When I started planning my national park road trip through Montana and Wyoming, I was mainly focused on the big-ticket spots like Yellowstone, Grand Teton, and Glacier. But as I dug into things to do between park stops, one suggestion kept popping up: ghost towns. Apparently, Montana is full of them, and Bannack kept making the list. I’ll admit I was a little unsure. Was it really worth the detour? But then I saw the photos. Rustic wooden buildings, dirt streets, and a real sense of history just sitting there in the open. I was sold.
We visited Bannack State Park on a cloudy, drizzly day, which turned out to be perfect. The rain and gray skies added a moody, almost eerie feel that made the whole ghost town come to life (ironically). If you’re curious about visiting, here’s everything you need to know.
Info to know about Bannack State Park
4200 Bannack Road
Dillon, MT, 59725
Open all year.
Summer Hours:
May 19 – August 1
8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Winter Hours:
October 18 – April 15, 2025
Closed December 24 & 25
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Shoulder Season Hours:
May 3 to May 17 and August 2 – October 17
8 a.m. – Sunset
$8.00 per car for out of state visitors
Since we were renting a car, we had the flexibility to really travel wherever we wanted. Which turned out to be a good thing because Bannack was literally in the middle of nowhere. Imagine fields of cows and rocky mountains and open roads. I remember taking the turn near Bannack and getting this photo. Like seriously middle of nowhere. It was a different side of Montana – hardly a single tree in sight!
Just a heads-up- everything at Bannack is very rustic. I’m no stranger to a good country dirt road, but the one leading into the state park turns to dirt and gravel, so be ready for that. The bathrooms are impressively clean, but they’re pretty close to port-a-potty territory, with no running water. Thankfully, they do have hand sanitizer. There’s also a campsite and rest area down by the creek that looked like a perfect picnic spot. We skipped it because of the rain, but it’s definitely worth checking out if the weather’s nice.
What Makes Bannack State Park special
What makes Bannack really stand out is how many of the original buildings are still there. There are over 50 well-preserved structures, all part of the original town. Without diving too deep into the full history, Bannack was the site of Montana’s first major gold discovery back in the 1860s. And like a lot of gold rush towns, once the gold was gone, the people left too. What’s left behind is exactly what you’d expect: an empty, eerie little town frozen in time.
After you stop at the visitor center and pay the entrance fee, a ranger will hand you a 20-page guidebook that gives a short write-up on each building. It makes exploring at your own pace really easy. Most of the buildings are in good shape and open to the public. We were told that if a door isn’t locked, go ahead and wander in. And we did.
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The cool aunt. Plant novice who loves to travel to cool places, eat unadventurous food, and take pretty photos.
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