A woman stands in the doorway of an old cabin.

My favorite “ghost towns” or historic towns to visit in the USA


If I had to pick just one thing that is my favorite thing to visit in the USA, especially on a motorcycle travel adventure, it’s ghost towns, historic mining towns, and towns settled before the 1900s where much of that early architecture is preserved. These make great destinations for motorcycle travelers in particular, because they are usually somewhere scenic to ride to and the road is difficult enough to be interesting but not so difficult I can’t do it.

This is a list of my favorite North American “ghost towns” / historic mining towns / pre 1900s towns. To be considered for this list, the city has to:

  • have been founded before the 1900s; it can have its economic heyday, or “boom”, in the 1800s or the early 1900s
  • have mostly historic structures. They can be restored or in a state of decay
  • have been largely or entirely abandoned at some point
  • contain substantial visible remains – buildings, tools, stoves, wagons, cars, etc.
  • give a visitor a feeling of stepping back in time, to another era
  • be scenic, worthy of lots of photos

The term ghost town is supposed to mean an abandoned town, or city, but the term gets used by a lot of tourists for any town that used to boom, before cars became widespread, even if people live there now and most historic buildings are not abandoned, as in Silver City, Idaho. So I’ve used it here. 

I would love to add to this list. Knowing my criteria for consideration, and reading my list first, I welcome your suggestions for other cities to visit in North America (USA, Canada and Mexico).

My favorite North American Ghost towns / historic mining towns / pre-1900s towns

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