Calico Ghost Town Regional Park

When my cousin was young, he would swat flies and then impale them on needles, posting them all around his room as a warning to other flies.

That created a lifelong pursuit for me, one where I sought out the places with the most flies so that I might bask in their feces-laden feet and have them crawl into my beverages what I might accidentally drink five or ten a day.

So one can imagine my delight upon visiting this regional park where no less than 1807 flies filled every inch of the air around our site. In the morning they served as an alarm as I woke to one or two climbing around I my open mouth. For lunch, they peppered our table like shotgun holes in your face. As the evening set in they would climb down into my beer and lay their eggs in my soul.

As the sun began to set, bats would circle around their weaving, bobbing, and the flies would retreat to the safety of the winged-mice's bellies.

Calico is not just a fly lover's paradise though, it's also home to a somewhat real ghost town, or rather many shops and museums built to resemble those that might have been here in the 1800s when this was a booming mining town. Admission to the ghost town is included in the price of your camping fee. There are trinket shops and souvenir shops and bars and restaurants...and it all closes at 5pm. Hot, tired children and annoyed looking Asian tourists with umbrellas despite the utter lack of rain being even remotely possible filled the streets, and every activity other than walking around involved an additional fee. Like a miniature Disney World, everyone left feeling a little disappointed and I sat around the fire contemplating whether or not the foreigners thought this was the typical American's idea of awesome.

I also found the amount of trash strewn about a particularly nice break from the typical serenity and natural vibe most public campgrounds provide. Abandoned organic apple boxes, no doubt tossed from one of the fine eateries in the ghost town, and plastic bags a cornucopia of colors--from Walmart blue to Safeway red and a cavalcade of browns and whites between--decorated the stark hillsides enough to leave one pondering the mistake they'd made not volunteering more at their local dump before heading out for a life of travel.

The only real downside to this park was that as the weekend came to a close, everyone left and we were forced to endure the beautiful (if lifeless) mountainscape all to ourselves.

I would not come back by choice, but were I forced to, I might particularly look forward to the pay showers, as $40 / night is simply too good a deal given the sheer number of free flies we now have smashed into every corner of our Airstream.

We stayed in the circle of full hook ups. Rough desert setting but considering that the sites were nice. Beautiful area nicely kept bathrooms and facilities. The Ghost Town is going to be a yearly trip! You can even carry a beer as you explore the town.

We stayed in the A loop circle pull-through with full hookups. Admission to the Ghost Town is included in the camping fee. I tried to make a reservation a couple days in advance but the reservation period ends 5 days before your arrival date. I called and they said there were sites available so just show up. When I got to the gate to check in at about 1:45PM, the ranger wasn't sure what sites were available, but she thought A10 was. She said to park there but I would need to go to the camp office to verify. She tried to call for me but the person in the office was out to lunch.

We parked in A10, and after a couple trips to the office, finally got the OK to stay there, but I couldn't pay for the site there. She said the ranger would come around in the evening to collect. The ranger finally showed up at the trailer about 7PM. This was about the worst check-in experience I have ever had at a campground. Take my advice and make a reservation at least 5 days in advance.

The site was kind of steep front to back, so I had to put several blocks under the tongue jack and jack it all the way up to get it level. The sites are close together and the neighbors fire pit was located about 4 feet from our driveway where I parked my truck. We were lucky they didn't have a fire. The restrooms showers are fairly new and in good shape. Showers use quarters and cost a dollar minimum. Verizon service was marginal 4G outside the trailer and 3G inside.

It's a short uphill hike to the Ghost Town, and it's an interesting place and loaded with history, but quite the tourist trap. We did a nice hike up the back side of town and back down through town in the morning and it was very interesting and nobody was around. We enjoy coming to this place as we are geology and history buffs.

We stayed in the non-ATV loop so this review applies only to that area.

The sites are in a loop around the large and well-maintained restroom/showerhouse. There is also a strange amphitheater thingy next to the building that dozens of kids chose to play on rather than enjoying the acres of open desert around the corner.

Spaces here are very small and VERY sloped. It was impossible to get level without taking tires off the ground which we don't do. Others had theirs off the ground by several inches. FHUs with 30 amps. Some of the sewer connections are elevated which is a challenge for those with hoses that are very low - flushing uphill is never a good plan.

At over $40/night I expect to be able to get our rig level. Having the neighbor's fire ring under our window (literally) is miserable.

As much as we love getting Jeep out to play in the dirt in this fun area, we wouldn't stay here again unless they take the time and resources to make the sites level.

Little to no internet/cell service. Gas stations and two eateries in nearby Yermo, otherwise Barstow is 20 minutes and has more options.

We arrived at the gate just before 4PM. The door was locked and no one around. I drove to get some information and found two other units that had arrived shortly before me looking for any park representative. No after hours check in information. No map or facility information posted. There are 3 campground areas. A loop has full hookups, one apparently has electricity only, and one is dry camping. We drove up to calico to find a ranger who said he would be around later that evening but was trying to close the ghost town down for the day. There is a gate that could have been closed at 5PM as vehicles were arriving steadily. In short one person can only do so much. He was courteous and very helpful and directed us to the dinner just outside the park. He did stop at the camp site much later to collect our camping fee.

The premium sites are described pretty accurately in the reports before me.

The park is well worth the stop. I think some of the artifacts there could use a lot of care in order to preserve them. The commercial endeavors there are better maintained.

Self serve information at information boards would have helped. An information board with self check in for after hours in the large lot just past the gate would help a lot.

When we first pulled in, it was a bit scary in that there was no one else here and you are pretty far off the beaten path. But as the afternoon progressed, many others started showing up. Decent place, and the sunset was very nice and when we met the Park Ranger he was very nice too! All and all, it was very nice and we enjoyed our stay!

We stayed in our trailer and our son stayed in a tent in the site next to us. The site we had only had power but we used the dump station to dump before we left. The site showers were free and close so the kids used those showers and we used our trailer shower. The ghost town is close and a fun way to spend a few hours during the day. Otherwise, the site was quiet but they were a little small.

We have stayed here 3 times, most recently just before NYE, 2018. Prior to that we used it as a night stop on our way to Arizona - a great spot to sneak out of work early and add a night to a trip. We had the dry sites sort of up a canyon - nothing to write home about. Dirt, with some sites right next to each other - like feet apart. The F loop has really long back in sites, so we grabbed two of those with our friend's trailer facing ours. If you have young children, they will love the ghost town. Or if you have people into dirt biking or ATV riding, they will love it. We liked it for the night sky and the F loop where we really didn't have anyone around us. A bit odd on this trip though - ranger at the check in booth said just go grab a site and another ranger would come by to collect the camping fees. No one came by, but when it was dark the ranger BANGED and I mean banged on the door (scaring the you know what out of us) and demanded we pay. I explained what the gal in the booth said, but this guy wasn't in a good mood. And they were charging a $10 holiday premium. A bit odd... but we still had fun!

This is one of the worst campsites!!! Sites are super small the pictures are deceiving!!! We got there at 9pm and someone was in our spot and no rangers on site!!! And there was trash everywhere they don’t keep up on the campsites!!! U can’t even put your awning out!! Beware do yourself a favor and go stay at the KOA down a little way!!!

Calico campground grows on you despite being rough around the edges. We usually use this place as a stop over while traveling the Interstate. Many families stay here as their destination. That would be a mixed bag. Sometimes it's quiet, and sometimes party central. There is no host and the Ranger only comes around to collect your money so its pretty much a free for all. But nothing too big or out of control. Thank goodness.
There isn't much maintenance done on the place so it lacks care. Campfire rings are just rock circles here and there. And the picnic tables are quite beat up. At least some sections have electric and water hookups. The road and grounds are very rocky and uneven, again no maintenance is done to improve this.

The campground itself is pretty much litter free but as soon as you go up a wash, canyon, or up a cliff trash is everywhere. A lot of trash. Yes, it's the desert and it gets windy here but there is just no excuse for this. My husband always picks up bags of trash.
However we still enjoy our stop overs, and visiting the Ghost Town while staying here. Its quite the jewel but suffers from neglect.