Trifter

Calico Ghost Town, in Yerma, California, offers a wide variety of unique activities, merchandise, and experiences. The mining town, converted into a tourist attraction and historical landmark, offers education and entertainment for “Wild West” enthusiasts of all ages.

One of the many attractions in Calico Ghost Town is the tour of what was once a functioning mine. The mine itself has been fortified and lighted to ensure visitors’ safety. There may be moments in the tour, however, when visitors are exposed to the near-total darkness that miners would have experienced in early days. Within the mine, sample metals and minerals are on display, including the mine’s primary source of income: silver. The minerals are displayed in their natural state to show visitors what the minerals would have looked like to miners and how those miners would have identified them. In some cases, the minerals are displayed under black light to show the reactions of those minerals the light, and to demonstrate how contemporary miners would identify them.

Another activity in Calico Ghost Town is the coal car/train ride tour of the outskirts of the town, narrated by one of the rangers. On this tour, visitors learn some of the general history of the town, as well as information about the construction, fires, and subsequent reconstruction that the town has undergone since it was first established.

The buildings of Calico Ghost Town, most of which are the original buildings, are meticulously maintained to be as authentic now as they were when they were first constructed. Those buildings that were damaged or destroyed in the fires that ravaged the town in the past have been carefully restored and are almost exact replicas of the original buildings.

Most of the buildings in the town are still serving their original purpose, or some function very similar to it. The general store, for example, still bears the name “General Store,” and offers a wide variety of merchandise, including period clothing, souvenir clothing, weapon replicas, toys, food, beverages, candy, general souvenirs, and other nick-nacks. Similarly, the saloon still bears its original name, and serves as a restaurant, offering authentic bottled sasparilla, as well as rootbear floats, cheeseburgers, and other contemporary meals and treats, cleverly named to suggest earlier times. Some buildings have been converted into gift shops, and even small art galleries as well.

Other attractions include tours of a house built on a dramatic slant in order to compensate for an alleged infirmity, supposedly by a man with one leg shorter than the other, as well as daily reenactments of hold-ups and other “Wild West” adventures by actors in full period costume. The actors, when not performing specific shows, meander throughout the town in character, adding to the authentic atmosphere of the attitude. In addition to the actors themselves, many of the business owners, rangers, and employees dress in period clothing to add to the “Wild West” atmosphere.

While the town is built on a relatively level area, there are a great many sights to be seen, and moderate walking involved to get from place to place, so comfortable walking shoes are recommended for visitors.