With Halloween approaching, it’s a great time to take a family vacation themed around ghosts. We asked travel buffs to chime in with their favorite ghost town vacay ideas. Here’s what they had to say.
Lauren Tingley
Lauren Tingley helps moms find the joy in motherhood by sharing tips to simplify homemaking using practical strategies to implement a minimalist lifestyle.
Virginia City in Northern Nevada is a great ghost town to visit with your kids. Located about 30 minutes outside of Reno, Virginia City is full of gold rush history and family-friendly activities. From touring a mine, watching the Virginia City Cowboy Outlaws street show, or visiting the local haunted museum, there is something for everyone. Be sure to take an “old-time” family photo decked out in historic clothing to commemorate your visit.
Kristine Thorndyke
Kristine Thorndyke is a test prep specialist and shares advice for preparing for standardized tests on Test Prep Nerds. She hails from the Midwest and loves exploring the hidden treasures it has to offer.
We recently visited Bardstown, Kentucky, a historic little town of 11,000 nestled just 45 minutes south of Louisville. This town is known for its ghost encounters, with the most famous ghost who makes appearances being that of Jesse James. We went on a guided ghost tour through the cemetery as well as to a ghost seance in the lobby of a hotel. This was good fun, and the town people really get into the stories.
Some of the bed and breakfasts are also believed to be haunted, and we were able to stay in the Jailer’s Inn, which is an old town jail that has renovated the jail cells to be hotel rooms. We fit four of us in a small jail cell with a bunk bed converted to a double bottom and two twins on top. This is all good, family fun in Bardstown!
Melanie Musson
Melanie Musson is a writer for exercise.com. She lives in the Rocky Mountains and has enjoyed visiting many of their ghost towns.
Virginia City, Montana
Goldrush! When gold was discovered in Alder Gulch, word spread quickly, and people swarmed to the area by the thousands searching for their fortunes and establishing Virginia City. The town is now home to 150 residents. The Main Street shops, hotel, jail, and more still stand abandoned but are roughly preserved as a tribute and memory to the days of the Wild West gold rush.
Families can spend the day exploring the empty buildings, but tourism has brought a new sort of rush to the town and there are live demonstrations of blacksmithing, criminal captures, and activities of daily life in the 1800s. The candy store will certainly be a favorite stop for kids as well as the homemade ice cream shop.
While you’re there, take the train ride to nearby Nevada City. You’ll learn more of the history from the conductor while you ride. In Nevada City, you can explore more abandoned buildings. Don’t head back to Virginia City until you’ve stopped in the present-day functioning bakery for some fantastic pastries.
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