Record
About La Panza
La Panza is a former settlement and gold-mining boom town in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. It lies in the La Panza Range at an elevation of 1,880 feet (573 m).
This is a site record: what public sources say about La Panza, gathered in one place. We haven't written a full guide yet, so history, current access and photos are still to come. Treat the status as unknown until a guide confirms it.
Map
Where La Panza is

Historic maps
12 historic USGS maps cover La Panza
Topographic sheets from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain), oldest first. Older sheets often show the camp, mines and roads while the place was alive. The downloads are large map scans; USGS topoView shows them in the browser.
- 1932 La Panza sheet, 1:48,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1935 La Panza sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1936 La Panza sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1947 San Luis Obispo sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1948 San Luis Obispo sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1952 La Panza sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 San Luis Obispo sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1957 San Luis Obispo sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 San Luis Obispo sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1967 La Panza sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1981 San Luis Obispo sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1995 La Panza sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
Directions
Getting there
Before you go
- Many ghost town sites are on private land, active mining claims or tribal land. Check land status and ask permission.
- Roads to old townsites are often unmaintained dirt. Map apps may route over closed or impassable tracks.
- Removing artifacts from public land is illegal under federal and most state laws.
Nearby
Other sites near La Panza
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
- Betteravia35.0 mi SW · Santa Barbara
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "La Panza": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "La Panza, California": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q16893849.
- USGS GNIS 1660863.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).