Record
About Last Chance
Last Chance was a mining community in Placer County, California. Last Chance was located 7.5 miles (12.1 km) northeast of Michigan Bluff, at an elevation of 4564 feet.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Last Chance, 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 Last Chance is

Historic maps
15 historic USGS maps cover Last Chance
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.
- 1891 Colfax sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1892 Colfax sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1894 Colfax sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1898 Colfax sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1900 Colfax sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1902 Colfax sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1938 Colfax sheet, 1:125,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1952 Greek Store sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1952 Michigan Bluff sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1952 Duncan Peak sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Chico sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1960 Chico sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1977 Truckee sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 2000 Greek Store sheet, 1:24,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 2000 Michigan Bluff 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 Last Chance
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
- Deadwood4.1 mi SW · Placer
- Michigan Bluff7.8 mi SW · Placer
- Volcanoville12.6 mi SW · El Dorado
- Iowa Hill12.6 mi W · Placer
- Dutch Flat13.1 mi NW · Placer
- Gold Run13.3 mi W · Placer
- Red Dog16.4 mi NW · Nevada
- Colfax17.7 mi W · Placer
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "Last Chance": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "Last Chance, California": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q6494171.
- USGS GNIS 1658947.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).