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Secret Canyon

Ghost town · Placer County, California

Duncan Peak quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1952, 1:24,000)
Duncan Peak quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1952, 1:24,000) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Secret Canyon is a ghost town in Placer County, California. It is one of 16 former communities in Placer County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 18th among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Secret Canyon as a historical populated place on the Duncan Peak 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 39.1874° N, 120.5858° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleDuncan Peak
Elevation5,444 ft
Nearest living townAlta, CA
Distance to it11.6 miles
GNIS feature ID1701185
Coordinates39.18740, -120.58576

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Secret Canyon is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Alta, CA (population 740), about 11.6 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 5,444 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Secret Canyon?

Secret Canyon is in Placer County, California, at 39.1874, -120.5858.

How many ghost towns are in Placer County?

Placer County, California has 16 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

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.