The cluster of boulders near Fort Irwin is covered in military insignia.

The California capital city once stood 10 feet lower than it does today.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

Bug-devouring flora are the stars of a special wing of the glass conservatory.

Law-protected wreckage serves as a peculiar memorial for an almost forgotten World War II tragedy.

Radioactivity still cause for concern at this urban explorer's paradise.

This lesser known Hearst estate is a fairytale village built from the stolen bones of historic European buildings.

Once America’s most beautiful army base, this abandoned military fort on the coast of Monterey Bay has been left to the elements.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

A brooding mansion of clinker brick stands out among the Victorian houses of Pacific Heights.

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

Barely visible foundations remain where Stow Lake’s “observatory” once welcomed visitors.

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

A Bicycle Path in the Sky.

Another of California's unused Cold War missile defense complexes has become a graffiti gallery.

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.

At this California chicken ranch, four bucks will get you 18 eggs and a chorus of dancing animatronic poultry.

An abandoned Jazz Age dream home and con man's hideout in Death Valley.

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

An overlooked and unassuming engineering marvel.

This dark, quiet forest on the outskirts of San Diego is dense with rumor and lore.

The ruins of the castle that chemicals built.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.