Entry No. 55 — the Bozeman file — filed under: haunted
Bannack State Park (ghost town)
Montana's first territorial capital, born from an 1862 gold strike, now over 50 weathered log and frame buildings you can walk straight into along a silent Main Street. The Meade Hotel and the old schoolhouse draw the most ghost reports, including a girl in white said to appear on the hotel's second floor. It's a true ghost town rather than a reconstruction, so you wander empty saloons, the jail, and homes at your own pace. Each October the park stages a Ghost Walk with live actors playing Bannack's dead.
The story
In July 1862, prospectors pulled gold out of Grasshopper Creek and sparked a chaotic boomtown that briefly became Montana’s first territorial capital. It was rowdy enough that residents elected a smooth-talking sheriff named Henry Plummer to keep order—only to decide he was secretly running the 'Innocents,' a gang of highway robbers ambushing gold shipments along the trail. By January 1864, a masked crew of vigilantes took matters into their own hands and strung Plummer up on gallows built right outside town. Whether Plummer was a ruthless outlaw kingpin or just framed by political rivals depends on which local historian you corner, but the gallows still stand near the creek bed, and visitors still swear his spirit paces the dirt road at dusk.
Unlike sanitized historical parks that smell like fresh timber and funnel cake, Bannack was simply left to rot in place when the gold dried up. Over 50 weathered log and timber buildings line the silent Main Street, including empty saloons, the wooden jail, and the brick Meade Hotel. Originally built in 1875 as the Beaverhead County courthouse before converting into a hotel in 1890, the building is the town's acknowledged paranormal center. In August 1916, sixteen-year-old Dorothy Dunn drowned in a nearby dredge pond; shortly after, her best friend reported seeing her phantom standing along the hotel's second-floor balcony in a long dress—a figure visitors still report seeing through upper windowpanes today.
Because Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks keeps Bannack in a state of 'arrested decay' rather than rebuilding it, nothing is roped off behind glass. You can step directly onto squeaking floorboards, touch wallpaper crumbling off newspaper-lined walls, and explore the schoolhouse, homes, and saloons entirely at your own speed. If you show up in late October, the park runs a Ghost Walk where costumed re-enactors step out of the shadows along Main Street to act out the brutal, real-life deaths of the town’s 19th-century dead.
What it's like
Drive roughly two and a half hours southwest of Bozeman into high-desert sagebrush, and you will find a settlement so remote that wind whistling through broken windowframes is often the only sound on Main Street. You get near-total freedom to step inside unlocked cabins, peer into cold iron jail cells, and climb the staircase of the Meade Hotel, but bring a flashlight if you plan on exploring dim corner rooms or cellars. There are no fancy concessions here—just vault toilets, primitive campsites along Grasshopper Creek, and intense summer heat, so pack plenty of water, wear sturdy shoes for splintered floorboards, and keep an eye out for rattlesnakes taking shelter under the foundations.
The move: Spend the afternoon poking through abandoned buildings, then dare each other to climb the schoolhouse stairs at dusk.
📍 Before you go Roughly 2.5 hours from Bozeman; hours vary by season (longest in summer), and the Ghost Walk is only Oct 23-24, 2026.
- 📍 Dillon (Bannack)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 4200 Bannack Rd, Dillon, MT 59725
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Virginia City Ghost Walk — Pair Montana's original capital with Virginia City's preserved gold-rush streets to compare the state's two most notorious 1860s vigilante battlegrounds.
- Ringing Rocks — Combine your ghost town wandering with a trip north toward Whitehall to bang on a jumbled pile of mountain boulders that chime like steel bells.
- Nevada City Music Hall — Follow up Bannack's silent abandoned structures with a stop in Nevada City to hear North America's largest collection of automated music machines belt out early-1900s tunes.
- Norris Hot Springs — Wash off the dirt of Grasshopper Creek with a evening soak in a fir-planked geothermal pool on your drive back toward Bozeman.
Good to know
How far is Bannack State Park from Bozeman, and how long should I stay?
It is about a 2.5-hour drive (roughly 140 miles) southwest of Bozeman near Dillon. Plan to spend two to three hours wandering the 50-plus buildings and reading historical markers along Main Street.
What makes Bannack different from other Montana ghost towns?
Bannack is an authentic, preserved ghost town kept in 'arrested decay' rather than a commercial theme park or modern reconstruction, meaning you can walk directly inside original 1860s-1890s structures.
Who is Dorothy Dunn, and why is the Meade Hotel considered haunted?
Dorothy Dunn was a 16-year-old girl who drowned in a Grasshopper Creek dredge pond in 1916. Shortly after her death, friends reported seeing her apparition on the second floor of the Meade Hotel, where visitors continue to report cold spots and sightings of a girl in a long dress.
When is the annual Ghost Walk, and do I need tickets?
The Ghost Walk runs October 23 and 24, 2026. Guided tours feature live actors playing historical residents in the dark; tickets are limited and must be reserved in advance through the park association.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: fwp.mt.gov · roamingmontana.com · Wikipedia · southwestmt.com · outsidebozeman.com · legendsofamerica.com
last checked: 2026-06-24