Places sierrawest Wants to Go

The ruins of an abandoned 18th-century town that is slowly being reclaimed by the forest.

A former copper mine which became a truly unsuccessful prison.

Ruins of a historic medical facility sits eerily by the water.

The ancient past meets the retro-future at these dinosaur tracks that are protected by a geodesic dome.

With some 500,000 books across five buildings, this bookstore is a reader's paradise.

A museum designed by and dedicated to P.T. Barnum in the town where he is buried.

An iconic steel and chrome diner from the 1940s left empty for nearly 20 years is in danger of being demolished.

This abandoned psychiatric hospital once housed more than 4,000 patients in the middle of a quaint New England town.

Quirky castle designed by the American actor best known for portraying Sherlock Holmes on stage.

The kind of mixed-up place that drives archaeologists crazy.

The former home of Samuel Clemens and family remembers the happiest period of the author's life.

A miniature village lies nearly forgotten in the forest by the side of a major highway.

A wunderkammer hidden on the top floor of the Hartford statehouse.

An archival collection of over 2,200 case studies which includes human brain specimens and tumor specimens.

An Escher-inspired library dedicated to the wonders of the human mind, yet closed to the public.

Yale University's home for rare works, including the mysterious Voynich Manuscript.

This small-town Connecticut restaurant gives each diner a free book from its vast library.

The intriguing personal collection of a professional demon-chaser.

A religious-themed park filled with folk art to bring biblical stories to life that fell into disrepair and now being restored.

"Try not to knock anything over!"

A dollhouse full of taxidermy rodents, each one handcrafted and given a sordid past.

The macabre paintings created by famous suicide proponent Jack Kevorkian, or "Dr. Death."

Rumored to have tormented a family in the late 1960s, this toy now resides in a quiet little oddities shop.

Run by a eugenics advocate, this aging institution conducted secret radiation experiments sponsored by Quaker Oats.