Ghost towns offer families a unique window into America’s past, where abandoned buildings and dusty streets tell stories of boom-and-bust cycles that shaped the nation. These fascinating destinations combine history, adventure, and education in ways that captivate both kids and adults.
Unlike the spooky ghost towns you might see in movies, many real ghost towns are perfectly safe for families and offer guided tours, museums, and even special events throughout the year. The best family-friendly ghost towns strike the perfect balance between authentic historical preservation and accessibility.
Here is a list of 18 ghost towns across America that welcome families with open arms and provide unforgettable experiences.
Bodie, California
Bodie stands as one of America’s most authentic ghost towns, preserved in a state of ‘arrested decay’ by the California State Parks system. The town once housed nearly 10,000 people during the gold rush of the late 1800s, and today visitors can peer through windows of homes, shops, and the old schoolhouse to see furniture, dishes, and personal belongings exactly as they were left.
The park offers excellent educational programs for children and maintains well-marked walking paths that make exploration safe and engaging for the whole family.
Calico, California
This colorful desert town transforms the ghost town experience into something resembling a theme park, complete with mine tours, gunfight shows, and a narrow-gauge railroad. Calico was once a thriving silver mining town in the 1880s, and today it offers families a chance to pan for gold, explore authentic mine shafts, and enjoy old-fashioned entertainment.
The town hosts special events throughout the year, including ghost tours that are more fun than frightening, making it perfect for families with children of all ages.
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Jerome, Arizona
Perched dramatically on the side of Cleopatra Hill, Jerome offers breathtaking views of the Verde Valley while telling the story of Arizona’s copper mining heritage. The town still has a small population of artists and shop owners, allowing families to explore the ghost town while enjoying galleries and a meal at local restaurants.
Kids love the Jerome State Historic Park’s museum, which features mining equipment and interactive displays that bring the town’s wild past to life.
Bannack, Montana
Montana’s first territorial capital provides families with an exceptionally well-preserved ghost town experience, complete with over 60 original structures scattered along Grasshopper Creek. The town offers self-guided tours that allow families to explore at their own pace, and the visitor center provides maps and historical context that help bring the abandoned buildings to life.
Bannack Days, held annually in July, features living history demonstrations, period music, and activities specifically designed for children.
Garnet, Montana
Tucked away in the mountains about 30 miles from Missoula, Garnet offers families a more remote ghost town experience that feels like stepping back in time. The Bureau of Land Management maintains the site beautifully, and visitors can peek inside the old general store, saloon, and hotel to see how mining families lived in the early 1900s.
The drive to Garnet itself becomes part of the adventure, winding through scenic mountain roads that make the destination feel like a hidden treasure.
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South Pass City, Wyoming
This restored gold mining town, situated along the historic Oregon Trail, offers families a dual dose of American history. Children can try their hand at gold panning while learning about both the mining boom and the thousands of pioneers who passed through this area on their way west.
The Wyoming State Parks system maintains excellent interpretive programs here, and the town’s location along the Continental Divide adds geographical significance to the historical experience.
St. Elmo, Colorado
Nestled in a beautiful mountain valley about 20 miles from Buena Vista, St. Elmo maintains its authentic character while remaining easily accessible to families. The town’s main street features original buildings, including a general store that still operates during summer months, selling everything from souvenirs to snacks.
Kids particularly enjoy feeding the chipmunks that have made St. Elmo their home, and the surrounding mountain scenery provides countless photo opportunities for family memories.
Ashcroft, Colorado
Located just 12 miles from Aspen, Ashcroft offers families a ghost town experience without the commercial development that sometimes accompanies tourist destinations. The Aspen Historical Society maintains the site and provides guided tours that help visitors understand how quickly boom towns could become ghost towns when the silver ran out.
The dramatic mountain setting and well-preserved buildings create an atmosphere that sparks imagination while teaching valuable lessons about Colorado’s mining heritage.
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Rhyolite, Nevada
Situated near the entrance to Death Valley National Park, Rhyolite provides families with a striking example of how quickly desert towns could rise and fall during the mining era. The town’s most famous resident, the Bottle House, was constructed entirely from discarded bottles and still stands today as a testament to frontier ingenuity.
The outdoor museum setup allows families to explore freely while reading interpretive signs that explain how this town went from 10,000 residents to zero in just 15 years.
Goldfield, Nevada
Once Nevada’s largest city, Goldfield still maintains enough of its original character to qualify as a ghost town while offering modern conveniences for visiting families. The town’s crown jewel, the Goldfield Hotel, stands as a magnificent example of early 20th-century architecture, and the local museum provides excellent context for understanding the area’s gold mining history.
Families can explore the town’s remaining businesses and historic buildings while enjoying the wide-open spaces and clear desert skies.
Thurmond, West Virginia
This tiny railroad town in the New River Gorge once served as a crucial shipping point for coal, and today it offers families a unique ghost town experience focused on railroad history rather than mining. The National Park Service maintains the old train depot as a visitor center, and families can explore the remaining buildings while learning about how railroads shaped West Virginia’s development.
The town’s location within the New River Gorge National Park means families can combine ghost town exploration with outdoor activities like hiking and whitewater rafting.
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Rodney, Mississippi
Perched on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River, Rodney tells the story of how changing river channels can doom a town as effectively as exhausted mines. The town once served as a major river port, and today families can explore the ruins of buildings and churches while enjoying spectacular river views.
The site’s peaceful atmosphere and educational interpretive trails make it an ideal destination for families seeking to combine history lessons with outdoor exploration.
Terlingua, Texas
Located near Big Bend National Park, Terlingua offers families a ghost town experience with a distinctly Southwestern flavor, complete with adobe ruins and desert landscapes. The town’s mercury mining history provides a different perspective on boom-and-bust cycles, and the remaining buildings showcase how people adapted architecture to harsh desert conditions.
Modern Terlingua has a small artistic community that adds contemporary life to the historical setting, creating an intriguing blend of past and present.
Madrid, New Mexico
This former coal mining town along the famous Turquoise Trail has transformed itself into an artists’ community while maintaining its ghost town character. Families can explore original company houses and mining structures while browsing galleries, shops, and cafés that bring new life to old buildings.
The town’s location between Albuquerque and Santa Fe makes it a perfect stop for families exploring New Mexico, and special events throughout the year provide additional entertainment.
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Chloride, Arizona
Arizona’s oldest continuously inhabited mining town offers families a ghost town experience with living history, as a few dozen residents still call Chloride home. The town features original buildings from the 1860s, including a jail, post office, and general store, plus murals painted on nearby cliffs that add artistic flair to the desert setting.
Weekend gunfight shows and historical demonstrations provide entertainment while teaching visitors about frontier life in the American Southwest.
Grafton, Utah
This picturesque Mormon settlement near Zion National Park provides families with a ghost town experience rooted in agricultural history rather than mining. The town’s adobe and stone buildings, including a beautifully preserved schoolhouse and cemetery, tell the story of pioneers who tried to farm in the harsh desert environment.
The setting against red rock cliffs creates stunning photographs, and the town’s appearance in movies like ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ adds a touch of Hollywood glamour to the historical experience.
Elkhorn, Montana
Tucked into the mountains near Helena, Elkhorn offers families one of Montana’s most photogenic ghost town experiences, with two impressive buildings dominating the landscape. Fraternity Hall and Gillian Hall stand as remarkable examples of frontier architecture, their wooden facades weathered but still dignified after more than a century.
The town’s remote location requires a short drive on gravel roads, which adds to the adventure and helps families appreciate the isolation of these mining communities.
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Castle Dome, Arizona
Located in the Sonoran Desert near Yuma, Castle Dome offers families a comprehensive experience that combines a ghost town and museum, featuring over 50 restored buildings and thousands of artifacts. The site’s museum showcases everything from mining equipment to household items, helping children understand how families lived in remote desert mining camps.
The town’s desert setting offers excellent opportunities for wildlife viewing and stargazing, making it perfect for families who want to combine history with outdoor education.
Where Yesterday Meets Today
These ghost towns serve as tangible connections between America’s adventurous past and our comfortable present, offering families opportunities to step into history while creating new memories together. Each abandoned street and weathered building represents dreams pursued, fortunes won and lost, and communities that rose and fell with the rhythms of American expansion.
The preservation of these sites by dedicated organizations and government agencies ensures that future generations can continue learning from these physical reminders of our collective heritage. Most importantly, these ghost towns prove that the best family adventures often happen when we slow down enough to listen to the stories that surround us
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