This Abandoned Gold-mining Town Is One of the Best Ghost Towns in the West-and It Has a Creepy Old Hotel and Saloon

"Garnet is one of the best-preserved historic mining towns in Montana. Hard work from the Bureau of Land Management and the Garnet Preservation Association allows visitors to enjoy a firsthand experience of life in a mining town [from] the late 1800s and early 1900s," says Jake Kvale, the activities manager at Paws Up. As with many Western boomtowns of the era, gold was the driving force behind Garnet's growth."

"It's a quick hike from the parking lot to get your first glimpse of the remnants of the town and the false-front commercial architecture frequently used to decorate Old West towns. Even in the bright light of day, you can feel the past lingering in the air. As you walk across the creaky floors and through the bedrooms of the three-story J.K. Wells Hotel, which is said to have been an elegant property by mining town's standards in 1898."

Garnet sits about 30 minutes west of Missoula and is accessible via a short detour off Montana Highway 200 en route to Greenough and Paws Up. The town is one of the best-preserved historic mining towns in Montana. Hard work by the Bureau of Land Management and the Garnet Preservation Association preserves late-1800s and early-1900s structures and artifacts. The Garnet mines produced around $1 million, mostly in gold, between 1897 and 1917, with some reports estimating $1.4 million. Visitors can hike from the parking lot to view false-front commercial architecture, the three-story J.K. Wells Hotel, Kelly's Saloon, and the F.A. Davey General Store filled with artifacts.

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