Magnetic Spring
Ghost town · Santa Cruz County, California

Magnetic Spring is a ghost town in Santa Cruz County, California. It is one of 17 former communities in Santa Cruz County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 16th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Magnetic Spring as a historical populated place on the Laurel topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 37.0705° N, 121.9855° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Laurel |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 915 ft |
| Nearest living town | Scotts Valley, CA |
| Distance to it | 1.8 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1670841 |
| Coordinates | 37.07050, -121.98552 |
What's there now
Magnetic Spring is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Scotts Valley, CA (population 12,138), about 1.8 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 915 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Clemsghost town · Santa Cruz County · 2 mi
- Glenwoodghost town · Santa Cruz County · 2.6 mi
- Laurelghost town · Santa Cruz County · 3.4 mi
- Ecclesghost town · Santa Cruz County · 3.6 mi
- Olive Springsghost town · Santa Cruz County · 3.7 mi
- Highlandghost town · Santa Cruz County · 3.8 mi
- Burrellghost town · Santa Cruz County · 4.7 mi
- Felton Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Santa Cruz County · 4.9 mi
- Glen Canyon Covered Bridgecovered bridge · Santa Cruz County · 5 mi
- Wrightsghost town · Santa Clara County · 5.2 mi
- California Powder Works Bridgecovered bridge · Santa Cruz County · 5.3 mi
- Patchenghost town · Santa Clara County · 5.4 mi
Questions
Where is Magnetic Spring?
Magnetic Spring is in Santa Cruz County, California, at 37.0705, -121.9855.
How many ghost towns are in Santa Cruz County?
Santa Cruz County, California has 17 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.