The gold rush is back in California’s Inland Empire
In San Bernardino County, gold and silver mining companies are pushing to expand
By Erin Rode, Contributing LA Outdoors Editor
Calico Ghost Town Regional Park certainly did not feel like a ghost town last weekend. The line just to pay entrance fees at the San Bernardino County-managed attraction was at least a dozen cars deep, and neon-vested parking attendants tried to quell the sudden rush of traffic at the remote park as a shuttle ferried visitors from far-flung corners of the dirt parking lot to the town’s entrance. Once inside, visitors had their pick of a jam-packed schedule of events that included live bands, historical reenactments, pony rides and gun-draw competitions. Cold beers were poured at Lil’s Saloon at a nearly proportional rate to the number of parents buying prop guns for their kids as souvenirs.
Thousands of people descended on the tiny ghost town north of Barstow last weekend for the fifth annual Calico California Days, an event advertised as a celebration of California’s early history. Visitors stepped back in time, panning for fake gold nuggets and touring long-abandoned mining tunnels. Performers in 19th century garb played banjos and staged gunfights. But while the event offered a glimpse of California’s past, the giant mining corporations that sponsored the festivities are already hard at work excavating the region’s future.