Boom, bust & quiet streets
Ghost Towns for RV Travelers
Real preserved gold-rush and mining ghost towns on public land — leaning cabins, mine headframes, and main streets the boom left behind, with facts sourced from official state-park, BLM, NPS, and county pages.
Confirm current access, hours, and road status on the official site before you go — many townsites sit at the end of seasonal roads.
- 21
- Field guides
- 10
- States covered
- 5
- Managing agencies
The townsites
Every ghost town in the guide
Colorado
Animas Forks
Colorado
Animas Forks: A High-Altitude Ghost Town on Colorado's Alpine Loop
Animas Forks is a preserved high-country ghost town in Colorado, managed by the Bureau of Land Management's Gunnison Field Office. Founded in the 1870s on the Alpine Loop at 11,200 feet, it grew into a real mining settlement before fading to a ghost town by the 1920s. Its cabins make a memorable stop on a San Juan Mountains RV trip.
Read the field guideColorado
Ashcroft
Colorado
Ashcroft: A Restored Silver-Mining Ghost Town Near Aspen
Ashcroft is a preserved Colorado ghost town in the White River National Forest, operated and stewarded by the Aspen Historical Society under a U.S. Forest Service permit. After an 1880 silver strike it briefly rivaled Aspen, then faded by the early 1900s. Today its restored buildings, trails, and interpretive signage make a short, scenic stop on an Aspen-area RV trip.
Read the field guideMontana
Bannack
Montana
Bannack State Park: Walk Montana's First Gold-Rush Town
Bannack State Park near Dillon, Montana, protects more than 50 weathered buildings along the Main Street of the state's first major gold-rush settlement, founded after the July 28, 1862 strike on Grasshopper Creek. The town's population swelled past 3,000 by 1863 and it briefly served as Montana's first territorial capital. Today FWP keeps the streets open to wander, with a 28-site campground on the property, making it a natural overnight stop on a southwest Montana RV loop.
Read the field guideNevada
Berlin-Ichthyosaur
Nevada
Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park: A Ghost Town and Ancient Fossils
The mining town of Berlin grew up around an 1896 gold mine, supported a few hundred residents, and was essentially abandoned by 1911. Nevada State Parks established the protected area in 1957, primarily to safeguard one of North America's most significant ichthyosaur fossil concentrations, and it also preserves the Berlin townsite and the Diana Mine. The park is open year-round.
Read the field guideCalifornia
Bodie State Historic Park
California
Bodie State Historic Park: California's Gold-Rush Ghost Town
Bodie State Historic Park preserves the remains of a gold-rush boomtown that once held about 8,000 people and some 2,000 structures. Two fires and a century of weather left fewer than 10% of those buildings standing, and the park maintains them exactly as found. It is open to the public daily, making it a centerpiece stop on any eastern Sierra RV route.
Read the field guideCalifornia
Calico Ghost Town Regional Park
California
Calico Ghost Town Regional Park: California's Silver-Rush Town
Calico boomed on silver from 1881 until the metal lost its value in the mid-1890s, then faded. Walter Knott bought and restored the townsite in the 1950s, rebuilding most structures while keeping five original buildings. It is now part of the San Bernardino County Regional Parks system, designated California Historical Landmark 782, and open daily to visitors.
Read the field guideIdaho
Custer Ghost Town
Idaho
Custer Ghost Town: Idaho's Yankee Fork Mining Country
Land of the Yankee Fork State Park, managed by Idaho's Department of Parks and Recreation, protects a cluster of frontier mining history in the central Idaho mountains. The centerpiece is Custer, founded in early 1879 by gold speculators, which peaked at 600 residents in 1896 before becoming a ghost town by 1910-11. The park also includes the Bayhorse ghost town and the 988-ton Yankee Fork Gold Dredge, with self-guided tours, a museum, and the Custer Days event each July, making it a rich RV stop in the Salmon River region.
Read the field guideUtah
Frisco Ghost Town & Charcoal Kilns
Utah
Frisco Ghost Town & Charcoal Kilns: Utah's Wild West Desert Relic
A West Desert silver ghost town on BLM-administered public land in Beaver County, Utah. Frisco grew to roughly 6,000 people and 23 saloons before a major mine collapse in 1885 ended its boom. The five stone beehive charcoal kilns, used to make fuel for the smelters, are the most notable landmark and are on the National Register of Historic Places; a cemetery and scattered ruins also remain.
Read the field guideMontana
Garnet Ghost Town
Montana
Garnet Ghost Town: Montana's BLM-Preserved Gold Camp
Garnet Ghost Town is a public-lands ghost town managed by the Bureau of Land Management in the mountains of western Montana. At its 1890s peak about a thousand people lived here scouring the surrounding hills for gold, but the town was largely abandoned roughly 20 years later when the gold ran out. The BLM keeps it well preserved, with a seasonal visitor center open daily from late May through September, making it a memorable detour on a Montana RV itinerary.
Read the field guideUtah
Grafton Ghost Town
Utah
Grafton Ghost Town: A Restored Pioneer Townsite Near Zion
A free-to-visit, restored pioneer townsite near Zion National Park, preserved through the Grafton Heritage Partnership in cooperation with the Bureau of Land Management and Utah's Division of State History. Settled in 1859 and emptied by floods (last residents left in 1944), Grafton today features a restored adobe schoolhouse/church, the Russell home, a pioneer cemetery, and scenic Virgin River bottomland. It famously appeared in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Read the field guideColorado
Independence
Colorado
Independence: A Gold-Rush Ghost Town Below Independence Pass
Independence is a preserved Colorado ghost town on Highway 82 near the summit of Independence Pass, stewarded by the Aspen Historical Society under a U.S. Forest Service permit. Gold was found here around July 4, 1879, and the town boomed to about 1,000 people before a record 1899 winter emptied it. Its remaining buildings make a scenic, roadside stop on a high-country RV drive.
Read the field guideAlaska
Independence Mine Ghost Town
Alaska
Independence Mine Ghost Town: An RV Traveler's Guide
A 761-acre Alaska state historical park preserving an abandoned alpine gold-mining camp at Hatcher Pass, managed by the Alaska Division of Parks. A summer visitor center, displays, and guided tours interpret the site; the surrounding road is a popular scenic drive.
Read the field guideAlaska
Kennecott Mines Ghost Town
Alaska
Kennecott Mines Ghost Town: An RV Traveler's Guide
A preserved early-20th-century copper-mining camp in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska, centered on a towering wood-frame mill. The National Park Service acquired and restored many of the buildings, and it sits at the end of the gravel McCarthy Road in deep wilderness.
Read the field guideNew Mexico
Lake Valley Historic Townsite
New Mexico
Lake Valley Historic Townsite: A New Mexico Ghost Town for RV Travelers
A free, BLM-managed ghost town about an hour northwest of Las Cruces. Lake Valley boomed on silver in 1878, then faded once the ore played out. The BLM has restored the schoolhouse and chapel, and a roughly 45-minute self-guided walking tour leads past the surviving structures and the everyday scatter of glass, metal, ceramic, and wood left behind.
Read the field guideNew Mexico
Lincoln Historic Site
New Mexico
Lincoln Historic Site: New Mexico's Frontier Town Frozen in Time
A state-managed historic town in the Bonito Valley of southern New Mexico, preserved as it was in the late 1800s. Of its 17 structures, several are open to visitors, including the Old Lincoln County Courthouse and the Tunstall Store, which still displays original 19th-century merchandise in its original shelving. The town interprets the Lincoln County War and the Billy the Kid story.
Read the field guideWyoming
Miner's Delight
Wyoming
Miner's Delight: A BLM-Preserved Log Ghost Town Near South Pass
Miner's Delight is a BLM-managed ghost town in Wyoming's South Pass Historic Mining Area, where gold was discovered in 1868. A walking path leads past roughly seventeen log structures, including cabins, a saloon, and outbuildings, with interpretive panels along the way. It pairs with South Pass City and Atlantic City on a Wind River Country RV loop.
Read the field guideNevada
Rhyolite
Nevada
Rhyolite: Nevada's Gold-Rush Ghost Town on the Edge of Death Valley
Rhyolite boomed after a 1904 gold strike, drew thousands of residents within a few years, and emptied almost as fast once mining funding dried up. The BLM manages the historic site as a day-use area, preserving standout ruins including the much-photographed Cook Bank Building and Nevada's best-preserved bottle house. It sits a short drive from Death Valley National Park.
Read the field guideCalifornia
Shasta State Historic Park
California
Shasta State Historic Park: The 'Queen City' of California's Northern Mines
Shasta was a bustling center of mining, commerce, and social life during the California gold rush, earning the nickname the 'Queen City' of the northern mines. When the boom shifted elsewhere the town declined, leaving rows of half-ruined brick buildings. California State Parks manages the site, including a courthouse museum, and it is open to visitors several days a week.
Read the field guideWyoming
South Pass City
Wyoming
South Pass City: Wyoming's Preserved Gold-Rush Ghost Town
South Pass City is a Wyoming state historic site preserving one of the West's gold-rush towns. Managed by Wyoming State Parks, Historic Sites & Trails, the restored townsite includes cabins, a hotel and restaurant, a jail, a museum, and the Carissa Mine. It is an easy add-on to a Wind River Country RV trip.
Read the field guideArizona
Swansea Historic Ghost Town
Arizona
Swansea Historic Ghost Town: A Backcountry Arizona RV Adventure
A BLM-managed copper ghost town in La Paz County, reached by about 25 miles of graded gravel road from Parker or Bouse. The BLM keeps Swansea's buildings, railroad grade, foundations, and mine shafts in arrested decay, with small interpretive signs identifying each structure. Remote desert camping and an outhouse make it a true backcountry RV destination.
Read the field guideMontana
Virginia City & Nevada City
Montana
Virginia City & Nevada City: Alder Gulch's Living History
Virginia City and Nevada City sit along historic Alder Gulch in southwest Montana, born from the spectacular gold discovery of May 26, 1863 that drew an estimated 10,000 people to the area by 1864. The state of Montana, through the Montana Heritage Commission, owns and preserves the towns, which together hold hundreds of historic structures. Visitors can walk the boardwalks, ride a historic train between the two towns, and watch living-history reenactments, making this one of the richest ghost-town stops on a Montana RV trip.
Read the field guide
Where the booms went bust
Ghost-town country, state by state
Most of these townsites sit in the high, dry interior West — mining country where arrested decay does the preserving. Pick a state to see RV rentals and what else is along the road.
Planning a quiet detour through a town the boom left behind?