Garnet Ghost Town
Garnet
The best-preserved late-19th-century gold rush ghost town in the Garnet mountains, with more than thirty wooden buildings, saloons and hotels standing intact among the trees.
Garnet was a gold mining town that rose in the 1890s and peaked at nearly 1,000 people. After the ore veins ran out in the 1910s, it gradually fell into disuse. It is now protected by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and is one of the best-preserved ghost towns in Montana. Among the more than 30 wooden buildings are the three-story Wells Hotel, the Kelly Saloon, a general store and residences, some of which can be entered. The visitor center has old photographs and exhibits on miners' lives. From Missoula, it takes about 1–1.5 hours by car: head east along I-90 or Highway 200, then turn onto a gravel mountain road. In summer (roughly June–September), the road is open and the visitor center is staffed. Admission is about $10 per person. In winter, the road is snowbound and the site can only be reached by snowmobile or cross-country skiing, but you can book a wooden cabin in the forest to stay overnight.
Opening hours
Summer approx. 09:30–16:30; road closed in winter
Nearby sights
- Rattlesnake National Recreation Area
- Mount Jumbo
- Mount Sentinel M Trail
- University of Montana
- Missoula Farmers Market & Clark Fork Market
- Missoula Art Museum
- Downtown Missoula
- Caras Park & Riverfront Trail