Ghost Town is the largest and oldest land of Knott’s Berry Farm. The majority of this sprawling themed area is comprised of authentic buildings that park founder Walter Knott had relocated from actual ghost towns across the West. The largest number of buildings were harvested from Calico, California and Prescott, Arizona, while others are from far away as Kansas City, Kansas. Some of these structures are home to the numerous shops and restaurants of Ghost Town, while others – specifically those not particularly safe for occupancy – offer “peek-ins”, which are essentially life-sized dioramas with old west scenes ranging from a brothel to a poker game.
While Walter Knott originally brought these structures to Buena Park as a means to entertain guests during their three-hour wait at Mrs. Knott’s ever-so-popular Chicken Dinner Restaurant, it wasn’t long before Knott began adding rides and other adventures to his booming ghost town. The first of these was the 1953 addition of the historic Ghost Town & Calico Railway. This single-stop train ride departs from Calico Square, a popular stage show venue in Ghost Town. Nearby is two of Knott’s original attractions from the 1960’s, Timber Mountain Log Ride and Calico Mine Ride. To help recreate the old west experience, a Pan for Gold attraction was even added that featured trace amounts of real gold, and The Butterfield Stagecoach opened to take riders for a rough and wild road trip, old west style.
After this booming expansion – and the addition of the Fiesta Village and Roaring 20’s (now The Boardwalk) themed areas to the park – Ghost Town remained relatively quiet for nearly three decades. That all changed in 1998 with the opening of one of the world’s most acclaimed wooden roller coasters, GhostRider. The newest coaster adventure in Ghost Town is the steel thrill of Silver Bullet, the longest inverted coaster on the West Coast.
Ghost Town & Calico Railway – Timber Mountain Log Ride – Calico Mine Ride – Butterfield Stagecoach – GhostRider – Screamin’ Swing – Silver Bullet
