During prohibition, corrupt city officials ran drinking dens under the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.

Bits and pieces from the ill-fated Donner Party's winter cabins.

This historic estate on the east shore of Lake Tahoe was home to an eccentric millionaire (and his pet elephant, Mingo).

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

This Nevada lake holds its titular natural pyramid and, if the legends are true, a number of dangerous spirits.

Beneath a Virginia City bar is the entrance to an abandoned gold mine.

The smallest country in the world.

Eastern zen meets Western grit in these four little trees growing out of a rock on Lake Tahoe’s Nevada shore.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.

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

A ghost town originally established and governed solely by Black Americans seeking a place of their own, free from discrimination.

A lawless town deep in Death Valley was famous for its riches and death rate.

This ramshackle ghost town is comprised of mining-era buildings collected from around the region.

Go inside a revolutionary, cage-less zoo where 70 species of monkeys roam free alongside their human visitors.

This beautifully designed star-shaped fort was the premier defense system of the late 1500s.

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

A "haunted" landmark on the coast of Southern California.

A Swedenborgian glass church surrounded by redwoods sits perched atop a massive landslide area.