Location: County: Mono. Nearest City: Bodie.
Campsites, facilities: No campsites. Point of interest
to visit while on tour. To preserve the ghost town atmosphere,
there are no commercial facilities at Bodie. Restrooms are located
at the parking lot. Primitive pit toilets are available in the
townsite and in the picnic area. There is no camping at Bodie.
U.S. Forest Service campgrounds are located near Bridgeport and
Lee Vining. For information call: Bridgeport Ranger Station at
1-619-932-7070 or Lee Vining Ranger Station at 1-619-647-6525.
Reservations, fees: $2 per person, $1 for children
under six and $1.00 for dogs. Dogs are welcome to accompany park
visitors into the park, but must be on a leash at all times.
Contact: Phone the park at 1-760-647-6445.
Bodie State Historic Park
P.O. Box 515
Bridgeport CA 93517
Operating hours, seasons: Call the park for information;
Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend: 9 am to 7 pm.
The remainder of the year the park is open from 9 am to 4 pm
or as posted. Hours may vary due to weather or season and are
posted at all entrances.
Directions: The park is northeast of Yosemite, 13 miles
east of Highway 395 on Bodie Road, seven miles south of Bridgeport.
From U.S. 395 seven miles south of Bridgeport, take State Route
270. Go east 10 miles to the end of the pavement and continue
3 miles on an unsurfaced road to Bodie. The last 3 miles can
at times be rough. Reduced speeds are necessary. You are encouraged
to call the park if there are any questions on road conditions.
Weather, clothing: The weather can be changeable; layered
clothing is recommended.
Trip notes: Bodie State Historic Park is a genuine
California gold-mining ghost town. Visitors can walk down the
deserted streets of a town that once had a population of 10,000
people. The town was founded by Waterman S. Body (William Bodey),
who had discovered small amounts of gold in hills north of Mono
Lake. In 1877, the Standard Company struck pay dirt and a gold
rush transformed Bodie from a town of 20 people to a boomtown.
Only a small part of the town survives, preserved in a state
of "arrested decay." Interiors remain as they were
left and stocked with goods. The museum is open daily during
summer. The park is closed in winter. Today it looks much the
same as it did over 50 years ago when the last residents left.
A self guiding brochure describing a brief history of each building
is available at the park or by mail. A museum is open from Memorial
Day weekend through the end of September, 10 am to 5 pm. Everything
in Bodie is part of the historic scene and is fully protected.
NOTHING may be collected or removed from the park. Metal detectors
are not allowed. For public protection, certain unstable sections
of the park are posted as prohibited areas, and are closed to
entry by park visitors.
Designated as a National Historic Site and a State Historic
Park in 1962, the remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state
of "arrested decay". Today this once thriving mining
camp is visited by tourists, howling winds and an occasional
ghost. Bodie is now listed as one of the worlds 100 most endangered
sites by the World Monuments Watch.
© 2001, Miwok Lodge 439, Order of the
Arrow, Santa Clara County Council Inc., BSA
Revision 1.2
