Montana Heritage Commission (Virginia City & Nevada City)

Come rediscover Virginia City & Nevada City, Montana! The very much alive ghost town, Virginia City, Montana,is frozen in time. It is a remarkably well-preserved Old West Victorian gold mining town just 50 miles west of Yellowstone National Park (90 miles by road). When the gold ran out, there was still enough left so that homes and businesses were occupied, but there was not enough wealth to remodel the buildings. So it froze, and now represents the whole Victorian era. Virginia City is the true and original Old West. It is a gem, held within an incredibly rich area of naturalbeauty, recreation and history. Virginia City and Nevada City lie along Alder Gulch about one mile apart, the site of the richest placer gold strike in the Rocky Mountains with an estimate total value of 100 million dollars throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early 1860s, during the first three seasons, an estimated $30 million worth of gold was removed from the gulch. Stay the night in homey historic lodging, ride the train, pan for gold, attend a live theater show, shop in unique gift and specialty shops and enjoy fine dining and old-fashioned candy shop goods.