Record
About Ryan
Ryan is an unincorporated community in Inyo County, California that is now privately owned and stewarded by the Death Valley Conservancy. A former mining community, company town, and seasonal hotel, it is now under careful restoration and preservation.
This is a site record: what public sources say about Ryan, 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 Ryan is

Historic maps
13 historic USGS maps cover Ryan
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.
- 1908 Furnace Creek sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1910 Furnace Creek sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1948 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1952 Ryan sheet, 1:62,500 · GeoTIFF download
- 1954 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1956 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1957 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1958 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1961 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1964 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1965 Death Valley sheet, 1:250,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1986 Death Valley Junction sheet, 1:100,000 · GeoTIFF download
- 1988 Ryan 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 Ryan
Straight-line distance to other mapped sites in our California index.
- Furnace10.4 mi S · Inyo
- Harmony Borax Works15.6 mi NW · Inyo
- Lee19.5 mi N · Inyo
- Panamint City27.5 mi SW · Inyo
- Skidoo27.6 mi W · Inyo
- Chloride City29.0 mi NW · Inyo
- Ballarat36.2 mi SW · Inyo
Sources
Sources
- ghosttowns.com, "Ryan": county, roads, climate, best time to visit, remains.
- Wikipedia, "Ryan, California": coordinates and summary.
- Wikidata Q7383800.
- USGS GNIS 1661348.
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, elevation at the coordinates.
- USGS The National Map and Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).