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

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

The memorial to the victims of the Jonestown Massacre carries the names of 918 lost, including one name people wish wasn't there.

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

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

A raised boardwalk winds through a thicket of stunted, century-old trees no more than nine feet tall.

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

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

A cozy bookstore is tucked within an old gold mine shaft beneath the cafe and ice cream shop.

This residential door allows San Francisco muggles a glimpse at the wizarding world.

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.

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

L.A.'s oldest operating bowling alley is a beautifully restored homage to its speakeasy days.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

A hard-to-reach oasis in a desolate corner of Death Valley National Park.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

A ruined hotel with an unlucky history and an eerie present.

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.

The famous animator's private station house and man-cave was the birthplace of imagineering.

A historic hotel that made a cameo in Hitchcock's classic film has no intention of letting guests forget its fame.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.