1,000 people once called Garnet, MT home in the 1890s. Gold miners who were out of work in played-out mines in California and elsewhere flocked to this spot in western Montana for a chance at striking it rich. The town went up quickly and haphazardly, without much thought for permanence or culture. Among the hastily-constructed buildings were four stores, four hotels, a school, a butcher shop, a candy shop, a doctor’s office, and more to support this remote town.

The gold rush didn’t last long, though. By 1905, most of the mines were abandoned and the population dwindled to 150. A fire destroyed much of the business district in 1912 and by the 1940s, Garnet was a ghost town.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
There are several ghost towns in Montana, but Garnet is one of the best preserved. It’s under the management of the Bureau of Land Management, which is tasked with maintaining the site’s buildings.
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Visitors are free to wander the town and inside some of the remaining buildings. Informative placards throughout help interpret the history of the town and the structures.
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There are still artifacts and personal belongings in the buildings such as this hotel, as if the town was hastily abandoned. There’s actually a scavenger hunt you can do to find things around the town! Check with the visitors center for the scavenger hunt.
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There are also some hiking trails that leave from the parking lot and meander through the surrounding forest, including the moderately difficult Warren Park trail that takes about two to three hours.
garnetghosttown.org
Outdoorsy types will be attracted to the area’s camping, fishing, hunting, and mountain biking opportunities within a few miles of the ghost town, which is about 40 miles east of Missoula.
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr

 

Garnet is open year-round, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily during the summer and with reduced hours during the off-season. However, the road to the town is closed to wheeled traffic from January 1 to April 30. For more information on the ghost town, visit garnetghosttown.org. Admission is $3.

Have you visited Garnet? What’s your favorite ghost town in Montana?

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Garnet Ghost Town, Drummond, MT 59832, USA