Welcome to the Elkhorn Montana Ghost Town Picture Tour

You can’t ride to Elkhorn to see the historic Fraternity Hall and Gillian Hall nestled within the privately owned town of Elkhorn and then check the town off your “Montana To Do” list.  You really need to park the truck and hike the hills to really see this early-day silver-mining ghost town.  If there is snow on the ground, hike up “Muskrat Creek Trail No. 74” to the old Elkhorn cemetery (see pictures below). The well maintained graves are marked with stone and wooden markers.  You can’t help notice all the children graves from the diphtheria outbreak that occurred in the summer of 1889.

Bring your Hiking Boots

In the summer, pack water and a warm clothes then hike up to the summit of Crows Peak (9,414 feet) by taking the trail on the north side of the mountain.  To make a loop out of the hike, you can return by following a trail on the south side of the peak to the town of Elkhorn.  Going up you will see one log building that looks like an ornate Swiss Chalet. The summit will provide some incredible views of the Boulder Valley (West) and the Townsend area (East). Finally, the return trip is made even better because it has old cabins and mining relics located near the trail.

How To Find Elkhorn

From the town of Boulder, Montana off of I-15. Go seven miles south on Highway 69, left over the small bridge then right onto gravel road 13 miles, bearing left at each of two forks in the road. For more information and maps visit the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks listing for Elkhorn State Park.

Snow Covered Elkhorn Montana

This is the view of Elkhorn, Montana as you walk up the Elkhorn cemetery.  If you look hard you can see the “backside” of the Fraternity Hall and Gillian Halls. The Western Montana Ghost Town Preservation Society purchased the two structures for preservation because the wooden buildings are considered to be one of western America’s most historically significant structures still standing.