America’s landscape is dotted with military installations that once buzzed with activity but now stand silent, their missions complete. These abandoned bases offer windows into different eras of American history, from World War II to the Cold War and beyond. Their empty barracks, rusting equipment, and overgrown runways tell stories of technological advancement, strategic defense, and the communities that grew around them.
Here is a list of 15 deserted military bases across the United States with fascinating historical significance.
Fort Ord Military Base, California
Fort Ord was one of the U.S. Army’s most prominent training centers, housing soldiers from 1917 until its closure in 1994. The sprawling 28,000-acre installation along Monterey Bay trained more than 1.5 million soldiers during its active years.
Today, parts of Fort Ord have been transformed into a national monument, with hiking trails winding through areas where military vehicles once rumbled—other sections house California State University Monterey Bay.
Camp Hero Military Base, New York
Camp Hero sits perched on the eastern tip of Long Island, its massive AN/FPS-35 radar dish still looming over the Atlantic as a Cold War relic. The base operated secretly from the 1940s through the 1980s as part of America’s coastal defense system against potential Soviet attacks.
Its abandoned bunkers and mysterious underground facilities have fueled local legends and even inspired the Netflix series Stranger Things with theories about experimental research programs.
Like Travel Pug’s content? Follow us on MSN.
Adak Naval Air Facility, Alaska
Adak Naval Air Facility is a ghost town in Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands. Thousands of military personnel once monitored Soviet activities across the Bering Sea. Snow drifts through broken windows of abandoned barracks, and arctic foxes roam freely through the former military housing complex.
The base’s strategic location made it crucial during World War II and throughout the Cold War until its decommissioning in 1997. Its decommissioning left behind a surreal landscape of empty buildings amid stunning natural beauty.
Wendover Air Force Base, Utah
Wendover Air Force Base sprawls across the Utah-Nevada border. Its massive hangars once housed the B-29 bombers that would drop atomic bombs on Japan. During World War II, the crews of the Enola Gay and Bockscar trained in complete secrecy at this remote desert installation.
Today, the crumbling control tower and deteriorating buildings are silent witnesses to one of history’s most pivotal military operations.
Nike Missile Site SF-88, California
Nike Missile Site SF-88 in the Marin Headlands once formed part of a defensive ring around San Francisco, ready to launch surface-to-air missiles against Soviet bombers. The site remained operational from 1954 to 1974, housing missiles capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads.
Unlike many abandoned military facilities, SF-88 has been preserved as a museum where visitors can see the missile lifts in action and step inside the restored facilities.
Like Travel Pug’s content? Follow us on MSN.
Fort Tilden Military Base, New York
Fort Tilden stands on the Rockaway Peninsula of Queens, its concrete gun batteries slowly reclaimed by beach grass and salt air. From 1917 through the end of the Cold War, the fort protected New York Harbor, evolving from coastal artillery to Nike missiles as threats changed.
Today, the abandoned casemates offer stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and serve as an unlikely canvas for graffiti artists. At the same time, beachgoers often pass its weathered structures without knowing their historical significance.
Amarillo Air Force Base, Texas
Amarillo Air Force Base is located in the Texas Panhandle. During Cold War tensions, B-52 crews and mechanics trained there. The facility bustled with activity from 1951 to 1968 before being shuttered as part of a military realignment. Today, the former base has found new life as a community college campus and business park.
However, remnants of its military past remain visible in the distinctive curved roofs of aircraft hangars and the unusually wide streets designed for bomber movements.
Walker Air Force Base, New Mexico
Walker Air Force Base sprawls across the desert outside Roswell, New Mexico. It once served as a Strategic Air Command hub housing nuclear-capable bombers. The massive base employed thousands and operated as one of America’s most important Cold War installations until its sudden closure in 1967.
Its proximity to Roswell has fueled endless UFO conspiracy theories. At the same time, its abandoned flight line and massive hangars inspire awe in visitors who can still sense its former military importance.
Like Travel Pug’s content? Follow us on MSN.
Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois
From 1917 to 1993, Chanute Air Force Base in the small town of Rantoul, Illinois, operated as one of the Air Force’s primary technical training centers. Generations of aircraft mechanics, weather specialists, and other technical personnel learned their trades in the base’s massive hangars and classrooms.
The most striking feature of the abandoned base is Building P-3, a unique circular structure with a half-million square feet that housed aircraft for maintenance training regardless of weather conditions.
Fort Carroll, Maryland
Fort Carroll sits on an artificial island in the Patapsco River near Baltimore, built before the Civil War as part of the city’s harbor defenses. Construction began under then-engineering officer Robert E. Lee, though the hexagonal fort never saw combat despite standing ready through multiple conflicts.
Now completely abandoned, the artificial island has become an unlikely bird sanctuary as nature reclaims the crumbling fortification visible to travelers crossing the Key Bridge but remains inaccessible to the public.
Quonset Point Naval Air Station, Rhode Island
Quonset Point Naval Air Station was once the northeast’s most important naval aviation facility. Its distinctive semicircular Quonset huts became so ubiquitous that they entered the American lexicon. The base supported operations during World War II and the Cold War before closing in 1974, leaving behind massive hangars and an impressive airfield.
Today, the former base hosts industrial parks and port facilities, but remnants of its military past remain visible throughout the area.
Like Travel Pug’s content? Follow us on MSN.
Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado
Lowry Air Force Base operated for over 50 years in Denver as one of the military’s premier technical training centers, educating more than a million students before closing in 1994. Former President Eisenhower used the base facilities as his ‘Summer White House,’ and its classrooms trained everyone from bombardiers to photographers.
The abandoned base has undergone one of America’s most successful military-to-civilian conversions, transforming into a vibrant mixed-use community while preserving historic structures like the iconic Eisenhower Chapel.
Seneca Army Depot, New York
The Seneca Army Depot sprawls across 10,600 acres of upstate New York. It once stored ammunition and even nuclear weapons behind miles of security fencing. The base operated from 1941 to 2000, and its bunkers contained everything from conventional artillery shells to nuclear warheads during the Cold War.
Perhaps most fascinating is the depot’s famous white deer herd—a naturally occurring genetic variant that thrived within the secure perimeter and now represents one of the world’s largest white deer populations.
Like Travel Pug’s content? Follow us on MSN.
Jefferson Proving Ground, Indiana
Jefferson Proving Ground covers 55,000 acres of southern Indiana countryside. The Army tested millions of artillery shells there, creating one of America’s most heavily contaminated former military sites. Established in 1940, the base saw shells fired across its landscape for over 50 years, leaving behind unexploded ordnance that makes much of the property unsafe for public access.
Nature has reclaimed large portions of the base, creating an accidental wildlife refuge where humans rarely venture due to the dangerous legacy beneath the recovering forest.
Edwards Air Force Base North Base, California
Edwards Air Force Base North Base is separate from the still-active portions of Edwards. Its abandoned hangars once housed America’s most secret aircraft development programs. The remote facility in the Mojave Desert tested experimental planes like the U-2 spy plane and early stealth aircraft far from public view.
While most of Edwards remains active, these isolated northern facilities stand abandoned, and their exact purposes are still classified despite decades of disuse.
Like Travel Pug’s content? Follow us on MSN.
The Vestiges of Power
These abandoned military installations represent more than deteriorating buildings—they embody America’s evolving national security strategies and technological achievements. Their concrete bunkers and rusting radar towers serve as three-dimensional historical documents of the nation’s defensive posture through generations of global conflict.
As nature gradually reclaims these bases, their stories remain embedded in the landscape, reminding us that even the mightiest military installations eventually surrender to time.
More from Travel Pug
- 20 Towns Built for One Purpose That Were Later Abandoned
- 15 Hidden Spots in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Most Visitors Miss
- 20 Once-Popular Beach Towns That Are Now Ghostly Empty
- 15 Canyons in the U.S. That Are Just as Stunning as the Grand Canyon
- 10 Under-the-Radar Mountain Towns That Are Both Affordable and Beautiful
Like Travel Pug’s content? Follow us on MSN.