy slightly weird tourist traps, and a must-see for any fans of the old Knott's Berry Farm and Ghost Town. Hope you enjoyed!

[SummerInFL]

Loved the TR, thanks for sharing and the commentary was wonderful.

[ni_teach]

Thanks for the trip report. I was there once back when I was a kid. I'm glad to see that they are keeping the place running and looking good.

[aashee]

What great pictures. Thanks again DFC, you do trip reports right.

[seenoevil]

Gee, you've been getting out and about, haven't you? I haven't been to Calico in a million years! I think the last time, my little son was in a stroller, now he's 23!

[vfire]

Great TR, I've been curious about Calico for a long time but never made the trip due it being a bit out of the way. I would like to make the trip some day so I hope it doesn't disappear. It must be really hot there now.

[aimster]

I went to Calico back in I think 1985 or 1989 (one of the 2 times I've been to California). I remember being to chicken to go on the mine tour. I think I might have some pics somewhere. I'll see if I can find them.

[Rex Dopey24]

wow those pictures are amazing. I would like to visit that place.

[Athlonacon]

Calico is a fun place, Walter Knott had a lot of foresight and did a lot of good work preserving the old west and saving it from complete oblivion. I'm sure back in the 1950's and 60's there were still some people who could actually remember the old west days, but now that they are gone this town (and the others like it) are our only link to that time. It's such a huge part of our history and is unique to our country, it's so nice to know that it's still being preserved for generations to come.

[Wyatt Furr]

Thanks for the report.
Its only 2 hours south of me,you think I would go.....

[SaraNoH]

Really, really neat TR. I heart Calico and I'm glad somebody else recognized how cool this place is. I visited maybe three years ago and I took the night time ghost tour. It was OK, but the coolest part has got to be the fact that you and like 12 other people get to walk around that place in the dark with only your leader guiding you. Very creepy. I'll be visiting during the day in a few weeks on a roadtrip to Cali. Also, your pics are great--capturing the best of each little nook and crannie!

Love Calico, love Knott's, loved this TR.

[WesternMouse]

Is there any noticeable evidence of the 2001 fire?

Fire Destroys Part of Calico Ghost Town - Los Angeles Times

[SpaceDad]

It's great to see a trip report from one of my favorites. I've been living next to Calico for 30 years, and still visit a few time a year. One of my favorite things is a dried spice mix called Calico Dip that can be found in the stores.

Is there any noticeable evidence of the 2001 fire?

Fire Destroys Part of Calico Ghost Town - Los Angeles Times

They have cleaned up pretty good from this and rebuilt some of the buildings.

[ERIN92345]

COOL! thanks for the pics... now I don't have to go there

[Annie89]

O Man i love Calico, I was just there in june it was so hot! but alot of fun! it's funny i took alot of similar photos like the skeleton with the dealer hat i loved that guy anyways great TR!