Welcome to the Castle Montana Ghost Town Picture Tour

Montana has it’s share of wonderful old ghosts towns.  Familiar Montana ghosts towns as Virginia City, Garnet, Bannack and Elkhorn are just a few popular old mining towns.  If you are not familiar with the towns, just click on the links above to explore each town. We’ll wait for you.

For those wanting to see remote and less well known Montana ghosts towns you came to the right place.  In this tour we feature the ride from Highway 12 south through the Castle Mountains to the remains of a prominent Silver Mining town of Castle Town Montana. Join us as we ride the dirt Forest Service Road 211 up to Elk Peak then down towards the Castle Town Montana.

Stay on the Road

Forest Service Road 211 run right through the middle of Castle Town Montana. Please note all the surrounding land is on private property. You can’t just wander around and explore. Who knows, with a little luck, the other wooden structures located off the road, out of sight and on private land will remain in a good state of preservation.

History of Castle Montana

In 1887, the first cabin was built at the site that would become the site of the town of Castle (alternately called “Castle Town” and “Castle City”).  At its peak, Castle Town had over 2,000 residents. Castle’s most famous resident was likely Calamity Jane, who briefly resided in Castle while attempting to open a restaurant. The restaurant never opened, and Jane moved on to greener pastures.

The hills around Castle Town had many mines producing significant amounts of valuable ore, but high transportation costs were impeding the potential of the area. Attempts at bringing a railroad line to Castle proved slow, and before the line was complete the silver crash of 1893 closed many mines in the district. The railroad was eventually finished, and some local mines reopened, but Castle Town never again experienced the prosperity it saw during its early boom period. The last remaining mine, closed in 1950.

Castle Town Montana

Sorry, but if you were hoping to see Castle Montana in its’ heyday you arrived one hundred and twenty years too late. The good news is, it’s really easy to find a parking spot.  We knew the view of the remains of the ghost town from the Forest Service Road were sparse.  That’s why we included the ride up and over the Castle Mountains via Forest Service Road.  We hope the pictures will help answer the question we hear the most: “What is the best time of year to see Montana?”  As you can see from the panoramas, the month of June means clouds, wildflowers, lush green hills and brilliant sunlight.

Private Property

The Ghost Town of Castle Town, Montana is located on Private Property. It’s still worth the drive because you can continue to the nearby picturesque Montana towns of Lennup, Martinsdale and the Selkirk area on Highway 12.  In a hurry? We would be happy to show you picture tours of the nearby towns, just click on the links below.