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

An abandoned Cold War missile radar site.

Graffiti-covered ruins that were once part of a farm owned by a mental hospital.

Abandoned Air Force base that has fallen into disrepair.

A music-filled, booze-soaked oasis in the desert.

Before it was abandoned and left to rust alongside the road, this riverboat starred in a John Wayne movie.

Abandoned hotel with adjacent lake and golf course.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

While exploring the desert, you can stop by the home of a fictional heretic from a parallel universe.

An abandoned, unfinished mansion on grounds strewn with lava rocks.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

The overgrown ruins of a once thriving World War I-era copper mine.

Where there's quartz, there must be gold. Thus is the story of the mines of Julian, and the titillating times of the Gold Rush.

Once a place of peaceful repose, this sanitarium now faces an uncertain future.

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

The abandoned train depot now doubles as a well-placed rest stop for those who take the road less traveled.

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.

A fashion designer's dazzling world of Japanese collectibles is hidden in a warehouse downtown.

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

The location of the last stand of Charles Manson's doomsday cult.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

This impressive tunnel was dug entirely by hand over the course of 36 years.

Built by the inventor of the radio, this abandoned hotel has housed early radio employees, military men, and a dangerous cult.

The liveliest ghost town in the state.