Granite Ghost Town State Park

Granite was one of Montana's richest silver camps, and its remains now sit in a small state park high above Philipsburg, at about 7,000 feet. A prospector, Eli Holland, found high-grade silver on the mountain in 1872, and Charles McLure found rich ore in an existing shaft in 1877. The Granite Mountain mine became one of the great silver producers of its time, and the camp grew to more than 3,000 people. Then, in 1893, Congress repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, the price of silver collapsed, and the mine shut. A year later only 140 people were left.

Little of the town still stands, which is part of the appeal. The park preserves the Granite mine superintendent's house and the stone ruins of the miners' Union Hall, a large building that once held the miners' social life, both recorded by the Historic American Buildings Survey. Around them are foundations, mine dumps and the remains of other buildings scattered through the trees, including the ruins of a bank.

Getting there is the main challenge. The road from Philipsburg is about 4 miles long but narrow, steep and winding, climbing about 1,280 feet, and FWP says a high-clearance vehicle is necessary. RVs and buses cannot make it. Be ready to pull over for oncoming traffic, and allow about half an hour each way. Snow can block the road into late May.

The park is open from Memorial Day to 30 September, during daylight hours only, so it is closed now and will reopen at the end of May 2027. Montana residents who pay the state parks fee on their vehicle registration enter free; non-residents pay $8 per vehicle or $4 on foot or by bicycle. There is no water or other service, so pack in what you need and pack out your rubbish.

Allow one to two hours on site. Before or after, the Granite County Museum in Philipsburg covers the mine and has its Ghost Town Hall of Fame, and Philipsburg's own silver-era main street is worth an hour. Stay on the paths around the ruins, as old mine workings can be unstable.