There’s a place in Idaho that’s frozen in time. Silver City is the rarest of old mining towns – it was never developed and commercialized into a modern city and it escaped any disastrous fires. It’s a town that’s largely unchanged from the boom times of 1800s and it’s a day trip destination that must be experienced. Here’s why your next adventure needs to be to Silver City, Idaho:

Silver City is located up in the Owyhee Mountains at an elevation of 6,200 feet. It’s more than a little off the beaten path.
Austin Williams/500px Collection via Getty Images
The town has 75 surviving structures and they are all very old, dating from the 1860s to the early 1900s. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped onto the set of an old western movie.
Andy Melton/Flickr
The town was once a very prosperous place – there are literally hundreds of old mines in the hills surrounding the town. The town had amenities like electricity and telephones long before most other towns of its size.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr

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At its peak, Silver City had about 2,500 residents, 75 businesses, and 300 homes, and a dozen ore processing mills. By the late 1800s, the placer and quartz vein mines located here were largely depleted and the town went into a long, slow decline.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
By the 1940s there was just one permanent resident – he was the official mayor, police chief, and postman. He died in 1968.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
Today, Silver City is owned by the federal government, overseen by the Bureau of Land Management. The buildings largely belong to descendants of old-time miners.
Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr

Silver City still has a hotel that’s been outfitted with some amenities. There are a few other businesses but there are no service stations though, so don’t count on getting gas here. It’s also recommended that visitors bring sunscreen, a first aid kit, water and snacks, and a camera. Interested in exploring more Idaho mining history? Here are some photos that will take you back.

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Silver City, ID 83650, USA