Calico Ghost Town is in San Bernadino County. The mailing address is Yermo, CA It was originally a silver mining town. When the silver ran out the town fell on hard times. They mined borax (remember 20 mule team borax soap!) but when the depression hit, the investors lost all their money and the town became a ghost of what it had been.
Calico is on the edge of the Mojave Desert. It is now a regional park run by San Bernadino County. There is a campground which includes several cabins with electricity (a short walk to the restrooms). The town consists of some restored original buildings and some reproductions of buildings that burned down in a fire a while back. The town is up on a bluff and behind some mountains to hide from the wind. There is a climb on stone and wood stairs. There is a back way up for disabled to get to the town.
Since the town is on a bluff there is a nice view of the valley and desert.
I would not recommend tenting here, the wind is like a small hurricane! We had reserved cabins (thank heavens!) and pebbles blown up on the porch hitting the door were hard to sleep to. We turned on the air conditioner to mask the wind noise! RVs would probably be fine, especially if you pick a site that is protected by a hill. The town is interesting although we did not experience much of it since we arrived in late afternoon and left just after they opened for the day.
The two best things we experienced here was: 1.) The amazing rock formations all around the town. The kids felt this was one of the best experiences they had on the whole trip. 2.)the lack of city lights at night. When we got up in the middle of the night the wind had stopped and the stars were so beautiful!! They looked so close as to touch them! Wonderful!
