These are the 17 best ghost towns in the U.S.

What is it? A huge complex—an entire town of about 100 buildings—that you can explore just outside Yosemite.

Why go? This Gold Rush-era town near Yosemite has stood eerily untouched for almost 100 years and is now a California state park. At its height, 8,000 people lived and worked here in the gold mines, but the decline started in 1881 and the population trickled down. A few fires forced the remaining residents to depart, leaving Bodie almost exactly as it was in the early 1900s. Today you can see roughly 10 percent of the 2,000 structures that were once here—but those that remain are evocative. Through windows, you’ll peer to see dinner tables still set, shops still stocked with supplies and the schoolhouse with lessons on the chalkboard. Be warned: bad luck is said to befall anyone who steals anything from the site while visiting.  Don’t miss the cemetery on the hill with its absolutely forlorn viewpoint over the town.

Time Out tip: Time your visit carefully; winter snow closes the long and winding road out to Bodie.

What is it? A large ghost town in Montana with more than 50 buildings to explore.

Why go? Paranormal enthusiasts may already know about this desolate former mining town in Montana—Bannack’s featured in the Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures. The Gold Rush-era city was known in its time for being a little rough (holdups, robberies and murders were well documented on the route to nearby Virginia City) and the sheriff of Bannack was a rumored outlaw. The town was abandoned by the 1950s, but dozens of the original 1800s structures still stand and can be explored now that it's a state park.

Time Out tip: You can go inside many of the buildings but step lightly! And if you’re arriving in winter, you’re allowed to skate on the frozen dredge pond.

What is it? A ghost town in the Wasatch mountain range, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Why go? Like many ghost towns in the U.S., St. Elmo (originally called Forrest City) was once a thriving gold and silver mining community. When the gold and silver ran out, fire destroyed much of the downtown and silver prices fell, the population dwindled. The nail in the coffin was the end of train service to Chalk Creek Canyon in the '20s. Today, you can visit the abandoned main street, a dirt road with buildings lining both sides.

Time Out tip: Lots of visitors mention the joys of seeing little chipmunks run around.

What is it? A mid-century ghost town along Route 66.

Why go? Straddling the border between New Mexico and Texas, Glenrio was an action-packed stop on Route 66 for decades. From the 1940s until the 1960s, the tiny town's gas stations, diners, bars and motels were packed with road-trippers passing through the Southwest. But when I-40 was built in the 1970s, drivers no longer stopped in Glenrio, and the town fell into disrepair. Not all is lost, however: the Glenrio Historic District includes 17 abandoned buildings.

Time Out tip: Look for the Art Moderne gas station and diner, two beautifully preserved intact structures.

What is it? The Kennecott Mines National Historic Landmark is a preserved-in-time copper mining town in Alaska. 

Why go? You’ll find Kennecott at the end of a 60-mile-long dirt road in the middle of the Wrangell–St. Elias National Park (the largest national park in the U.S.). In its heyday, from around 1910 to 1940, Kennecott processed nearly $200,000,000 worth of copper. By 1938, however, the mine was empty and the Kennecott Copper Corporation abruptly abandoned the operation, leaving everything behind. Today, you can take a self guided tour around the town. If you want to go inside buildings, go on a guided tour with St. Elias Alpine Guides.

Time Out tip: The most impressive view is of the 14-story red mill building Make sure also to visit the Root and Kennecott glaciers, too.

What is it? A ghost town dating to 1879, today listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Why go? The population of this gold mining town, located deep inside Idaho's Challis National Forest, peaked at 600 in 1896. Home to a massive stamp mill, it had eight saloons and a tiny Chinatown complete with laundry services, a shoe store and a joss house (a place of worship). But just 15 years after its boom, Custer's mills shut down and its residents had no choice but to leave their remote mountain home; by 1911, just two families remained. However, most of the town still stands, its buildings open seasonally for visitors. The original school now serves as a museum.

Time Out tip: Brush off the dust by easing into one of the hot springs to be found in the area.

What is it? A ghost town near Death Valley National Park.

Why go? This was once a bustling ore mining community. In 1904, gold was found within its quartz (rhyolite is a silica-rich volcanic rock that contains quartz, hence the town name), and the game was on with 2,000 claims in a 30-mile area. Soon, Rhyolite boasted a hospital, an opera house and a stock exchange. In 1906, Charles M. Schwab spent several million on its Montgomery Shoshone mine. Unfortunately, following the 1907 financial panic, businesses shuttered and residents began to move out. In 1916, light and power were turned off, and the town went ghost. You can still see the half-crumbled three-story bank building, the old jail, a bottle house formed out of 50,000 beer and liquor bottles and other structures.

Time Out tip: Before going, watch ScarJo's 2005 sci-fi thriller The Island, filmed here.

What is it? A gold boom town that was once so violent that law enforcement avoided it.

Why go? Early Spanish settlers found silver in Nelson (then Eldorado) in the 1700s. It took another hundred years for other prospectors—many of them Civil War deserters—to find gold, creating the largest booms Nevada had ever seen. All hell broke loose when they did: disputes over the Techatticup Mine, the town's most notorious site, frequently led to murder. Nelson's mines remained active through the 1940s. An infamous 1974 flash flood destroyed the town of Nelson's Landing, five miles away. Nelson's buildings remain today—the ghost town is now a popular location for photo, film and music video shoots.

Time Out tip: Las Vegas is just 45 minutes away!

What is it? A Civil War ghost town in Alabama.

Why go? Cahawba was the state's first capital from 1820 to 1825, situated at the junction of two rivers. After the Civil War, the legislature moved to Selma and the town lost business and population—and periodic flooding wreaked havoc. Today, it's visitable as Old Cahawba Archeological Park, which honors the town’s Native Americans and freedmen and women who once lived here. Enjoy seasonal wildflowers as you roam abandoned streets and cemeteries, view moss-covered ruins and chat with an archaeologist about everything you’re seeing.

Time Out tip: Keep your eyes peeled for the ghostly orb that's been known to appear in the garden maze as early as 1862, a will-of-the-wisp apparition called Pegues Ghost.

What is it? A somewhat-Disneylike yet bona fide ghost town in SoCal.

Why go? Calico once thrived with its busy silver mines, beginning auspiciously in 1881. But in the mid-1890s silver lost its value and the inhabitants skedaddled. Walter Knott purchased some of Calico’s buildings to disassemble and move them to Knott’s Berry Farm amusement park near Disneyland. He returned to buy and restore Calico itself, which he later deeded back to the county; it’s now a San Bernardino County Regional Park that’s an accurate-looking ghost town if not wholly literal. There were once 500 mines here and now you can tour the Maggie Mine and 30 structures—shops, saloons, schoolhouse—and stay in a tent, bunkhouse or cabin overnight.

Time Out tip: In late October, watch for the “Ghost Haunt” weekend events.

What is it? An early 1900s boomtown considered a “living ghost town” since people still live here.

Why go? This was your authentic Gold Rush mining camp, established in 1902, which was once the largest city in Nevada. The mines went bust and a flash flood spelled the town’s decline 10 years before a fire put things to a conclusive end. Yet, about 250 people still live here among the remnants of the town with saloons, slanting homes, deserted hotel and shacks. It’s worth a visit to poke around; we especially recommend the said-to-be-haunted Mozart Tavern, where locals treat visitors with special kindness. Paranormal ghost tours take place here regularly.

Time Out tip: Time your visit to coincide with Goldfield Days, when visitors temporarily fill the town back up to its boomtown population.

What is it? Another ghost town with the same name.

Why go? There’s more than one Goldfield Ghost Town in the U.S., and this one in Arizona’s Superstition Mountains may provide less of that quiet contemplation of ruin and abandon than a ghost town usually provides; things are hopping here and there's even a zipline. But there are also tours of a legitimate century-old mine, a narrow gauge railroad, a walking ghost tour at night, seasonal historic gunfights over the contents of a Wells Fargo box, the typical gold-panning, and the not-typical chance to talk with a ‘floozy’ at Lu Lu’s Bordello. Bring the kids?

Time Out tip: Visit Goldfield’s Mystery Shack, one of those anomalies you find here and there where the rules of gravity don’t apply.

What is it? A ghost town inside the Great Basin National Heritage Area.

Why go? The now-abandoned mining town of Frisco dates to 1875. At its peak, you’d find 6,000 people living there dealing with the town’s high crime rate (a murder a day, says one source) and abundance of saloons, brothels and gambling venues. However, soon after it was established, a silver mine caved in and residents started leaving. By 1929, mining was over. Today, thrill-seeking folks come to check out the cemetery and a few structures. Abandoned machinery, coupled with the town’s notorious past, only adds to the eerie ambiance. Ghosts have allegedly been spotted here, and some visitors have also reported hearing the sounds of horses neighing.

Time Out tip: Check out the old charcoal kilns, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They once smelted metal out of ore to the tune of millions of dollars in 1800s money.

What is it? A gold and silver Wild West abandoned boomtown.

Why go? This place is enormous, with 80 buildings and 300 mines (not all are safe to enter). It represents a salvaging of the once-booming mid-1800s settlement with seven original buildings and multiple reconstructions. The tales here are impressive, with an 1863 mine owner attacked by 180 Apaches and left in an arroyo to be half-eaten by coyotes, and the wild chain of events that followed, including an opium overdose, a stagecoach robbery and a fellow being shot trying to stop a lynching. There’s much more: an $800 million fluorescent minerals wall, blue jeans discovered down a mineshaft and a doomsday cult that wintered here, but we’ll just say it’s worth the visit.

Time Out tip: Castle Dome and Hull Mine are only open seasonally but you may be able to book a four-hour private tour.

What is it? An early 1900s ghost town inside the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve.

Why go? In the early 1900s, the railroad kept this West Virginia town humming as a thriving depot for coal. Thurmond had it all as a major stop on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway with hotels, banks and a post office. Sadly, the Great Depression, followed by the invention of the diesel train in the 1950s, ended Thurmond's prosperity. Today, the National Park Service has restored the depot, and the town is on the National Register of Historic Places; you can take a self-guided tour of the now quiet town. Reach it by driving seven miles down a narrow, winding road.

Time Out tip: Railroad enthusiasts will love this town.

What is it? A town abandoned after a coal fire started underneath it… which still burns to this day.

Why go? An underground mine fire gone seriously wrong led to creation of this modern ghost town northwest of Philadelphia. In 1962, a fire accidentally spread to the town's old, underground mines, creating sinkholes that spewed smoke and toxic fumes across the community. In 1983, most of the town was evacuated, and in 1992, its real estate was claimed under eminent domain and condemned by the state (delivering the final blow, the ZIP code was officially recalled in 2002). Even though Centralia's fire is still burning today—and expected to burn for another 250 years—a handful residents still live in the doomed town as of 2025. When they die, the land will be acquired by the state.

Time Out tip: There’s not much to see here with just a few buildings remaining, such as a Ukrainian church, but it’s fascinating to see smoke emerging from the ground in various places.

What is it? The real-life setting of the HBO show Deadwood; its characters were real people who lived here.

Why go? This lawless gold camp's fame still radiates through the centuries. Deadwood gets its name from the dead trees found in its gulch. In the late 19th century, gold was discovered here, which attracted throngs of folks in search of fortune—that is, along with gamblers and outlaws. Folks like Calamity Jane, Wild Bill Hickok (shot while holding a poker hand to this day called the Dead Man’s Hand—aces and eights) and Al Swearengen lived colorful lives here. Deadwood’s not really a ghost town, but we included it anyway because of its intense history!

Time Out tip: Several ghosts have been spotted around town at haunted spots such as the Bullock Hotel, which hardware store owner turned sheriff Seth Bullock allegedly still frequents.