Wingo is the only one left ghost town near/in Bay area apart from Drawbridge. You can’t legally get to Drawbridge without trespassing, so I can say Wingo is the only ghost town with some remaining houses you can see Bay Area.
Wingo, March 2018
I planned this trip a long time ago and since then visited some moch more distant ghost towns, but can’t make myself drive 50 miles and hike 2 miles to see this gem.
It’s a tiny town, currently you can see only 5-6 buildings left. I was dissapointed that I could not find the “Wingo” plate on the biggest town, as the older 2012-2013 photos show. Probably, smth changed with it’s ownership, as also the “Do not trespass” signs were on every building, so I didn’t get too close. Only one of the three wooden bridges look trustworthy enough to step on it, one more was completely ruined, so we couldn’t get to the most interesting buildings. The third one was “fixed” by someone putting a couple of wood pieces over the biggest holes. But it was sloping left so much that I didn’t risk to step on it.
This building looked almost like someone still lives here, March 2018
No trespassing signs that I diodn’t see on the photos from the previous years, March 2018
Overall, my impression was that everyone who wants to see this old place should hurry, as it is dissolving too quickly and may be, in few years, there will be nothing to see.
View at the Wingo from the trail
History of Wingo
Wingo is located in Sonoma County, California. It can be found on older maps and on Google maps, south of the city of Sonoma and east of Schellville.
In the end of 1840th Wingo really boomed and was called Norfolk then.It was a big stop for a paddle-wheel steamer that ferried passengers from San Francisco to Sonoma.This town was popular destination for duck hunters (no wonder, as it is in the middle of the marshes) and fisherman. At these times there was no Golden Bridge, so this station was booming until it was built in 1937. Increase of cars popularity was also the factor why it started declining as the important road point.
The railroad through town was built in 1876 - first it was a monorail that was later improved. So the train route also decreased the amount of the passengers who went to Sonoma by water. Town changed it’s name to Wingo from Norfolk around the time railroad was built.
Location
You’ll have to be prepared to take 2.8m one way hike to see the town. Here is the hiking route from Larson Family Winery through Millerick road (dirt road, can’t drive there, as the road is blocked by fallen trees) - clickable:
