Utah's 10 best ghost towns
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
A cabin in the ghost town of Yost, Utah. Photo: Erin Alberty/Axios
Utah's ghost towns are some of the best in the West, and fall is a great time to visit.
Why it matters: Many are disappearing over time as they are absorbed by nature — or into newer towns.
Case in point: I visited the "ghost town" of Ophir in Tooele County, expecting dusty roads between crumbling false fronts like a cowboy movie set.
- Instead, I found Santa guarding a mine adit — and that month's city council agenda next to the door of the old-timey town hall.
Between the lines: Geotab has mapped out more than 3,800 ghost towns around the country.
- Yes, but: The map isn't comprehensive, and we wanted to share some of Utah's most interesting ones.
Caveat: Utah is also home to many abandoned structures that are truly ancient — in places like Hovenweep, Bears Ears and Nine Mile Canyon.
- For now, we're looking at 19th and 20th century ruins.
1. Grafton
Here's that movie set you're looking for — literally.
- Scenes from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and other films were shot in Grafton, one of West's most complete ghost towns.
Location: 7 miles southwest of Springdale
2. Spring Canyon
These ruins put the ghost in a ghost town, with hauntings rumored throughout the canyon's many mining settlements.
- The White Lady of Latuda is the most famous legend.
Location: 1.5 miles west of U.S. 6 in Helper
3. Frisco
Frisco is famous for its beehive kilns, reminiscent of "The Last Jedi."
- It was also notoriously wild, with a murder almost every day.
Location: 15 miles west of Milford
4. Yost and Naf
Yost, near the Idaho border, was a herding settlement until the mid-20th century.
- At Naf, about 20 minutes away, the mercantile and dance hall were operational until the 1990s.
Location: North of the Raft River Mountains; Naf is just over the state line.
5. Bullion Canyon
This gold mining site shows how easily historic structures are lost; the beloved Bully Boy Mill burned in a wildfire this summer.
- Other buildings, like the one pictured, still can be visited on an interpretive auto tour.
Location: 5 miles southwest of Marysvale
6. Thistle
Thistle is Utah's newest ghost town.
- A landslide wiped it out in 1983, destroying rail lines and a section of U.S. 89 — which wrought economic havoc on the whole region.
Location: Spanish Fork Canyon
7. Sego
The impressive company store and a few other ruins still stand in this coal town near Moab.
Location: 6 miles north of I-70 at Thompson Springs
8. Silver City
While there's not much "town" left, the industrial ruins are extensive.
Location: 5 miles southwest of Eureka
9. Home of Truth
Marie Ogden, a New Jersey spiritualist, moved to Utah in 1933 with about 20 disciples and a typewriter that, she claimed, printed divine revelations.
- The group grew to about 100 in Ogden's Monticello compound, which still stands today.
10. Silver Reef
Silver Reef in Washington County was rebuilt and converted into an immersive museum as new housing crept toward the original mining town site.
The intrigue: Historians began investigating the city's once-robust Chinatown last year, enlisting volunteers to gather remnants of residents' imported belongings scattered in the desert.
Location: 2 miles northwest of Leeds