Virginia City & Nevada City: Alder Gulch's Living History

The story starts on May 26, 1863, when a small prospecting party camped along a stream fringed with alder trees and found gold on the very first pan. The strike in Alder Gulch was spectacular, and word spread fast: by 1864 an estimated 10,000 people had flooded into the area, with Virginia City alone reaching around 5,000 residents that year. It was one of the most significant gold-rush destinations in the Rocky Mountains.

Unlike many camps that were lost to time, Virginia City and neighboring Nevada City survived and are now owned and preserved by the state of Montana through the Montana Heritage Commission, a branch of the Montana Historical Society. Virginia City still has 237 major historic structures standing. These are living ghost towns: you can walk among original buildings, explore historic museums, ride the historic train that runs between the two towns, and during summer watch a living-history program where daily life from the 1860s is reenacted.

For RV travelers, the Alder Gulch towns reward a slower visit. There's enough between the two communities, museums, restored storefronts, the train ride, and interpretive exhibits, to fill a day, and the immersive 1860s atmosphere makes this one of the standout heritage stops on any southwest Montana route.