Bodie, California

The benchmark, and the one to see if you only see one. Bodie became a boomtown after 1877, and California keeps what is left in a state of arrested decay: nothing is rebuilt or prettied up, so you peer through windows at rooms left much as the last residents had them. It sits at 8,375 feet, reached by 10 miles of paved road and then 3 miles of dirt. In winter it is usually reachable only on skis, snowshoes or a snowmobile. The park closes at 4pm from November to May and at 6pm in summer, so leave time for the last stretch and check the road on the day.