As the seat of Mono County, Bridgeport enjoyed 19thC prosperity on the back of the gold mines at Bodie. These days, an inordinate number of bait-and-tackle shops fills the small town, serving the anglers who flock to the well-stocked rivers of nearby Bridgeport Reservoir. The reposeful County Court House, on Main Street, is one remnant of times past; the neighbouring Mono County Museum holds many more.

Detour – Bodie State Historic Park

The search for the ultimate California gold-rush ghost town comes to an end at Bodie State Historic Park, on Bodie Road, off Hwy-395 7 miles south of Bridgeport. Walking among what is now a collection of decaying wooden buildings with sagebrush blowing across the deserted streets, it is hard to image that a century ago nearly 10,000 people lived in Bodie and helped give the town a reputation as the wildest in the West. Inside the Miners’ Union Hall, a small museum records Bodie’s swift rise – and its equally swift demise.