Plan a Trip to a Ghost Town During Your Next Family Vacation

Consider visiting a ghost towns in the west during your family vacation. Children and adults alike can have a great time using their imaginations at a ghost town. They are great places to bring history to life. See the old mining equipment left over from the gold mining boom, or the old west saloon where cowboys spent their money at the bar.

Find a ghost town near your intended route. Ghost towns are in many places over the west. Many times these old towns are located in state run parks or forest service, but some are on private property. Be sure to check before you go exploring. Do your homework ahead of time. The local libraries are often a source of information for the town you want to visit. If the town is located on federal land, there may be information about it at thelocal field offices. A phone call to them can check and give you some background information about the area. They are also a source of local maps of the area.

Decide on a ghost town trip that will fit the experience you want. If you want a ghost town that has a visitor center or bathrooms, try a town that is a state park or one of the towns that are set up as a tourist town, such as Virginia City, Montana, or the heritage town of Ft. Steele, British Columbia. Non improved rustic ghost towns often don't have amenities.

Check the local history. It adds to the experience to check out the history of the town beforehand. Some of the sites do not have a lot of information at the town, especially if it is off season. Try to find out about local legends, crimes, or stories. Find out what they were mining or what the local enconomy was during the time the town was active. Ghost town trips can be part of learning trip, especially for home schoolers.

Know your surroundings. Check to see if there is an old graveyard connected with the town. Often it is located outside of the ghost town. It is interesting to see the dates and names of the people that were in the town. Remember to please treat the graves with respect. Check to see what else is interesting in the area. Local hot springs, hiking trails or monuments can add to the visit.

Beware of hazards. View the structures from the outside, because entering unstable buildings could be dangerous. Wear sturdy shoes.

Follow the rules. Explore and learn about the past , but remember when you visit these relics of the past, leave anything you find behind. Don't take any of the artifacts with you, just take enjoy them at the site and remember with pictures.