El Campo Santo

El Campo Santo Cemetery is one of San Diego’s oldest and most fascinating historic sites, offering a glimpse into the city's rich past and enduring legends. Established in 1849, this small yet significant cemetery in Old Town San Diego was the final resting place for many of the area’s early residents, including pioneers, politicians, and notorious figures of the time. Walking through the cemetery, you can still see weathered headstones, some with names barely visible, reminding visitors just how long this ground has held history. Many original graves were disturbed in the 1880s when San Diego expanded, and a streetcar line was built right through the burial site. Today, parts of San Diego Avenue run directly over unmarked graves, and you can even spot brass markers in the sidewalk, showing where bodies still lie beneath the road. Beyond its historical importance, El Campo Santo is known for its paranormal activity. Many visitors and locals claim to have seen ghostly apparitions, flickering lights, and even felt cold spots as they walk through. Some say the spirits of those whose graves were paved over still linger, making it one of San Diego’s most haunted locations. Despite its eerie reputation, El Campo Santo is a beautiful and peaceful place to visit, with its traditional Spanish-style crosses, iron fencing, and old-world charm. Whether you're a history buff, a fan of ghost stories, or just someone who appreciates preserved historic landmarks, this cemetery is a must-visit in Old Town. It’s a powerful reminder of San Diego’s early days, and a truly unique piece of the city’s past that continues to tell its stories, even after more than 170 years.

It’s a tiny old town cemetery from 1800’s. This is a close walk from the Old Town train station. First, you’ll see the park and the old town. And at the end of that road you’ll run into the old cemetery after the restaurants. It’s a treasure for the city and the graves are old some graves are inclosed to get protected from visitors. Some claim paranormal activity and ghosts but I have not seen any to believe it. It’s more of an urban legend than reality. Sure if you show up at 2am-4am it will feel spooky but still no ghosts because first of all it’s tiny and second of all the ghosts have no room to run ;)

Pretty cool cemetery with some history. Also has gravesites under the sidewalk marked with a brass marker.

A beautiful, peaceful resting place for the souls buried here. The cemetery is very tiny and easy to miss. Interesting stories on many of the headstones and graves. The history of the cemetery is heartbreaking, but important to learn to understand the history of San diego.

Went here after taking a tour of the Whaley House. I had Spirit Talker on but no volume and it was pretty active. There were many marked and unmarked graves so I really couldn't say anything about the names, words I got for history or paranormal purposes but I will tell that the unmarked graves is where my Spirit Talker would say something most of the time. Site is cared for and offerings were placed on some. Graveyard isn't huge but the history is fascinating especially if you are just walking around.

What a historical treasure! The history says it all when you walk thru the gate or even walk past it while on the sidewalk! Astonishing to read the headstones 🪦 and the information posted on the site! To see the actual grave markers strewn throughout the sidewalks and streets is mind boggling! Amazing tourist attraction with so much history! Is a must see/visit if you're in the area! It's won't be a disappointment and you'll happy you did!

Very old and historic small cemetery came to visit those who passed on. So sad to see all the indigenous ancestors who are left unmarked. Had to show some respect for those resting here. Really interesting to see the plaques and markers on the side walk especially of the unmarked Graves. Nothing spooky or eerie here just really interesting step back into time.

This is a small but historical cementery. It is just a few blocks away from the cities most haunted building! When walking by the graves, you definitely feel a sense of respect. A lot of the grave sites have white fencing around them while others have rocks outlining their location. I remember as a child, I visited this cementery a lot for school field trips. We were told that a lot of people have had spiritual activities/ghost sightings at this cementery. I've never experienced such thing though. I always feel at peace and in aw when walking through this place. Highly recommend stopping by!

In Old Town a few steps away from the Whaley house. A cemetery that displays the history of the area. Many markers are up with details of the life of the people that are laid to rest there. In a true reflection and to bring their voices to life - some of their markers have quotes of what life was like in early San Diego directly from the person laid to rest. Ground is a little uneven so careful with stepping in, around, and out of the cemetery.

Old cemeteries are so interesting, don't you think? Especially when someone puts the effort in to tell a story or share a glimpse of the lives of the people buried there. El Campo Santo Cemetery does just that-on a small scale. It's located right along the main street in the Old Town area and is free for people to wander in and meander about. Most of the burial sites are from the 1800's and are for young people-most of the ones I noticed were under 50 years old. Many of the graves did not have markers or identification other than a picket fence around them, so there's a bit of mystery to those. I also learned that there are other graves outside the cemetery that are marked by a simple gold marker in the cement. It's a beautiful little historic site worthy of a respectful walk-through if you're in the area and interested in that sort of thing.

Small historic cemetery with new grave markers from the historic society. Would be nice if all the graves had updated markers. Some just have a fence around the grave but no signage, so you're not sure what you're looking at. Some of the graves were where the street is now, so if you go right outside the walls of the graveyard, you'll see small, round, metal grave site markers on the sidewalk. I'm not sure what they did with the 200+ bodies that were moved when they put in a train depot across the street. Visited: June 2023

Historical cemetery in Old Town! It was late in the day when we visited but I want to come back another time during the morning hours. So much history and this was the kids first experience at visiting a historical cemetery. I explained the burial site and how the process of death is to thir own level of comprehension. It was a good night of celebrating our loved ones that have passed and we will return to the cemetery again soon. It is amazing to read the plaques, and to learn about others, it just breaks my heart for the little ones buried here.

I stopped here with a couple of friends after getting dinner and drinks and loved being here. There is so much history in this spot and I couldn't stop reading and googling about it. I loved the plaques that they had up and the big bulletin board full of information but I also was using google with so many of the graves in order to learn more about the people who were buried there. I am so happy they kept this little piece of history up. It is little and won't take you too long to get through all of the graves that are still there but I loved it still. I didn't feel anything paranormal going on but I didn't care about that, I loved the history of it. I am not from San Diego and I remember all of my elementary school local field trips and learning of my hometown area's so I love to learn the history of San Diego and this is a great place to get a small amount of history. Overall, a great little historical visit!

Historical cemetery site in Old Town next to trendy bars. Cool place to visit and pay your respects.

A stroll thru this tiny preserved portion of cemetery feels eerily nice while radiating & envoking its rich old town history to visitors. Respectful well wishers are welcome to make their way through each tombstone and have the captivating opportunity to immerse themselves in the few posted stories from a simpler time. I personally enjoy this quaint little place and all the love & mystery that surrounds it. Our evolving communities are sky rocketing through advancements while our past and all it's humble glory seem to fade in the background. I cannot speak for everyone but if I end up under marked earth long after my time, I would be thrilled just knowing that a part of me is being visited by curious strangers and scare seekers alike.

As with other things Old Town is known for their piece of haunted history. This cemetery sits right on San Diego Ave in the middle of the hustle and bustle of this little tourist town. It is elevated, as you walk up a stair, open the little gate and voile your in. When we arrived it was dark and we were invited to go in and walk around. There were still a few haunted tours going on as well. The cemetery has been kept up over all these years. Each of the graves continue to be separated be it with rocks, or pickets. Some of the graves have the actual history of the person buried even with a picture. Others just a marker. The history of this town is all relevant and ends with this cemetery as some of the patrons that helped create the stories reside here. Location San Diego Ave/ Harney - parking ( streets, good luck) or hotel lots

Cemetery of El Campo Santo is a small burial ground and historical landmark established in 1849, with interpretive signs. This cemetery is rumored to be the nexus for a surprising amount of spiritual activity ranging from cold spots and misty figures to floating torsos of spirits and vanishing spectral people. A lot of spiritual activity is said to occur here. One possible spirit is Yankee Jim Robinson, a man who stole San Diego's only rowboat and was hung at the nearby Whaley House. Afterward, he was buried in this cemetery. If you walk just outside El Campo Santo's front gate, there are small brass circles that say "Grave Site" embedded in the concrete sidewalk. Only one guy, a state Assembly member, was exhumed and re-buried within the cemetery's new boundaries. The other graves are known to exist thanks to ground-penetrating radar.

Pretty cool to see and read some of the descriptions on the tombs of the those women, men and children that pasted away back in the 1800s. All where very young (sad) but a great place to read some history from Old Towns Past. There were flowers placed and even someone left food on the graves. Nice gesture but what happens if no one picks those full containers of food up then there could be a pest problem. Maybe just flowers is a nice gesture to leave but I wouldn't suggest leaving perishable foods.

In honor of the Halloween month, I figure I'd squeeze in a cemetery review, and one that happens to be a California state historic landmark http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/2p6vlaBDj3WyVwKqjbITzQ?select=9BtHNR3Pj32-CK1qI0wZ5Q The plot of dirt is rather small with scattered wooden crosses and other grave markings among the old, twisted trees. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/2p6vlaBDj3WyVwKqjbITzQ?select=diwN3pDzMlPp_oYuPtp56Q I found it rather interesting reading on the exhibit board about researchers using modern equipment to scan below the ground for skeletal remains or other artifacts that may have been fashioned into a crucifix to identify burial remains. http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/2p6vlaBDj3WyVwKqjbITzQ?select=qiGKILDI6Q1tTuQz3UPnOA Although the historical site is relatively small, there was an artist rendering of the former cemetery and the researchers cataloged approximately 450 individuals that were laid to rest. Hmm...I wonder if Bill Marshall & Juan Verdugo were hanged from a nearby tree back in 1851 http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/2p6vlaBDj3WyVwKqjbITzQ?select=luE92Q1CmLdJvnncX9_zqg

Nicely maintained piece of history in the heart of Old Town San Diego. We took a small tour of the cemetery while on a ghost tour. Stop if you're in the area.

I always love a good Cemetery in an old city. Well worth the time and of course it's free. A lot of history to be learned if you look around in any city that you visit.

We headed here after our tour at the Whaley House as suggested by a worker to visit "Yankee Jim". We went a night, we decided to walk over since the weather was crisp. It was quite an experience- we took our time wandering around and some of the grave sites are just heartbreaking. So much history shared here.

How do you give "stars" to a cemetery? 5 stars for being old, I guess? I've visited this one a few times. If you haven't taken a guided tour of old town, I highly recommend it as they give tons of history.

The Roman Catholic El Campo Santo (Sacred Ground) Cemetery was established in 1849 and is located on San Diego Avenue in San Diego's Old Town. One of the graves here is that of Yankee Jim Robinson who was hung at the site of the Whaley House, two blocks away. 477 bodies were buried here, but not all of them stayed within the walls of the cemetery! El Campo Santo is open to visitors through a self-guided tour described in the free brochure available at the museum office The second leg of my journey around Old Town San Diego. I say second leg because the cemetery is located on the opposite end of of the main drag from Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. I am the odd duck in my group of friends in that I like to experience history, to explore my imagination through time. This cemetery can provide a little snippet. Walking through the cemetery looking at make-shift headstones, typically made of two pieces of wood in the shape of a cross, some sites have short write ups about the person buried in the ground below, while others almost go unnoticed. The writes-up is what gets this girls imagination running wild. Flash! Bang! Boom!!! I'm back in the time period picturing the townspeople in their period dress being prim and proper, all the while hangings are how justice is served. Or a family who is in turmoil because a two year old child died of illness, an illness that today is cured with a simple dose of antibiotics. At the turn of the century, the cemetery was abandoned and its brick chapel destroyed by fire. Walter P. Temple, a grandson of the Workmans, successfully filed a lawsuit preventing any further desecration of the cemetery. In 1917, he was able to purchase the cemetery and the surrounding 75 acres and began restoration. The graves that remain today are few, so it only takes a few minutes to roam the grounds. I would upgrade this rating if a little more effort was put into restoring the decade plaques so we can read about the person underneath.

I am obsessed with "haunted" and historical places. I was watching a friends 6 month old baby that day and decided to check out Old Town. While holding the baby and leisurely strolling, I walked into the cemetery. It was so small, even though I felt oddly guilty for taking a small child into the cemetery, I didn't think it was a big deal. I started looking at the grave site info and noticing that most of the grave sites I was seeing were very small children. Such a sad feeling came over me...to see "Aged 25 Days," "Aged 3 years." It made me feel terrible. I just had to walk out. I will be back another time(hopefully at night) with more appropriate company.

Before you think that is a bit morbid, let me tell you something: I am a SF/Bay Area native. My junior high school was located near some cemeteries- Colma is known for its large dead population (it was featured in a national magazine once). The city of San Francisco had to move all their cemeteries out of the city (except one, which is a pet cemetery) because it was running out of space- they were moved to Colma (the city next to Daly City, which is the city next to SF). Ok, enough back story. And on to my review. This small cemetery is located in Old Town in San Diego, on the same side as the famous haunted Whaley House (most likely on the Haunted in San Diego tour). So, we visit when there is light out, or else, it's hard to see/read the names and dates on the tombstones. (If you want to get creeped out, come here at night, I've heard about the orbs in the photos.) Since this is a very old part of San Diego, there is an awful lot of history here. Most of the plots are simple, not ornate. Some are marked by small barriers, like stones and have short descriptions of autobiographies. Some are marked by crosses. There are trees, but no grass, mostly composed of dirt. People still leave tokens (CD's, dolls, beads, etc.) especially for the young residents. Usually, visitors are respectful and not doing anything inappropriate- we are pretty quiet. It is usually grownups checking the place out, but every once in a while, you will see families here with young children. There is a trash can outside the cemetery- please don't litter here.

This is a very small and historic cemetery in Old Town San Diego. If you happen to be in Old Town, it is worth stopping by this place of interest. It is run down and kept in low maintenance conditions. For example, the ground is bare dirt, no grass at all. Some of the grave sites have small midget length picket fences around them, which looks weird. It was revealed that the city built a sidewalk over some grave sites, so in the sidewalk there are metal markers that say "grave site" on it. One is even in the curb, which looks even more strange. There are reports of paranormal occurrences here.

There is so much history as it relates to the Whaley House. It's sad since a lot of the people buried are without names.I was there on a hot day, and a few minutes in I was cold and got goosebumps, plus a major headache and as soon as I left the cemetery I was perfectly fine.

I find it really interesting to read the plaques here and then see the same people mentioned in other plaques elsewhere in Old Town. You can tie a lot of history together if you go around and read them.

Overheard walking by this spot one fine evening: Gentleman in a top hat - "Hello sir are you enjoying yourself, having a good time?" Tourist guy - "Yep doing fine thanks." Gentleman in a top hat - "Thats great, have a good night!" It took me a second to realize....did that top hat guy (old town employee?) really just ask someone if they were having a good time, complete with enjoyment, within a CEMETERY?! You have gotsta be kidding me! Its a cemetery! How may i ask does one 'have a good time' in a cemetery? Yes, its a historical landmark, and im down with the preservation of the cemetery as such. BUT its not a hangout, its not a playground, its not a park, and it certainly should not be perceived as a place of 'enjoyment'. Have some friggin respect! Ive been past this place many many times, i have not and will NEVER step foot within the walls. This is not a theme park and people buried there are not for anyones amusement, ghost story tours, enjoyment, or good times. Rest in peace? Isnt that the saying? You 'people' make me sick, absolute disgust!

If you want to catch a ghost this is the place!!! We were not trying to catch one here...just taking pics of daughter when we got one in photo! See in photos it was so cool! Great place to visit!

In reality I think this cemetery is more a 3.5 star. When I come to Old Town I always make my way over. As I did last week. It doesn't give me a paranormal boner or anything. I don't get giddy knowing I will be visiting, but I like the fact that it is open all hours of the day/night and the whole history. It is mostly just a bunch of white crosses. I know, I know why am I complaining...I have never felt anything weird there and most of the time don't get an really cool pics but it is still enjoyable on a cool night to waste ten minutes or so walking around. Peaceful. Might as well hit Whaley House while you are there for the whole Old Town dealio. Also recommend the Creole restaurant right new door to Whaley

I feel like I am going to go to hell for "liking" a cemetery as much as I like this one, and for putting a review...UGG. Whatev's This place is cool, you can walk around and just enjoy the atmosphere.

I LOVE this place! The history and ambiance is great for a spooky vibe! It's wild to think the graves extend into the street and if you look closely you will see their markers on the sidewalk and in the road! This is the kind of place where you get a real feel for old time San Diego! Look for Yankee Jim's grave towards the front! He's the most infamous resident at the cemetery!

Nice smaller sized old grave yard. But DONT BE DECIEVED........ if you take pics and see orbs it's probably dust out there believe me! Check out my pics at night in this place you will see what I mean. Dust is easily mistaken for orbs. But none the less a quaint nice place full of SanDiego history.

this place is PERFECT for dates. i know what you're thinking....IS THIS GUY INSANE? i might be....but think about it. it's in old town, theres a cold stone, theres places to get drinks, theres the trolley, and theres the ghosts. do a little research on this place if you feel like it, it's reported to be haunted. i had my own encounter myself...but the spirit wasn't malevolent...just kind of....sad. ON A HAPPIER LESS CREEPY NOTE a few years ago, there was a pile of red bricks on the side that the street entrance is on....and i built myself a grave there. for some reason, IT'S STILL THERE. i'm like banksy of cemeteries. so do me a favor...next time you go, don't forget to pay your respects to me. OR I WILL HAUNT YOUR DREAMS AND SING REBECCA BLACK'S "FRIDAY" SO YOU WILL NEVER SLEEP ANOTHER NIGHT IN YOUR LIFE. oooOOOOoooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooo

While I feel it is a little strange to be giving a good review to a cemetery, I think it is warranted. As a person who likes historical places and random places of interest, this was an excellent stop. I was down in the San Diego area with some girlfriends, and we made a stop here after the Whaley House. I like that the cemetery has a large bulletin board with information about the cemetery project, marking grave sites for those who were buried outside the cemetery walls, and a copy of the original log of who was buried there. Seeing these ancient markers for men, women, and children is a bit sobering, especially when you read the plaques of how some of them died. The infamous Yankee Jim, the poor guy who was hung for stealing and is now the resident ghost of the area, is buried here. Obviously, you can go at your own pace, and it is somber, it is nice to be in a "museum outside", if you will. I'd definitely come back.

cannot go to old town without coming here its so interesting with all the gravestones on and off the cemetery grounds

I can't say for sure how haunted this cemetery is or was, as I didn't sense anything other than a total calm upon entering. It was a beautiful sunny day and the sun was peeking through the twisted trees that were casting shadows of branches over all the grave sites. I perched myself at one of the benches to give those who remain there a sense of company and noticed that the street noise from cars passing by I could clearly hearing walking through the gate of El Campo had completely faded out and all that you could hear were the birds chirping. It was quite nice. As I went to leave the cemetery I did a lap around to see all the old and wonderful markers, some of which were fenced or gated off. It was a peaceful experience and it was a nice break, if anything to say hello. I only wish that the folks bringing their children into the graveyard would teach them a little grace and etiquette. A graveyard is not a playground for petes sake.

i had two interesting experiences at el campo and here on imperial ave. on this past tuesday, both involving pennies. the second you (and me) wouldn't believe! i believe someone is watching your every move and knows your every thought! so watch out!!!!!! i would like to hear from other people with el campo experiences. my email is ; karenjohnsoncubs@hotmail.com. thanks!! and yes "pennies from heaven" really do exist!!!!!