Last week we had family visiting from out of town, so we took them to Bannack State Park. It has been on my list, so I was very excited to finally go. Bannack Ghost Town is one of the best preserved ghost towns in Montana. Bannack is unique in that it has been preserved rather than restored. There are over 50 buildings remaining, each with it’s own history and character. From one-room cabins to the grand Hotel Meade.
The video below describes our visit and details of our adventure in Bannack Ghost Town.
Bannack is located in Southwest Montana about 26 miles southwest of Dillon Montana. It is fairly remote and in a high desert type area. The little gulch it is in has Grasshopper Creek that creates nice green meadows. The day we visited was a cool day in June with thunderstorms rolling through. It was very dramatic.
If you are looking for a place to stay, there are two primitive campgrounds–one even has a teepee. There are RV parks, resorts and hotels in nearby cities.
Some things you can do:
- Visitor Center
- Interpretive Displays
- Historic Videos
- Self-guided Tours
- Hiking Trails
- Picnic Areas
- Bannack Days
- Guided Tours
- Ice Skating
- Camping
- Fishing
- Special Events
- Wildlife Viewing
- Photography
Bannack Days is the third weekend in July and is a two-day celebration of life on the Montana frontier. People dress in period clothing and give hands-on demonstrations of crafts, music, wagon rides, church services, pioneer food and much more. An event you don’t want to miss.
Gold was discovered in Grasshopper Creek on July 28th, 1862. The strike set off a huge gold rush the grew the population in Bannack by over 3000. When the gold ran out, the town died. Bannack was made into a State Park in 1954.
Bannack was Montana’s first territorial capital. It was also the site of the first Montana jail, hotel, chartered Masonic Lodge, hard rock mine, electric gold dredge, quartz stamp mill, and commercial sawmill. That is a lot of firsts!
Check out some of my awesome images of Bannack State Park. It was hard picking from the hundreds of photos I took. Enjoy!
We had a blast walking around the streets and exploring the old buildings of Bannack Montana. There are lots of activities and adventures for the entire family. I highly recommend you add Bannack to your bucket list.
If you enjoyed this, please comment and share.
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Wow a real live Ghost town. My girls would love it, except for the heat and cold. I love exploring old buildings. There is something innate in all of us that loves discovery and adventure.
Bannack is awesome. If you ever head out this way you have to stop by and do some exploring. I am in the process of adding the pictures right now. I will post an update later tonight so you can take a look. I took a ton hard to pick which ones to add. 🙂
Thanks for this Marlo. Really enjoyed taking a look back at the past and seeing Montana pics since I ve not zig zagged the U.S. Just yet.
Hi Sandy, Glad you enjoyed it. We had a lot of fun and can’t wait to go back. I love visiting historical places. I will post some more as I have time.
Hope you get a chance to visit Bannack and Montana.
Thanks,
Marlo