White Mountain City

California wrote the book on ghost towns, from Gold Rush tent cities to Owens Valley farm towns the aqueduct dried up.

White Mountain City (WMC) is a ghost town at the mouth of Wyman Canyon in Deep Springs Valley in Inyo County, California. The site is on a dirt road east of CA-168 near the Nevada border. Today, White Mountain City is marked by some ruins.

Calling it White Mountain City was either optimism or a very good joke — boomtowns were never modest about their ambitions.

The on-the-ground condition of White Mountain City is unverified — it's listed here with unknown status. That could mean standing buildings, or an empty field. Go prepared for either, and consider sharing what you find so the record improves.

Nobody has confirmed the access situation, so treat any visit as reconnaissance: verify land ownership first, and be ready to admire from the road.

Here's the honest truth: access to White Mountain City is unverified. We couldn't confirm whether the site sits on public land, private property, or something in between — so verify land ownership and local rules before visiting, and respect private property at all times. The mapped point for White Mountain City is roughly 37.4117, -117.9976 — use it as a starting point and cross-reference a current topographic map before leaving pavement.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.