Grafton Ghost Town
Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Utah → Zion National Park → Grafton Ghost Town
Location: near Rockville, just outside Zion National Park, Utah
Time Required: 1 hour
Red Tape/Notes: Grafton is reached by driving through Rockville along highway 9, then branching off onto an unpaved dirt road for 2 miles. See this website for more detailed direction and information on Grafton’s history.
What’s Nearby?: The Subway (Bottom Up) Hike, The Subway (Top Down) Canyon, Right Fork of North Creek (Hammerhead Approach)
I like visiting Ghost Towns – I like imaging what they were like when they weren’t ghosts and I enjoy the slightly creepy picturesque quality of them. This is one of the places that’s been restored with some effort at preserving the Ghost Towny-ness of the area (as opposed to something like Calico), which was probably less of a stretch since people lived here until 1944. Five of the original 30 structures in town remain (and all have been restored and are in good condition – you can even go inside some), and there’s an interesting old graveyard on the way to town with very Wild West-ish tombstones. I’ve been meaning to try and do some night photography out here. I will update this post if that ever happens!
Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Utah → Zion National Park → Grafton Ghost Town