In the last installment I shared my discovery of the encyclopedia repository in the old mining camp of Reilly, California, and suggested camping in the nearby ghost town of Ballarat.
Remains in Ballarat. Photos by Dave Helgeson.
Ballarat is a forgotten mining ghost town. It was founded in 1896 as a supply point for the mines in the canyons of the Panamint Range to the east. A young immigrant from Australia named George Riggins gave Ballarat its name when he proposed it should be named for Ballarat, Victoria in the heart of Australia’s gold country.
In its prime, Ballarat boasted seven saloons, hotels, a post office and more. But like most mining towns the mines played out and the town was mostly abandoned by 1917.
Today, all that remains are the crumbling remains of adobe walls, with the one exception being the “general store” where for a few bucks (bring cash) you can buy a cold soda and learn some local history from Rock Novack, the town’s caretaker.
More remains in the old mining town.
A couple of notable stories you might hear:
One colorful character that continued to call Ballarat home after everyone else abandoned the town was Charles Ferge, aka Seldom Seen Slim. Slim was a vanishing breed of prospector who, despite the extreme summer temperatures, spent more than fifty years living and working his claims in the area. Ballarat was his home until he passed away in 1968 at the age of 86.
He is buried in the town cemetery, with a grave marked by a plaque and ornate fence. The epitaph on his grave marker proclaims, “Me lonely? Hell no! I’m half coyote and half wild burro.”
A darker story involves the old green Dodge Power Wagon permanently parked in town. The truck was driven by “Tex” Watson, one of Charles Manson’s followers, as he fled from nearby Barker Ranch prior to a raid of the ranch to round up the Manson family. The truck broke down as he made his escape forcing him to hitchhike back home to Texas.
This old 1942 Dodge Power Wagon was said to be driven by Tex Watson, a follower of Charles Manson.
Police eventually caught up with Tex and arrested him a month later. Pentagram, a symbol that the Manson family used to represent themselves, is drawn on the ceiling of the truck and is the only clue of the trucks dreadful past. The Barker Ranch is located in a canyon southeast of Ballarat now inside the boundaries of Death Valley National Park.
It began as a mining camp and recreational property from the 1940s to the 1960s before being rented to the Manson Family. The Ranch burned in the spring of 2009 under suspicious circumstances.
Camping in Ballarat
Travel the Trona Wildrose Road to N36° 02.020 W117° 16.898 where you will find the Ballarat Road. Travel east approximately 3.5 mile on the Ballarat Road to the ghost town of Ballarat and the Ballarat campground.
Boondocking in Ballarat.
Ballarat Road is suitable for any two-wheel drive vehicle and is currently being well maintained by a mining company operating south of Ballarat. However, the road is washboarded and if you choose not to navigate it with your RV, head two tenths of a mile north on Trona Wildrose Road to N36° 02.196 W117° 16.851 where you will find a turn-off heading east to a nice boondocking spot (pictured).
You can then take your tow vehicle or dinghy into Ballarat. While camped in the Ballarat area you might be treated to an impromptu air show of fighter jets from nearby China Lake as they practice low altitude flights in the valley.
Dave Helgeson’s many roles in the RV industry started before he even had a driver’s license. His grandparents and father owned an RV dealership before the term “RV” had been coined, and Dave played a pivotal role in nearly every position of an RV dealership. He and his wife Cheri launched their own RV dealership in the Pacific Northwest. The duo also spent 29 years overseeing regional RV shows. Dave has also served as President of a local chapter of the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA), worked on the board of advisors for the RV Technician Program of a local technical college, and served as a board member of the Manufactured Home and RV Association. Dave’s reputation earned him the title of “The foremost expert on boondocking,” bestowed by RV industry icon, the late Gary Bunzer (The RV Doctor). When he’s not out boondocking, you’ll find Dave in the spotlight at RV shows across the country, giving seminars about all things RVing. He and Cheri currently roam in their fifth travel trailer, with Dave doing all the service, repair and modifications to his own unit.
Having been there, not sure its a bucket list, but still worth your time to stop and look around, there is a bar there and people did live there when I stopped several years ago. From there you are not far from the home where Charles Manson was living, the home has since been burned to the ground. I really enjoy spending time in the Death Valley area. I have spent as much as 3 weeks there, lots to see and do and explore. Note, I have never been to Death Valley that it did not rain…
Of course, eagle-eyed fans of the movie Easy Rider will also recognize the adobe hut above as the spot where Billy (Dennis Hopper) and Wyatt (Peter Fonda) stored their choppers while they went to Mexico for their drug deal. The Ballarat scene is the one where they stuff all their cash into plastic tubes and stash the tubes in their gas tanks . . .
And yes, Death Valley is definitely worth a spin through, along with Panamint Valley!