About the Business
Garnet Ghost Town is one of Montana’s best-preserved mining towns, tucked into the mountains about 30 miles east of Missoula. The town grew quickly after gold discoveries brought miners, families, hotels, saloons, shops, and a school to First Chance Gulch in the late 1890s. At its peak, Garnet was home to roughly 1,000 people.
The boom did not last. Gold became harder to recover, a 1912 fire destroyed much of the business district, and wartime restrictions eventually brought mining to another halt. By the 1940s, nearly everyone had left. More than 30 buildings remain today, preserved partly through decades of isolation and later through the work of the Bureau of Land Management and the Garnet Preservation Association.
Visitors can walk through cabins, stores, hotel rooms, and other original structures rather than viewing the town from behind fences. Furnishings, merchandise, photographs, and interpretive signs help show what daily life looked like when Garnet was active.
The drive is part of the experience. The final roads can be rough, and some routes are unsuitable for trailers or RVs. During winter, wheeled vehicles are restricted, and visitors reach the town by snowmobile, skis, or snowshoes. Two historic cabins are also available for overnight stays through a seasonal reservation lottery.
Garnet is also known for stories of unexplained music, footsteps, and figures seen around the abandoned buildings. Whether visitors come for the mining history, the preserved architecture, or the ghost stories, Garnet offers something rare: an abandoned Montana town that still feels less like a museum and more like a place its residents simply walked away from.
Profile Researched July 2026
Services Offered
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to visit Garnet Ghost Town?+
Admission is $10 per person; children under 16 are free. Day passes can be purchased through Recreation.gov.
When is the best time to visit?+
The visitor center is open late May through September, daily 10am–4:30pm. The town is accessible year-round, but the road closes to wheeled vehicles January 1 through April 30 — winter visitors arrive by snowmobile, skis, or snowshoes.
Can you actually go inside the buildings?+
Yes — 16 or more buildings are open to walk through, including cabins, hotel rooms, and shops with original contents still on the shelves.
Is the road to Garnet suitable for RVs or trailers?+
The BLM recommends against RVs, motorhomes, and pull trailers, especially via the Bear Gulch route from I-90. The Garnet Range Road from Highway 200 is the better approach but still rough and unpaved.
Can you stay overnight at Garnet?+
Two original cabins (Dahl and McDonald) are available for winter overnight stays at $50/night — wood stove heat, no electricity. Reservations go through a lottery with a November deadline.
Is Garnet Ghost Town kid-friendly?+
Yes — families are a large part of the visitor base. Leashed pets are also permitted. There's a picnic area with potable water and restrooms.
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