Zzyzx: The Desert Health Resort That Was Never Really a Ghost Town

THE OASIS\n\nLong before the name Zzyzx existed, Soda Springs was a desert water source used by Indigenous peoples, explorers and the U.S. Army. In 1944 Curtis Howe Springer arrived and developed the site into the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Resort.\n\nSPRINGER’S EMPIRE\n\nSpringer operated a radio program, promoted health products and built a resort with a dining hall, pool house, lecture spaces and other facilities. The National Park Service notes that he referred to himself as a doctor despite limited formal education and eventually faced accusations involving false advertising, taxes and his land claims.\n\nTHE END OF THE RESORT\n\nFederal authorities challenged Springer’s claims to the land. By the 1970s he was removed, and the resort era ended. California State University took over the facility in 1976 and established the Desert Studies Center.\n\nNOT ACTUALLY ABANDONED\n\nThis distinction matters. The National Park Service explicitly states that Zzyzx is not an abandoned ghost town. Lake Tuendae and certain public areas can be visited, but buildings across the road are part of an active educational campus and are not abandoned ruins open for exploration.\n\nWHY IT BELONGS ON ODDKNOWN\n\nThe story is strange enough without exaggeration: an invented place name, a desert health empire, disputed land claims, unusual medical marketing and an oasis later converted into a scientific field station. The abandoned-resort imagery is real, but the site’s present-day status must be described accurately.