About this place
The Garnet Back Country Byway runs 12 miles and climbs 2,000 feet through the Garnet Range, up to Garnet Ghost Town. It is a short drive.
Thirty buildings still stand in the town, and they look much as they did in 1895. That is down to a lot of preservation work.
The Visitor Center at the ghost town opens daily from late May through September, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. In winter it opens for limited hours at weekends.
The facts
- Cost
- Free to camp
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
On State Highway 200, about 30 miles east of Missoula, turn south between mile markers 22 and 23. Coming off Interstate 90 instead, take the Drummond or the Bearmouth exit and follow old U.S. 10 to the Bear Gulch Road.
Coordinates 46.81637, -113.3336
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
Nothing nationally famous is close. These are the landmarks nearby.
- Mount Jumbo Directions
- Mount Sentinel Directions
- Lolo Peak Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Potomac, MT Directions
- Clinton, MT Directions
Clinton is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026; opened and read by a person on 2026-08-27.