Abandoned Towns
The road into Randsburg, with the town's houses spread below a bare, mine-scarred hill of the Rand Mountains

Gold mining town

Randsburg

Gold at the Yellow Aster in 1895 drew more than 1,500 people to Randsburg within two years. The mine worked off and on until 2006. Forty-five people lived here at the 2020 census, and visitors come mostly on weekends.

35°22′07″N 117°39′29″W · ≈3,500 ft

Photo: inkknife_2000, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Living town

Randsburg is a small residential town on public streets. A local newspaper writer who visited in September 2026 found the few shops "usually only open on weekends" and holidays. Flash floods on September 18–19, 2025 damaged roads and the town's water system. Kern County lists Redrock–Randsburg Road closed from Highway 14 to Highway 395 since December 24, 2025, with "no expected opening date at this time." The short paved road in from US 395 was open in September 2026, and both routes below use it. Check Kern County road closures before you go.

Overview

The Yellow Aster's town

The north end of Butte Avenue, the main street, 2015
The north end of Butte Avenue, the main street, 2015 · Photo: inkknife_2000, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Randsburg sits at about 3,500 feet in the Rand Mountains, west of US 395 and about 17 miles south of Ridgecrest. A ridge separates it from its neighbor, Johannesburg. On April 25, 1895, three prospectors, Frederic Mooers, John Singleton and Charles Burcham, found gold here at what became the Yellow Aster mine. The camp that formed was first called Rand Camp.

It grew fast. The Rand Mining District was set up that December, the first post office opened in 1896, and by the end of that year the renamed Randsburg had more than 1,500 people. By October 1897 the district had produced over $600,000 in gold. A railroad from Johannesburg to Kramer Junction opened in 1898, and the Yellow Aster got its first stamp mill in 1899. Pay was poor, and miners struck in 1903.

The Yellow Aster closed in 1918, reopened in 1921 and ran on and off until 1933, then again from 1940 to 1956. Glamis Gold bought it in 1983 and worked it until 2006. The town never emptied. Forty-five people lived here at the 2020 census, and most visitors come between autumn and spring, especially for Old West Days in September.

Timeline

A century of the Yellow Aster

Randsburg under snow around 1900, when many of its buildings were still tents. Photo by C. C. Pierce
Randsburg under snow around 1900, when many of its buildings were still tents. Photo by C. C. Pierce · Photo: C. C. Pierce, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
  1. Frederic Mooers, John Singleton and Charles Burcham find gold at the Yellow Aster. The camp is first called Rand Camp.
  2. The Rand Mining District is created.
  3. The first post office opens. By the end of the year the camp is Randsburg, with more than 1,500 people.
  4. The district has produced more than $600,000 in gold.
  5. The Randsburg Railway opens from Johannesburg to Kramer Junction, with a stop at Atolia.
  6. The Yellow Aster's first stamp mill opens.
  7. Miners strike over poor pay.
  8. The Yellow Aster closes in 1918, reopens in 1921 and runs on and off until 1933. John Cummings & Co. works it from 1940 to 1956.
  9. Glamis Gold buys the Yellow Aster and works it again. Operations end for good by 2006.
  10. The census counts 45 people, down from 69 in 2010 and 77 in 2000.
  11. Flash floods hit eastern Kern County, including Randsburg and Johannesburg. Redrock–Randsburg Road and the local water system are damaged.
  12. Kern County closes Redrock–Randsburg Road from Highway 14 to Highway 395 for storm damage. It is still listed as closed in October 2026.

What's here

Main street and the mine

The Opera House front, 2005
The Opera House front, 2005 · Photo: Pretzelpaws, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Restored storefronts on the southwest stretch of Butte Avenue, 2015
Restored storefronts on the southwest stretch of Butte Avenue, 2015 · Photo: inkknife_2000, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Randsburg's main street, Butte Avenue, keeps about a dozen historic buildings, among them the White House Saloon, by a travel guide updated in July 2026. The same guide says the General Store's original building, with its soda fountain, has been closed since 2022, and that operating days in town "can be irregular, particularly during the week." The Loop, a Tehachapi paper, reported in September 2026 that the store's last owners now run The Vault up the street, and that the town's few shops are usually open only on weekends and holidays.

The Rand Desert Museum, at 161 Butte Avenue, lists its hours as Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and by appointment. The Loop's writer found it closed on a Sunday in September 2026, so don't plan a trip around it.

Off-roaders come over the Thanksgiving and New Year's Day weekends and use the town's legal off-road trail, by Wikipedia's account. The Loop reported in September 2026 that the rules on where and when off-road vehicles may go are changing, so check the current rules before you ride. Old West Days, usually on the third weekend of September, brings gunfights, gold panning, bands and vendors. The July 2026 guide says the September 2025 event was disrupted by the flood; the 2026 event was on September 19.

The historic maps below show the district's growth. The 1903 and 1911 sheets mark Randsburg with Johannesburg next door and the Yellow Aster Mine and Government Peak to the south, and the 1903 sheet names the Valverde Mine to the north-east. The 1947 sheet adds Garlock, Atolia and Red Mountain, and the 1967 sheet shows a tailings pond west of town.

  • Butte Avenue's historic buildings
  • White House Saloon
  • Rand Desert Museum
  • Yellow Aster mine workings
  • Rand Mining District landmark (No. 938)
USGS topographic map of Randsburg in the Rand Mountains
USGS The National Map, topo. Randsburg's streets at center, with Burma Road and Yellow Aster Road running south and Johannesburg to the east.
Aerial view of Randsburg's houses along its main street, with dirt tracks to the west
Aerial imagery, closer in. Randsburg's houses and main street fill the right half; dirt tracks cross the bare slopes to the west.

Historic maps

Randsburg on USGS maps, 1903–1976

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Randsburg, 1903
Randsburg sheet, 1903, 1:62,500 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Day trip

Plan a day trip to Randsburg from Ridgecrest

Take it with you

Day trip itinerary

The essentials, the sample day with boxes to tick, what to photograph and the coordinates, on two printable pages. Handy where there's no signal.

Download the PDF (663 KB)

Randsburg is half an hour south of Ridgecrest on US 395, and a weekend morning covers it. Come on a Saturday or Sunday: the museum opens only then, and a July 2026 guide says food in town is limited and most likely on weekends. Fill up and buy supplies in Ridgecrest.

A sample day

  1. Leave Ridgecrest south on China Lake Boulevard and US 395, about 30 minutes.
  2. Park on Butte Avenue and walk the main street: the White House Saloon, the Opera House and the old General Store, closed since 2022.
  3. The Rand Desert Museum opens on weekends.
  4. Lunch in town if a place is open, otherwise your packed lunch.
  5. See the old jail from outside near the town entrance, then drive over the ridge to the Rand District Cemetery in Johannesburg.
  6. Head back north on US 395 to Ridgecrest.

Coming from Los Angeles? The route below takes CA 14 to its end and US 395 south, about 3 hours 25 minutes, because Redrock–Randsburg Road is closed. Leave by 7:30 a.m.

What to photograph and film

  • Butte Avenue. The weathered storefronts look best in morning or late-afternoon light. Shoot from the street; many buildings are private.
  • The Opera House front. The false front faces the main street.
  • The Yellow Aster's hill. The road in gives the view of the town spread below the scarred hill.
  • The Rand District Cemetery. The museum says it has a "post-card view" of the township and the old mines.
  • Drones. None of our sources mention them. People live here, so ask before you fly over homes.

Map & directions

Getting there

Ridgecrest is half an hour north on US 395, paved all the way. The shortcut from CA 14, Redrock–Randsburg Road, has been closed since December 2025, so our Los Angeles route stays on CA 14 to its end and comes back south on US 395, the way The Loop's writer drove in September 2026. Both routes turn off US 395 onto the short paved road into town.

USGS topographic map between Ridgecrest and Randsburg with both routes drawn on it

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From central Ridgecrest21.2 miabout 29 min
  1. Head south on South China Lake Boulevard (US 395 Business).6.1 mi
  2. Turn left onto US 395 and continue south.13.8 mi
  3. Turn right onto Redrock–Randsburg Road into town, then right on Burma Avenue and Rand Road.1.3 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Road and safety notes

  • From Ridgecrest the route is paved all the way on US 395.
  • Flash floods on September 18–19, 2025 damaged Redrock–Randsburg Road and other roads in eastern Kern County. Kern County Public Works lists it closed from Highway 14 to Highway 395 since December 24, 2025, for storm damage, with "no expected opening date at this time" (list read October 19, 2026). It lists Garlock Road as closed to through traffic. Don't go around road-closed signs.
  • The September 2025 floods also damaged the Rand Communities Water District's system. Bring your own water.
  • Summers are very hot. Most visitors come between autumn and spring.
  • People live here. Stay out of yards and off the mine workings.

Photos

Randsburg in photos

Visitor reports

Been to Randsburg?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Randsburg

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our California index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. ghosttowns.com, "Randsburg": fact sheet fields (roads, best time).
  2. Wikipedia, "Randsburg, California", retrieved October 2026: the Yellow Aster discovery and history, the mining district and landmark No. 938, population, gold output, the railroad, the strike, Glamis Gold, climate, tourism, weekend shops, Western Days, the 2000, 2010 and 2020 censuses, elevation.
  3. KGET, "Kern County Board of Supervisors expected to declare local emergency due to September flooding" (2025): the September 18–19 floods in Randsburg and Johannesburg, damage to Redrock–Randsburg Road and the Rand Communities Water District.
  4. BakersfieldNow, "Kern County road closures persist post-storm" (November 22, 2025): CHP's report of Redrock–Randsburg Road among several closures.
  5. Kern County Public Works, road status and closures, read October 19, 2026: Redrock–Randsburg Road closed from Highway 14 to Highway 395 since December 24, 2025, with no expected opening date; Garlock Road closed to through traffic.
  6. The Loop, "Randsburg, 2026" (Mel White, September 26, 2026): the road off CA 14 still closed, the drive in on US 395, shops usually open on weekends, the General Store's closure and The Vault, the museum closed on her visit, Old West Days on September 19, changing off-road rules.
  7. Rand Desert Museum, official site, read October 2026: hours and address.
  8. CalExplornia, "Randsburg" (updated July 2026): Butte Avenue's buildings, the General Store closed since 2022, irregular hours, the 2025 Old West Days disruption.
  9. Rand Desert Museum, "Contact / Visit" and "Rand District Cemetery", read October 21, 2026: weekend hours, appointments by email, the cemetery in Johannesburg and its view. CalExplornia, read the same day: food, time on site, parking, shade and the jail, for the day trip.
  10. Elevation from a USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 2026. Status checked against the sources above on October 19, 2026.

Photo and map credits