A wide blue arrow points toward Randsburg, California, from the side of a winding stretch of the desert artery that is Highway 395, an illustrated bearded miner coaxing a reluctant donkey toward the town. The yellowing billboard promises a “living ghost town” just a mile away, but on a Thursday afternoon, there’s no sign of the living — the only sound a creaking metal sign swinging gently from a pole. Butte Avenue, the town’s main street, is desolate, its old-timey, one-story buildings appearing more like an old Western movie set than an actual town.

By mid-morning Friday, the town bustles by comparison. A handful of off-roaders park their vehicles in front of the only bar, and curious day-trippers wander in and out of the antique store, the gift shop and the town’s one restaurant — the few businesses operating in those buildings that largely date back to 1905, their wooden facades still ornamented with painted lettering. These visitors will spend at least a few hours funneling modest amounts of cash toward Randsburg T-shirts, burgers and beers, but that modest spending pipeline may soon dwindle so much, the businesses warn they could shutter.

A view of Randsburg, Calif., on April 17, 2026.

Inside the Joint on Butte Avenue in Randsburg, Calif., on April 17, 2026.

A view of Butte Avenue in Randsburg, Calif., on April 17, 2026.

Some residents of a town like this may not like the influx of tourists on weekends, but in Randsburg, they say it’s their lifeline, with most locals agreeing that the town would disappear altogether without it. Randsburg’s population of full-time residents has already steadily shrunk — from 77 in 2000 to 69 in 2010 to 45 by 2020 — as the town lost most nearby mining operations and its local school and post office. Morphing from mining boomtown to historic landmark to off-roading haven, the desert community has always found a way to stay alive, weathering each obstacle with the same grit characteristic of the miners that built the place. But with a recent devastating flood coupled with new California legislation that could seriously limit off-roaders’ ability to travel in and around the town, this time everything seems to be working against Randsburg.

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From boomtown to desert playground

In 1895, a trio of inexperienced prospectors struck gold on Rand Mountain, setting off a mining boom that would establish Randsburg about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles. By 1897, several mines operated in the area, with each one raking in millions. The new town soon swelled with saloons, boarding houses and shops, and would peak at about 3,500 residents in 1899. 

So much gold and silver lined the surrounding hills that the adjacent towns of Johannesburg and Red Mountain also took root, forming a mining region that even necessitated the construction of its own railway. 

View of the mining town of Randsburg, Calif., 1897.

Living in the Old West was harsh and dangerous, though, and fires plagued Randsburg’s early years, with one particularly disastrous blaze burning down about half its structures in 1898. The residents always rebuilt, and a subsequent discovery of tungsten, a naturally occurring metal that became integral for machinery making during Word War I, continued the town’s mining interests through the early 1900s. 

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A massive statewide mining decline hit California post-WWII, but Randsburg never emptied out, even as its population decreased dramatically. Remaining residents’ dedication to preserving its historic buildings and mining town history kept the town from completely disappearing. In 1981, the Rand Mining District became California Historical Landmark No. 938. 

Around the same time, off-highway vehicles — ATVs, dirt bikes, side-by-sides and 4x4s — were creating a whole new culture in Southern California, and Randsburg sat perfectly situated in the middle of prime land for off-road driving. Riders from all over the state began to discover the Old West town on weekend rides, exploring about 50,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management trails while also patronizing local businesses. De Wallace, whose family has lived in Randburg for 108 years, said she noticed a sharp increase in off-roaders visiting town about 15 years ago. 

Off-road vehicles parked outside the Joint in Randsburg, Calif., on April 17, 2026.

The walls inside the Vault........

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