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California Peeps: Anyone Been to New Iridia Mine/Ghost Town?

300sniper

300sniper

Gun Plumber
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
695
Messages
432
Loc
Greenwood, CA
Somehow the internets showed me pics of the New Idria Mine/Ghost Town. I’d never heard of it before, but the pictures look awesome. Sounds like the road in may be a bit rough, but I’m not sure if that’s from Tesla owners or fullsoze stock 4x4s.
Anyone been? Is it worth the drive? Can a stock 4x4 1/2 ton make it in without risk? Which way did you go it? I hear a BLM permit is needed to come in from Coalinga.

Edit: misspelled the name in the title…
 
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Captain Call said:
That state had people paying to use national forest land. At least down south anyway. :confused: Not sure if they still do. But WTF?
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State land used to be reasonably free, heard they charge for all of it as of a few years back.

Maybe somebody is confused about who owns the land and just thinks "big trees must be blm" and it's the state fee that's gotta be due
 
300sniper said:
Somehow the internets showed me pics of the New Irodia Mine/Ghost Town. I’d never heard of it before, but the pictures look awesome. Sounds like the road in may be a bit rough, but I’m not sure if that’s from Tesla owners or fullsoze stock 4x4s.
Anyone been? Is it worth the drive? Can a stock 4x4 1/2 ton make it in without risk? Which way did you go it? I hear a BLM permit is needed to come in from Coalinga.
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So what is the info? Is it abandon and you can walk around inside or this a ploy to a rape shack?
 
Steve300xcw said:
Last time I ended up in CA was by accident:laughing:. Pretty sure I would get in trouble down there:lmao:
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Last time I went back there I got stopped at the fruit stand. They asked me where I came from...they didn't like my response.

I said " aren't you supposed to ask me if I have any fruits or vegetables?"

D00d got all pissy and said "well do you have any fruits or vegetables?"

Nope!

Fucker got indignant and huffy. :lmao:

Fuck them.
 
dntsdad said:
So what is the info? Is it abandon and you can walk around inside or this a ploy to a rape shack?
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Dunno. That’s what I’m hoping to find out. Pictures I found online look pretty rad. Not sure if it’s remote enough to keep the riffraff out, or if it’s going to crowded full of gangbangers and graffiti.
 
Huh I didn't know about this one either. I just surfed it on google earth, looks like somewhere you could burn an afternoon wandering around. The roads look decent from aerial views, nothing sketch that I saw at least from initial browsing. A few old structures to look at, but some right in the vicinity that look still maintained/lived in so it won't be a full death valley "ghost town" experience. Prob worth seeing at least once though
 
300sniper said:
Worth going?
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I have or had pictures, but they are lost. There are a couple of buildings that are accessible the mining stuff is fenced off. Most people go to ride dirt bikes and hill climb. Wonder hussy has a episode on it. The road does have a tendency to wash out.
 
Last I went was in '06 or '07, but it was very cool ghost town feeling back then. At the time you could climb all over and inside the mine buildings. The area used to be crisscrossed with tons of cool trails, but I think about ten years ago the clear creek management area went through something like the NFs route designation process, and most were closed, partially due to the area having large levels of natural friable asbestos. I think there was an annual event there maybe 20 years ago called the ghost run. It's a cool area.


Edit; check it out and report back, I have been super curious about checking it out again.
 
Screenshot_20231227_200925_Adobe Acrobat.jpg

Sorry for the double post, but in apparently Jan 2020 I was emailing the rangers about whether this place was still open and they sent me this map. I have a pdf version to if anyone wants it.
 
Are you planning on coming in from the north or from the west?
Road might be rougher at the end of it if you come from the north, and the other path is the BLM code you get for paying for a permit. I suspect the paid way would be a more maintained road. It's not much money, but it really should be nothing and be free because freedom.

I saw a picture of a Passat right there at the ghost town so I would bet a banana split that I could get there in a 2 wheel drive Saturn.
 
We use to go out there a lot to ride and camp at Clear Creek. That whole area can get pretty sloppy in the winter depending on rainfall. If you go in through the Clear Creek side coming from 101/Hollister there was a creek crossing that could be interesting in a car if its rained recently.
 
Last time I was there was in the late 90's, tweekers were living in the buildings. We wen't a couple times in the 80's but was always just passing through hunting pigs. 2wd truck made it the last time

EDIT: Water, even a little changes everything.
 
rockmup said:
Last time I was there was in the late 90's, tweekers were living in the buildings. We wen't a couple times in the 80's but was always just passing through hunting pigs. 2wd truck made it the last time

EDIT: Water, even a little changes everything.
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It was a brother and sister that had some connection to the property. There was a story in the San Jose Mercury about them and how they were trying to dig into the hillside to get away from the sun or some crazy shit. It was clear they were not stable people..:laughing:

EDIT>>>> Kate Woods was the chick. Here is an article she wrote. New Idria
 
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Yup...shes a bit looney. She briefly talks about her brother wanting to live in a cave about the 4min mark..:laughing:
 
What are you gonna do if you come across one of the crazies that think they own the entire place and pull a gun on you?

Who actually owns New Idria now?

So what is the latest news about who actually owns New Idria now? I don't know what anyone thinks can actually be done to preserve New Idria other than to create a new bureaucracy to spend taxpayer dollars and accomplish nothing but probably closing off all access to it and surrounding lands to...
www.southbayriders.com www.southbayriders.com
 
Yota Up said:
What are you gonna do if you come across one of the crazies that think they own the entire place and pull a gun on you?

Who actually owns New Idria now?

So what is the latest news about who actually owns New Idria now? I don't know what anyone thinks can actually be done to preserve New Idria other than to create a new bureaucracy to spend taxpayer dollars and accomplish nothing but probably closing off all access to it and surrounding lands to...
www.southbayriders.com www.southbayriders.com
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Dude, it's not that fucking radical up there. I've been multiple times nobody has ever fucked with me.

I tried to go last February but the road was washed out and I didn't feel comfortable crossing the creek in my stock suburban alone with my family.

The last time was sometime in 2019/2020, but I apparently lost the pictures, I posted them here or pirate.


I'm not sure how to figure it out but they have a poker run through there every February.
 
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