Old Haunts of Idaho: Ghost Towns Worth the Drive

Wander the Living Streets of Placerville

Placerville is a peculiar ghost town because a handful of residents still call it home. Just north of Boise and roughly 95 miles south of McCall, it ranked among the region’s premier mining settlements in the 1800s. You can reach it and return to Shore Lodge in a single day.

The Idaho State Historical Society counts Placerville among the Boise Basin camps settled after October 1862. It quickly grew to a population of around a thousand. A destructive fire tore through town in 1899, and much of the streetscape you see today dates from the rebuilding that followed, according to the Idaho State Historical Society.

Several structures from more than a century ago still stand today. They’re dear to the few residents who keep this ghost town very much alive.

Walk the Cellblocks of the Old Idaho Penitentiary

Often called one of the most haunted structures in the state, the Old Idaho State Penitentiary has a violent past. The “Old Pen,” as locals call it, confined some of Idaho’s most insidious criminals. It is located in Boise, roughly 110 miles south of McCall, and is a comfortable day trip from Shore Lodge.

The Old Pen opened in 1872, the Idaho State Historical Society notes, and today it preserves 30 historic buildings across more than 100 years of prison history.

Former inmates reportedly haunt the old jail, seeking revenge for wretched living conditions and even botched executions. Watch for the brush of an invisible hand, a sudden wave of dread, or a cry for help from an empty cell.

Explore Bonanza and Custer on the Yankee Fork

As one of Idaho’s most infamous ghost towns, Bonanza offers more than paranormal chills. The pair sits near Stanley, some 150 miles southeast of McCall. That’s far enough to warrant a long day trip or an easy overnight from Shore Lodge.

Along the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River, you’ll find ghost-town hunters from far and wide. They come to explore public parkland, protected by the state and open to anyone brave enough to visit.

Gold seekers arrived here beginning in 1870, and Custer grew to about 600 residents, according to records from the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation. Both were ghost towns by 1911, yet the 988-ton Yankee Fork Gold Dredge worked the gravels as recently as 1952.

Want double the fright? Visit both towns, where a restored saloon and schoolhouse now serve as museums. Bonanza and Custer share the same controversial mining past.

Step Back in Time at Silver City

This site asks for real commitment. Silver City sits about 180 miles south-southwest of McCall, high in the Owyhee Mountains, reached by a rough mountain road open only May through October. Plan it as a trip of its own rather than a quick day out.

What waits at the end is one of Idaho’s best-preserved ghost towns. It’s a former Owyhee County seat that never burned down or turned into a tourist trap.

The Bureau of Land Management puts its peak population at about 2,500 residents. Roughly 75 structures still stand today, dating from the 1860s to the early 1900s. Walk those quiet boardwalks at dusk, and a century falls away beneath your boots.

Wander the Silver Ruins of Bayhorse

Deeper into the backcountry, Bayhorse rewards the committed. It sits about 225 miles southeast of McCall, roughly 14 miles southeast of Challis, so plan it as its own road trip. It pairs naturally with the Yankee Fork run, since Bayhorse, Bonanza, and Custer all belong to the same Land of the Yankee Fork State Park.

This well-preserved 1880s silver-mining ghost town now rests under that park’s protection, and its townsite sits on the National Register of Historic Places. During Bayhorse’s peak years, beginning in 1882, the Idaho Heritage Trust recounts that nine stone kilns were built to produce charcoal for the smelter. They’re the only known stone-built charcoal kilns in Idaho, and standing among them at dusk, you’ll swear the smelter still breathes.

Descend Into the Shoshone Ice Caves

A haunted house is one thing, but a haunted cave will unsettle anyone. The Shoshone Ice Caves are mysterious subterranean lava tubes that stay frozen through Idaho’s summer heat. At roughly 250 miles south of McCall, they’re best saved for a road trip of their own.

Tours run through a 1,000-foot-long cavern about forty feet high and eight to thirty feet wide, according to Idaho State University’s Digital Atlas of Idaho. It maintains a constant temperature between 18 and 33 degrees, cold enough to keep any secret.

Legend has it that guides hear footsteps and hushed voices after the attraction closes. They say the Shoshone princess Edahow was buried in the ice centuries ago. Her spirit still haunts the frozen halls, hoping to be freed from her icy tomb.

Step Onto the Albion State Normal School Campus

If school felt daunting as a kid, a little perspective helps here. Sitting near Burley, about 270 miles southeast of McCall, the campus is a long haul best planned as a road trip in its own right. The Idaho State Historical Society traces the Albion Normal School to 1894, when it opened as a state institution that ran until 1949. Town residents donated the land and built the first stone building to train high school graduates as teachers.

Over the years, restorers have tried again and again to preserve the school. Still, the campus keeps falling victim to vandalism, and, some say, paranormal activity.

Feel the Chill in Burke

In Burke, you feel watched from the moment you arrive. Towering abandoned buildings loom with an eerie stillness that raises the hair on your neck.

Tucked into the Idaho panhandle just past Wallace, Burke sits roughly 305 miles north of McCall. Budget a five-to-six-hour drive and a multi-day road trip.

Famous for its rich silver mining, Burke drew fortune-seekers before its population drained away. The town turned violent when miners revolted against the companies, and Burke peaked at about 1,400 residents in 1910, The Inlander reports. Wander the well-preserved streets, and don’t be surprised if you feel like you have company.

The closest of these ghost towns pairs well with a landing back in McCall. Make Shore Lodge your basecamp for the Boise Basin and Yankee Fork runs. Explore McCall’s hidden gems between drives before you trade abandoned streets for fireside comfort.

Plan Your Ghost Town Road Trip

• Check road access and seasonal closures before you go, since many sites sit down rough or high-country roads.
• Respect private and protected land, and stick to marked areas and posted hours.
• Leave every artifact where you find it, so the next visitor gets the same chills.
• Visit during daylight for safer footing and clearer photos.
• Base in McCall for the nearby Boise Basin and Sawtooth-area sites, and save far-flung haunts like Burke up north for their own trip.

When the drive is done, come back to basecamp to swap ghost stories over dinner at The Narrows Steakhouse or unwind at The Cove.

Ready to chase Idaho’s old haunts? Book Your Stay at Shore Lodge.