Once the gateway to the utopian dream-village of a Civil War embalmer.

Machinery left over from California's once thriving mercury industry now attracts artists and explorers.

The mysterious, untimely death of a Canned Heat band member still haunts this unfinished home.

This rare tortoise skeleton has been hanging around the downtown Los Angeles museum for over a century.

One of the last free public hot springs is decorated with hippie art.

Burping, gurgling geothermal mud pots by the Salton Sea.

A life-sized mammoth sculpture marks the spot where the remains of a Columbian mammoth were discovered in 2005.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

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

The Zalud family experienced a number of tragedies in one decade, giving rise to rumors that the 19th century house is haunted.

A remote desert lookout offers unparalleled views of the California badlands for those who brave the trek.

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

This 19th century train workshop is a treasure trove of railroad history.

Hidden above a drug store on a nondescript corner of Lincoln Heights is a private clubhouse for intrepid explorers.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

Perfect your fly fishing technique on their practice ponds.

A century and a half of research in the sciences and natural history, still going strong.

Once the fastest ship from San Francisco to Tahiti, the Galilee now lays in pieces in three different cities.

Once the largest windmill outside of Holland, with enormous 114 foot sails.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

Guns that have been defending San Francisco since 1904.

San Franciscans leave gifts and messages for the magical beings that live behind the tiny, mysterious door installed on a tree in Golden Gate Park.

Over 315,000 preserved amphibians and reptiles in jars.

Russian history in San Francisco.