Entry No. 36 — the Missoula file — filed under: outdoor-weird
Garnet Ghost Town
Montana's best-preserved ghost town sits high in the Garnet Range, with around 30 weathered buildings standing much as they did in 1895. The miners cared more about the gold underground than the structures above, so most cabins and the saloon were thrown up fast without foundations and now lean at odd angles. A BLM visitor center and gift shop operates inside one of the old buildings, and self-guided history trails wind through the townsite. In winter the access road closes to vehicles and you ski, snowshoe, or snowmobile in.
The story
High up in the Garnet Range east of Missoula, nobody in 1895 was planning on building a permanent city or an architectural masterpiece. When miners struck gold in these hills, they knocked down timber and threw up roughly 30 wooden structures—saloons, cabins, stores—straight onto bare dirt, completely skipping stone foundations because every hour spent laying masonry was an hour not spent hauling gold out of the rock.
That cut-corner construction is exactly why Garnet remains so striking today. Over the last century, the mountain dirt has shifted and settled beneath the ungrounded logs, leaving the surviving buildings—including the old saloon and miners' cabins—leaning at strange, off-plumb angles like a theatrical set frozen mid-collapse. Managed by the BLM, it survives as Montana's best-preserved ghost town largely because its high-altitude isolation kept suburban sprawl and heavy scavengers away once the mines went cold.
What it's like
The trip starts on a gravel mountain road that rewards slow driving if you want to keep your suspension intact. Pay your $10 day pass on recreation.gov before you ascend, as cell service drops off quickly up the Garnet Range Road. Once at the townsite, self-guided dirt trails loop past weathered gray timber facades where you can peer directly into open doorways and leaning rooms. A BLM visitor center operates inside one of the historic structures during summer months. If you plan to visit in late fall or winter, note that the road closes to wheeled vehicles on December 15, turning the final leg into a ski, snowshoe, or snowmobile trek.
The move: Drive up the gravel byway on a clear summer morning, pay the $10 day pass, and spend a couple hours peering into the leaning saloon and miners' cabins before a tailgate picnic at the trailhead.
📍 Before you go Visitor center open daily roughly late May-Sept, 10:00am-4:30pm, weather permitting; $10/person day pass (free under 16) via recreation.gov. Vehicles allowed on the road May 1-Dec 15; winter access is ski/snowshoe/snowmobile only.
- 📍 Garnet Range (east of Missoula)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Garnet Range Rd, Drummond/Missoula area, MT (BLM Missoula Field Office)
Hours: Added 2026-06-24 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Ohrmann Museum & Gallery — Pair Garnet's weathered late-1800s timber cabins with a stop near Drummond to see rancher Bill Ohrmann's massive welded steel sculptures.
- 1890 Historical Copper Mine — Compare Garnet's high-altitude gold boom structures with the remnants of a failed 1890 copper venture tucked into Mount Sentinel.
- Charlie B's (Dinosaur Cafe) — Follow up a morning exploring abandoned mountain saloons with a drink inside Missoula's dim, portrait-walled dive bar.
Good to know
How much does entry cost?
Day passes are $10 per person for adults (free for visitors under 16) and can be purchased online via recreation.gov.
Can I drive to Garnet Ghost Town in the winter?
No. Wheeled vehicles are only allowed on the access road from May 1 through December 15. From mid-December through April, access is strictly via cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, or snowmobiling.
Can you camp at the ghost town?
No camping is allowed within a half-mile of the Garnet townsite. You can pick up a $4 public lands map from the BLM Missoula Field Office to locate nearby legal camping on surrounding federal land.
When is the visitor center open?
The BLM visitor center and gift shop run daily from roughly late May through September, 10:00 am to 4:30 pm, weather permitting.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: blm.gov · Official site · Wikipedia · southwestmt.com
last checked: 2026-06-24