Montana Adventure Bannack and Exploring
Our first stop was Bannack State Park. Rather than turning this post into a novel, Bannack is getting its own dedicated blog post because there is simply too much history to do it justice here. If you're interested in Montana's first major gold rush town, watch for that write-up.
The second half of the day was spent unsuccessfully searching for two more ghost towns. At this point I'm convinced a drunk squirrel designed half the trails on OnX. Half the time the trail doesn't even lead where it claims, there's some random obstruction, or it decides the best route is the longest, most unnecessary path possible. Somewhere deep in the woods an OnX trail is probably routing people through a creek, over a cliff, and emotionally through a divorce just because it can.
We did stumble across an old log cabin that looked like the stove may have exploded at some point. Either that or someone's pioneer-era cooking skills were deeply questionable. Honestly, both feel possible.
Standing there looking at what remained of the cabin made you wonder who lived there and what their story was. Throughout the late 1800s, thousands of people poured into Montana chasing gold, silver, land, and opportunity. Some built homes in places so remote it's hard to imagine how they survived. Winters were brutal, supplies were limited, and the nearest neighbor could be miles away. Many of the abandoned cabins scattered throughout Montana are the only reminders that entire families once carved out a life in places most people wouldn't even attempt to reach today.
Even though we never found the ghost towns we were looking for, we were constantly traveling through the same kind of country that created them. Montana was full of boom-and-bust communities. A promising mine would be discovered, hundreds or even thousands of people would arrive, businesses would spring up overnight, and then when the ore played out, everyone packed up and left. Some towns disappeared completely. Others left behind a few buildings, foundations, cemeteries, and stories.
Honestly, sometimes I think the forgotten places are more interesting than the famous ones. The famous ghost towns get the brochures. The forgotten ones get mystery.
Even without finding the ghost towns, the scenery was absolutely beautiful. There's just something about driving rough backroads, getting dusty, and ending up somewhere most people will never see. It's always a good day when the road gets rocky.
We eventually made our way into Dillon, a town with its own place in Montana history. Founded in 1880 and named after railroad president Sidney Dillon, the town became a major shipping hub for the region's cattle and sheep ranches. Long before interstate highways and GPS, Dillon was helping connect remote ranching communities to the rest of the country. Today it's still considered one of the gateways to southwest Montana and serves as a jumping-off point for people exploring the same mountains, rivers, ghost towns, and mining country that drew settlers here more than a century ago.
We wrapped up the night at The Den Steakhouse with amazing food and a bottle of "Do Epic Shit" wine, which honestly felt like the official sponsor of this entire trip.
Between the ghost town hunting, random cabin discoveries, Montana history, and OnX's ongoing commitment to chaos, it turned out to be a pretty epic day after all.
