American West Historical Sites / Towns / Places to Visit

If you're visiting Zion, UT, make sure and swing by Grafton. It's small and there isn't much to it, but it's a pretty well preserved ghost town. And look for the nearby cemetery too. The Mormons do a wonderful job of preserving their cemeteries.

Try Bannock, MT. Very well preserved ghost town. We were there several years ago while a movie was being filmed. Here is a link to SW Montana: http://southwestmt.com/thegreatoutdoors/ghosttowns/

Bodie in California in a state of arrested decay.

We explore ones in Nevada as that state has so many from mining days. But, most require 4x4 and/or high clearance. A few: Delamar, Park City, Osceola.

Pioche, NV isnt really dead but has a Boot Hill, old tram, and a really cool courthouse with jail. Belmont, ditto with beautiful brick courthouse.

Frisco, Utah is accessible.

Silver City, Idaho, not really a ghost town but has really cool old buildings. It is a drive in about 20+ miles and the road can be rough but we saw a low rider Honda so who knows. The rest of Idaho has quite a few, too.

There are ghost town books and websites. Check them out.

The OP has a tremendous advantage in wild west travel as he already lives there. It took us 2 long and 1 medium day just to get to Amarillo. We were out 26 days and wish we could have seen way more than we did.
DW has not been able to bring herself to miss a grandbaby's birthday yet so it is impacting the timing and length of our trips.
I wish that we had stayed longer in Albuquerque but other than that we were able to stay several days in Winslow, Lake Havasu City, Benson (AZ) , and El Paso. Out I40 and back I10, I65, and I85 back to home.
Kartchner Caverns state park in AZ is a good central place to see southern AZ with your toad or truck. It is in Benson AZ. Tombstone and Bisbee close by, Tucson not to far, and we found a Forever Home Donkey Rescue to visit out in the desert north of town.
BTW I10 in TX is 880 miles border to border :).

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I forgot to mention Palo Duro Cyn as a place of interest and across the highwy in Canyon TX is the petroleum Museum. A great POI.

Not to mention the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Canyon is one of the best museums of the pioneers.

One place I found interesting is in our own back yard (Texas). Take a trip down to Langtry, TX, and visit the Judge Roy Bean museum.

The WEST is four times as large as the EAST. So plan on about four years to get a good handle on things. The West doesn't stop until you hit the Pacific Ocean.

trailertraveler wrote:
Lots of good suggestions so far. You might consider following the route of one of the Historic Trails such as the Lewis & Clark, Oregon, or Santa Fe. This website lists a number of Ghost Towns.

Excellent idea. One of the things that we've done is to stay within our state and travel the many historic byways, visit historic towns, and state parks. We're not finished yet. This is something that DH has been wanting to do for some time, and I'm finally on board.

IdaD wrote:
Idaho sucks, don't bother with it. Trust me.

It does, I agree. ;)

vermilye wrote:
As others have noted, the West is a big place! Rather than making a list that may not cover where you are going, I suggest you check what is available in all the small towns you camp near. Most have museums that run from excellent to laughable, but there are so many of them that making a list doesn't work. An example of an offbeat one I enjoyed was the Fossil Museum in Fossil, OR. The first time I saw a gasoline powered iron!

A big advantage of these small museums is they are often run by a local old timer that will have wonderful stories about the area. Much more interesting than the canned guides in the larger facilities.

^^^^^ - GREAT ADVICE - ^^^^^

Part of the fun of a house on Wheels is not having a Firm Plan,

JMHO,

Lots of good suggestions so far. You might consider following the route of one of the Historic Trails such as the Lewis & Clark, Oregon, or Santa Fe. This website lists a number of Ghost Towns.