Garnet Ghost Town

This review is from when we visited in September 2025. They do clothes portions of the town in the winter time but I do know people still go up and visit in the winter time I think it depends on the weather. I had never been here before but I had read a little bit about it. There was an employee who is there during business hours. There are several buildings that you can walk through while they are there and then after they leave they lock those up. Several of the buildings have had new roofs put on them and you can tell that they are being maintained for historical purposes. It is a unique ghost town for the area It is maintained partially by the government so it has a little bit more money behind it. There's some nice history of the area. Sounds like this mining town was a little more family-oriented. It's humbling to see how small people's houses were back in the day. It was an easy tour to walk I would recommend using the paper guide as you walk around it helps fill in the story. I would visit again They did explain that there are a couple of cabins that are able to be rented during the winter time. Ther was not a lot of information there I imagine it's on a government website.

Such an incredibly fun experience, Garnet had been so well preserved it’s like walking through time and as you walk the grounds history almost comes alive. They have maps available at the gift shop and in a box near the entrance of the town, there are also several plaques which tell information about each building. A great place to spend the day exploring, also don’t forget about the small ghost settlement on the way in called Coloma.

A fun experience! There are 2 gravel roads in and out The Cave Gulch road is a little scary if you're in a low car or aren't used to gravel I'd avoid the Gulch road. We spent about 1 hour here as a family. Definitely worth the stop.

Beautiful scenic drive to get there. Saw deer along the road and cows were munching right in the parking lot. Feels like everyone just left a decade ago. Worth the trip if you like the history.

Really nice place. Great history and nicely presented. Great staff. Worth the drive. ...nice cars and RVs highly not suggested to travel the road in. Gravel washboard and miles of it but super cool when you get there.

Cool little detour. Views from the top amazing, and the town nice and interesting to see. I did I90 up and down in the rain, and you get used to it if you take your time. Not sure the suspension on the car appreciated it though. Cattle at the bottom seemed irritated we bothered them! But worth the effort all round.

A place you should definitely visit when you are nearby! Garnet is one of Montana's most intact ghost towns. It symbolizes an important era in Montana's hard rock mining history. Substantial effort has gone into stabilizing and protecting the remaining historic structures. We had a nice time exploring the old buildings.

Be very careful if attempting the drive from I-90, the 2nd half of the road is very rough sharp rocks on an unmaintained trail. We punctured a tire on a Jeep Grand Cherokee on the way up......be prepared!

My kids (14,19,21) and I loved this 2-hour excursion from our travels down I-90. The Bear Gulch path getting there was more than half of the fun. Note: there is an easier, faster way up the mountain from Hwy 212. The gulch isn't for every driver or every vehicle.

Really pretty drive and it was a beautiful day! Prob don't try that drive in wi get or icy conditions . We took the 200, it's a decent road but I paved most of the way. Clean restrooms and water fountains. Take your own snacks and sunscreen!

Getting here is a bit of a drive and a good portion of it is over gravel road so be prepared for that. Also the service there is not good at some places and nonexistent at most places so if you need it I recommend downloading the map on Google Maps offline so you can navigate in and out of there. However, when navigating through the inside of the ghost town I recommend following the signs posted. When you get to the parking lot there's an area to pay. It's three dollars or free if you have the America the Beautiful pass. There are restrooms at the parking lot and also when you go down the hill to the town itself. When you are down there you'll see a brochure that maps the number next to the buildings to what they were used for during that time. You can walk around and explore how people lived in that environment which is fascinating. I just love the idea of going back in time to the 1920s and 1930s in a preserved town which is super old, torn down, and quiet (besides the tons of other people who are visiting). There are some hiking trails and loops but I think the most interesting part is the town itself. I spent about an hour here but you can spend more or less depending on how much you want to walk around. Also, bring bug spray because they are EVERYWHERE! You'll end up using that brochure to swipe left and right to get those things out of the area.

Well worth the long drive up the paved road that transitions to gravel 6 miles shy of the parking lot.

Highly recommend stopping here for a visit! It was so neat to see the old town and step back in time! FYI: It's ran by BLM so while it's cheap to visit ($3 per person at the time I'm writing this) make sure you have cash for the Dropbox.

Bit of a letdown, but not enough for less than 4 stars. A bear to get to, but worth it. It is amazingly well-preserved, and gratefully void of the graffities of youth. Here was the letdown: after the journey to get there, we were greeted with a sign saying the town was closed because of--you guessed it--stinkin' Covid-19. What a hotbed for pandemic in the middle of nowhere Montana, huh? It...would...have...been...nice to perhaps put a damned notification on the sign on Hwy 200 as you turn on the mountain road heading to it. We all said, 'Screw it, we're here now,' but I couldn't shake the feeling of knowing we were essentially trespassing. That definitely effected our visit. We would have stayed far longer than the brief half-hour peek, otherwise. It took an hour to get to it from Missoula. Regardless, in better times, if you like interesting history, you will really like Garnet...

I'm way late to review this. But this is the best place in Montana. Found it by accident years ago. I think I saw a sign off the main road for it and said "Alright I'll try this." Long, windey, bumpy road to get there but worth it. Don't give up! Leave a donation in the donation box! That's how these things are able to stay afloat for the public. If you like deserted places, or like to pretend you're filming The Walking Dead starring yourself as the main character, this could be your place.

I thought Garnet Ghost Town was just okay; however, some of our party were more enthusiastic. Garnet is a deserted mining town. Some buildings date from the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century and others from the 1930's. They are all abandoned but are relatively well preserved but not liveable. There is a nice map provided by the staff which gives a brief history of each building. Nothing of great interest to me; however, some of the visitors seemed fascinated - so your experience may be different from mine. You have to descend from the parking lot to the town by a semi-steep trail which might cause someone with mobility issues some problems. The drive in is on a well maintained gravel road and is very picturesque. There is a fee for parking. The ghost town is dog friendly. All in all it wasn't a particularly exciting experience for me, but it did provide a nice multigenerational outing.

Interesting place, great historical artifacts, well-preserved and beautiful surroundings. People at the gift shop were friendly and helpful, the fellow visitors were friendly too.

Beautiful town and location!! Hidden away in the mountains and incredibly well preserved, this is definitely worth a visit. We were the only ones up there and had an amazing time exploring the buildings and running around. As mentioned in the other reviews, take 200 from Missoula. We went to Drummond first and ended up backtracking through a very scary steep access road riddled with deep pot holes and sharp rocks. Makes for a good story now but finding out you didn't have to go back down that way was a relief!!

Amazingly well preserved ghost town filled with artifacts and creepy decaying wall paper. A bit of a challenge to get to this location, but that makes it all the sweeter when you arrive. We came via 90 then up a very challenging hairpin riddled pot holed dirt road that takes about an hour after 90. Try coming from the north via 200-- much shorter and easier road. Lots of buildings in the pristine forest location. Clean non-smelly permanent pit-toilets. Gorgeous views.

I really like visiting old ghost towns but understand not everyone enjoys this. However, if you like exploring old ghost towns like I do then you will love Garnet! This is one of the best preserved ghost towns I have visited. I really enjoyed being able to wander around the many buildings and walk thru the ones they had open. Also liked they have lots of old artifacts laid out in the buildings. They also have a small gift shop with staff that shared lots of info on the history of Garnet.

It was closed when we went (late October) but still worth a visit if you're in the area. You can look in the windows and see inside the buildings even though they are locked. We took the advice other reviewers and even though we were coming from the southeast, went out of our way to approach from HWY 200. Worked out ok even with a car loaded down for a cross country move. If also takes you on a really scenic 11 mile road up the mountain with a great view. In inclement weather I would be a bit nervous to make this drive though. There is handicapped parking near the town because it's at the bottom of a 5 minute walk down a pretty uneven and big hill. Elderly people etc may have trouble with the walk down and back up. The town itself was awesomely preserved and just the right level of creepy! Great photo op and really gives you a sense of how the miners lived.

This is by far the best ghost town I have ever seen. You get to investigate on your own going into cabins, hotels, bars all with many decor items still there. 200 is very scenic but don't go on the road going back to 90 and Drummond. It should have danger signs. Nice restrooms and picnic areas. This is a must visit!

As a kid I found Ghost Towns sort of compelling, so here I am in Montana with time, opportunity and motive. Done. So I was driving from Butte to Missoula and I had some time to kill. I picked up some lunch stuff and planned on finding a nice spot somewhere along the way to have my lunch. As I'm going along I-90 I see a sign, "Ghost Town". Ok, I'll bite. Turns out it's about 9 miles off the highway and the road in from 90 is not great. At least not when it's winter and you're driving a Chrysler 300 rental and the road is a narrow dirt road with patches of ice and occasional ruts. But hey, it's more about the driver than the car, right? Right? Garnet, MT is a Ghost Town that was populated around 1895. Gold played out within ten years or so and the town was abandoned. There are about 20 buildings here, mostly maintained by...I don't know, maybe volunteers, maybe the Keebler Elves.

Had a great time wandering around this preserved ghost town. If you like looking at the past you will enjoy this. Many of the buildings are starting to look in pretty bad shape but what a picture of a time past we often forget about. Makes you appreciate the struggle these people endured as they dreamed of building America!!!

Wow! What an awesome experience visiting Garnet Ghost Town! The views are beautiful, the history is neat to see and read about and the staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. If you have a little extra time and are able, take the Warren Trail to see beautiful flowers and even more impressive views! The trail gets a little difficult at times, but is worth it! We accidentally took the wrong entrance to get to the top turning a 30-minute drive into a 60-minute drive. It was a scary drive on a road that isn't maintained quite as well as the main road but it was sooooo scenic despite the white-knuckle driving my husband did around some of the tighter corners! If an adventure off-road drive isn't your thing, be sure to take the right road! We spent 3 hours at Garnet Ghost Town and the trail and it was definitely a highlight of our trip!

This place rocks. You have to "work for it" as far as driving to find it, but once you do, it's an amazing experience. I've seen where this ghost town was voted "the most intact/untouched ghost town" and have to say, you can definitely visualize what life must have been like there. Luck was on our side the day we visited as we had a wonderful volunteer and his wife working that day. We had our three young adult boys with us and even they enjoyed hearing the stories. We were all impressed that the town appears to have remained free of vandals, pickers, etc. A great piece of history and definitely worth the bit of extra effort to get there! Don't miss!

Do not attempt accessing this from I90, it is an impossible and frustrating ride with barely any signs. We had to come back a day later and access from 200, still be prepared for a long drive up with limited signs. I would recommend all wheel drive/SUV/truck to make this trip. Once you are up there it is a really cool sight to see!!!

Super fun, I loved Garnet Ghost Town. We were driving from Bozeman to Missoula and made a point to take a detour to hit this ghost town hidden in the mountains--so much fun and worth the drive. My #1 tip--get TO and FROM Garnet via Highway 200! Since we were coming from Bozeman, we took the directions to get to Garnet via Interstate 90. This way takes you on some dangerous (and somewhat confusing) unpaved roads. You will need AWD to go this way and there are portions where it is only one lane and if a car is coming down as you're going up, you practically have to drive on the edge of the cliff to pass. It's scary! And it takes a long time. My BF was mad that I was making him drive to the middle of nowhere and it took so long....we left Garnet (to go to Missoula) via Highway 200 and it was SO FAST and paved. So go via HWY 200 to get there and to leave. This town made national news not too long ago because they were looking for volunteers willing to live at Garnet Ghost Town for months at a time. When we got there, I got a very personalized tour from one of the volunteers living there for the month. He said so many people applied for the position, but he was lucky enough to get a spot for the summer. He explained a lot of the history of Garnet as well as what it's like to live there for a month in one of the cabins with no cell service or electricity. It was pretty neat to hear all about it firsthand. There are lots of building and shelters to walk into and photograph. It's a pretty small area, so you can quickly cover the whole place in about an hour. The old hotel is really neat, it's 3 stories tall and a little bit eerie. At the visitor center, you can buy fun souvenirs; I bought some locally mined Montana sapphires and a gold nugget.

Take 90E to Bonner exit then Hwy 200 from Missoula. There is an 11 mile bumpy road to the ghost town. Not too bad at all, totally worth it. Garnet Ghost Town is an intact town, very well preserved. Stop by the visitors center & the gift shop for the map to the scavenger hunt for the kids. Free coloring book or post card. Kids will love the hunt. Adults & kids will be entertained & learn much about the late 1800's history. Beautiful scenery, enjoy nature & how our for fathers worked the land. Guarantee you will enjoy!

Shockingly well preserved! Fascinating walk through history!! Be sure to build into your itinerary if in the area. Absolutely worth a couple hours. Local will tell you it's haunted... lights go on where there are none, music can be heard coming from saloon. Unfortunately, I didn't experience that but still a fun story

The getting there is not the most pleasant, but the payoff is a whole little ghost town largely preserved and without the hawk eyes of persnickety museum attendants. Had a good time romping around, pretending to own saloons and wondering which houses were secretly brothels. Still not sure it was worth it. On the way out (toward Highway 200, headed north) there's a beautiful turn out with a nice sunset view and a picnic table.

We visited Garnet based on what we saw on various sited on the net and really loved it! Not sure why Jim and Sarah didnt like as well but I lived in Wallace Idaho and worked underground as a hard rock silver miner so was well versed in mining and mining towns......drive was only 20 minutes to Garnet from Missoula on a beautiful highway and the turnoff was 9 miles 4 of it paved 5 miles gravel but well groomed. Make sure you take I 90 toward butte. not the other way. About a quarter mile hike from parking lot, but when you get there it is very cool, and places like this will not be around forever. My wife and I really found it all very interesting and realized how easy we have it and how hard they had it. Would recommend to all but allow the entire day to really enjoy!

my wife son and i had a ball...ride up was scary, we took old road. We did not know about new road. Our son was 3 at the time. he had allot of fun checking out the old saloon, he even peed in it...lol, diaper leak...probably not first time.....nice healthy hike