Exploring Bombay Beach: The Almost Ghost Town by the Salton Sea, CA
- Steve
- Mar 23, 2023
- 9 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
In my opinion, the Salton Sea area is one of the most underrated travel destinations in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys. The Salton Sea has so many unique places to explore that we’ve started bringing family and friends to the ‘shore communities’ when they visit. It’s a great place to take a break from hiking in the desert or visiting Joshua Tree National Park. Here's a primer on the Salton Sea to start this story.
What is the Salton Sea?
The Salton Sea in Southern California is the largest inland lake/sea in the state. The Sea is about 35 miles long, 15 miles wide, 51 feet at its deepest point and has over 110 miles of shoreline. It is one of the world's largest inland seas and one of the lowest spots on Earth at 238 feet below sea level. It isn't the size that makes this body of water so special, but rather the story behind its creation and how its slow death has created side stories - like the rise, fall, and possible rebirth of Bombay Beach.
How was the Salton Sea Formed?
In the spring of 1905, following extreme rains, the Colorado River flooded and blew out a weakly constructed irrigation canal. All efforts to seal the breach failed—for 18 months, the river continued to flood into the Salton Sink, filling it up with fresh water like an enormous shallow tub. The Southern Pacific Railroad, which had extensive rail interests in the area, jumped in and for two weeks stopped rail traffic in California in order to deal with this costly business interruption. Two thousand workers dumped more than 3,000 specially constructed railroad cars full of boulders, wood, and dirt into the flooded canal. The scheme worked; the Colorado River once again resumed its former course into the Sea of Cortez. The lake left behind by the flooding wasn’t deep, but it was enormous, covering nearly a thousand square miles of land. The Salton Sea, as the lake is now called, was more or less left alone for the next several decades; runoff from the Imperial Valley’s huge farm areas offset much of the heavy annual evaporation rate and kept the lake viable.
Enter the 1950's
With the rising popularity of the nearby desert resort of Palm Springs, developers saw opportunity in the Salton Sea. Communities like Salton City and Bombay Beach cropped up along its shoreline. It became a vibrant fishing and tourist destination with lakeside resort along its banks. People built vacation homes; hotels and restaurants opened; businesses boomed; and the area thrived.
In 1959, the North Shore Beach and Yacht Club opened as the largest marina in Southern California. Celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, the Beach Boys, Jerry Lewis, the Marx Brothers and Desi Arnaz flocked to the lake. The Salton Riviera rivaled nearby Palm Springs and at its peak, the Salton Sea was drawing 1.5 million visitors annually, more than Yosemite National Park. Business was booming; it was called the ‘miracle in the desert’.
Enter the 1970's
The popularity of this man-made California lake was short lived. As early as 1961, the California Department of Fish and Game predicted the Salton Sea would eventually die because of increasing salinity and decreasing oxygen content. Since the Sea does not have a natural outflow, it is unable to flush out the toxins present in irrigation runoff from adjacent farmlands. This prediction is coming true; annual fish and bird kills are a reminder of the fate that awaits the Salton Sea if remediation efforts continue to be postponed. A 2019 report by the Pacific Institute stated that ten years earlier, "There were some 100 million fish in the Sea. Now, more than 97 percent of those fish are gone."
How is it possible that farming in the desert could contribute so significantly to the degradation of the Salton Sea? Here is a glimpse of the irrigation system and the scale of farmlands in the desert surrounding the Salton Sea. These canals transport water from the Colorado River and have transformed this desert into a lush agricultural oasis with year-round harvests. In an ironic twist of fate, the irrigation runoff that poison the sea also sustains it.
In the mid 70's, the Salton Sea problems were exacerbated by of all things - too much water. Seven years of above average rainfall and increased agricultural runoff caused shoreline flooding and developers struggled to raise funds to repair the damage. Then in 1976, Hurricane Kathleen hit Southern California unleashing record rainfall that caused the Salton Sea to rise by 8 feet within just 3 hours. In 1977, another hurricane struck and those projects that had survived the previous storm were destroyed - never to return. Builders abandoned their partially completed developments leaving behind only a few houses, sewers, empty roads and street signs. What had been called the ‘miracle in the desert’ was now described as an ‘ecological nightmare and disaster’ - a ghost town in the making.
Exploring the Salton Sea Communities
Looks can be deceiving along the seashore communities. Some of these locations look a bit scary, but don’t let the deserted developments and boarded up properties prevent you from exploring these gems. Be respectful of people’s property, this is not an abandoned town for you to explore without limits. Be a smart traveler and you’ll have an enjoyable experience. The neighborhoods and small businesses appreciate tourism and the money that helps sustain them. If you take the time, you’ll meet some interesting people and leave with some great stories.
Bombay Beach
Similar to the Salton Sea, the well-being and sustainability of Bombay Beach are linked to changing sea levels. Situated about an hour from Palm Springs, Bombay Beach, which had a population of 231 according to the 2020 Census, is not officially recognized as a town but as a census-designated place (CDP).
Back in the 50's and 60's, it wasn't just any beach town, it was 'the' beach town of Southern California. Everyone wanted to be seen here and every investor wanted to be part of making Bombay Beach the playground of the rich and famous.
Enter the End
Things changed quickly for this community. The environmental issues of the 1960s, along with the flooding of the 1970s, nearly devastated it. As the Salton began dying so did Bombay Beach. Plans, money, and developers vanished and the settlement entered a phase best described as 'an almost ghost town'.
At this tipping point, the story of Bombay Beach became one of survival. Residents left in droves; many abandoning their homes with their furniture and possessions still inside. The population plummeted from 991 residents in 1990 to just 231 hearty souls in 2020.
The 30-year exodus left scores of deserted business, homes, and trailers. Bombay Beach became a favorite of tourists, social media influencers, travel bloggers, journalists, and photographers looking for the next new and unusual location to promote.
Filmmakers were attracted to the apocalyptic scenery situated so close to LA. For less than $1,000 a month, studios could rent entire areas of the community to serve as backdrops for horror movies and films with Armageddon themes.
Much of the infrastructure was left to corrode and collapse in place.
All that is left of the marina and boat ramps are heaps of disintegrating concrete, rotting wood, and corroded metal. Most Southern Californians wrote off Bombay Beach as a post-apocalyptic disaster and awaited its ultimate demise
However, the diehards stayed, refusing to give up on their tracts of land. They were either too poor to move or too connected to the history of the area to leave. They vehemently reject being labeled a 'poverty-tourism destination'. Among these few were the owners of the Ski Inn.
Ski Inn is a gritty iconic dive bar and restaurant that claims to be the 'lowest bar in the western hemisphere' at 223 feet below sea level. Of course the name refers to water skiing and not snow skiing
The interior is decorated with dollar bills plaster on every surface.
Initially, it might seem like an intimidating place, but it's a survivor, much like the town—gritty, quirky, yet welcoming. So, drop-by for a drink or meal. It's become one of our favorite places to bring friends and family.
By the mid-2010s, Bombay Beach underwent a revival as artists began to arrive, seeking to create and express themselves. Gradually, graffiti turned the deserted buildings into artistic masterpieces. Some of the most remarkable pieces can be found in the abandoned Bombay Beach Estates.
Tools of the trade.
If graffiti is a form of artistic expression associated with the universal struggle of life, then Bombay Beach was the perfect 'blank canvas' waiting to be bombed by urban artists.
Over time, art began to shape how this place is viewed. Visitors were drawn to the urban art, rather than the dead fish or a community trying to survive by the shores of a polluted sea.
While the art scene wasn't as grand and sophisticated as in Valparaiso, Chile the murals starkly contrasted with the decaying buildings and the barren Sonoran Desert landscape surrounding this community.
Bombay Beach embraced the street art and the opportunity to redefine itself as a 'desert art and performance hub'. While the arts might not have seemed as appealing as the beaches and marinas of the 1950s, long-term residents believed it was a worthwhile risk.
The next significant advancement happened in 2016 when Tao Ruspoli, an Italian prince and filmmaker, Stefan Ashkenazy, owner of the Petit Ermitage Hotel, and Lily Johnson-White, a public art producer from the Johnson & Johnson family, launched the first Bombay Beach Biennale. These three founders aimed to create a 'renegade celebration of art, music, and philosophy by turning abandoned houses, empty lots, and the deteriorating shoreline into a distinctive canvas for creative expression.' The objective was to make something from nothing!
Every spring, except for 2020 when the event was canceled due to the pandemic, Ruspoli, Ashkenazy, and Lily-Johnson have successfully persuaded renowned artists, philosophers, and creators from various fields to volunteer their time and talents for this event. The emphasis is on community — gathering together out of a shared love for art and literature, rather than for financial compensation. Past themes of the Biennale have included 'Chaos Theory', 'Questioning Hierarchy', 'Decay', and 'The Way the Future Used to Be'. Imagine the Biennale as a Coachella Music Festival without the corporate hype, sponsorships, and $1,000 VIP passes.
As a group, Ashkenazy and friends own more than 40 lots which they endow to artists, imploring them to treat the corroded beach town as their canvas. In return, every year over 100 art exhibits are created for the event. Many have become permanent installation for year-round enjoyment. Click on the link for more information on the Bombay Beach Biennale Art Festival. Below are a few of the exhibits we visited.
Shoreline Art Installations
Artist Sean Guerrero's 2023 installation “ReInCarNation”
You might naively walk by the Bombay Beach Drive-In and think it was just another relic from days gone by.
In reality, it is a large-scale art installation by Stefan Ashkenazy and Sean Dale Taylor. They gathered rusted car wrecks, golf carts, and boats from metal scrap yards across the Imperial Valley and organized them in rows facing a white-sided semi-trailer, which acts as the drive-in screen.
If you want more of an outdoor experience, there are Ferris-wheel and movie theater seats up front.
There's not a bad seat in the place.
Another permanent exhibit is 'Bombay Beach TVs' created by Jack Parker. According to Jack, he put his old dilapidated TV on the street outside his house and shortly afterwards several other TVs were dropped off. He decided to paint each one a vibrant color and then began haphazardly stacked them in a vacant lot across the street. The collection has grown to over 60 sets, each on supplied by local residents.
In 2023, the Bombay Beach Lit Fest became part of the Biennale to celebrate literature. The event featured panels discussing haunted desert mishaps and the history of vandalism, stories focusing on women writers and characters of color, a fireside chat about the history of punk rock, group readings, and more. To commemorate the first Literature Festival, a local artist created the 'Poetry Dump', which acted as the unofficial welcome to the writing community at Bombay Beach.
What lies ahead for Bombay Beach? It's unlikely to transform into a gentrified urban area even with the influx of artists. A long-time resident mentioned, 'There’s no gas station or laundromat, just a convenience store with limited supplies, and the closest hospital is 45 minutes away. Summer temperatures often hit 120°F, and without air conditioning, people can die. Life here is simply too challenging for most.'
It's clear that the arts have breathed new life into this almost ghost town. Nonetheless, these initiatives by themselves won't rescue the community, but the small changes are steps in the right direction. The State of California needs to develop an effective strategy to tackle the environmental issues caused by the receding sea and safeguard the residents from another wave of opportunists.
Each year, the Sea recedes, revealing thousands of acres of lakebed that pose a risk of unleashing toxic dust storms, which could exacerbate the already high incidence of asthma and other respiratory diseases among the local population.
Remediation efforts have been hindered by conflicting priorities. Should the emphasis be on building shallow ponds to support migrating birds and manage dust, or would it be more sensible to simply control the dust on the playa? Should California fulfill its 2003 pledge to restore the Salton Sea, even though water is being diverted to water-scarce coastal cities? Or should this man-made, long-standing sea be allowed to completely dry up?
In November 2022, an agreement was announced involving California, two Southern California water districts, and the federal government, which allocates $250 million for projects aimed at creating habitats and reducing harmful, windblown dust at the struggling Salton Sea. After decades of neglect, there might finally be some progress. Property values have already increased in anticipation of this action, with lots that sold for under $1,000 in 2010 now valued at over $20,000.
Hopefully things keep moving in the right direction. It's possible that the final chapter of Bombay Beach's story is yet to be penned. Perhaps the underprivileged residents who inhabit this census-designated area will one day witness sunsets by the shores of a cleaner and healthier Salton Sea. They deserve the opportunity to once more relish this 'miracle in the desert'.
For more Salton Sea adventures, click on the hyperlinks below.