Hello fellow wanderers!
Last summer we stayed in Washington State for a couple of weeks to visit family (both of us are born and raised in the Seattle area) and most of our family still resides in Washington State. My sister and her husband took us to Monte Cristo Ghost Town which is one of their favorite hikes in the area.
Monte Cristo is an old mining town that was established in 1891 in the North Cascade Mountains at an elevation of 2,762'. This town mined gold, silver and lead and at its peak there was a population of about 1000 people in 1894. The town pretty much died in the early 1900's. Mines dried up and this area is prone to avalanches and flooding.
In the 1950s-1960s Monte Cristo was used as a resort town for the wealthy. At this point, a new lodge and rental cabins were built. A fire in 1983 burned the lodge down and basically shut the resort town down.
It has since become a favorite hike for everyone as the trail is not strenuous for the most part but it is a 5 mile trek out and 5 mile trek back for a total of about 10 miles round trip depending on how much wandering off and exploring you do in the town.
There are quite a few old buildings left in the town including the rental cabins from the resort town period but further up the hill you will find Dumas St. which housed Monte Cristo's stores, hotels and houses back in the mining heyday. If you are a historical railway enthusiast you will also love this trail as there are still remnants of the old railroad and an old railway turntable still exists in town. Another fun fact: Monte Cristo was the first live mining camp on the western slopes of the Cascades. Oh wait, one more fun fact: the Trump family has ties to this old mining town but I will let you google that information.
This trail head is located up the Mountain Loop Highway near Granite Falls and Darrington in the North Cascade Mountains. We hiked this trail in July 2020 and could not have asked for better weather and hiking conditions.
Please, leave no trace while you are out wandering around and exploring these historical places. There are lots of relics left for everyone to see and explore so please do not take anything from this town. Also, as a side note, there are some private residences in the area so please be respectful of private property as well.
We hope you enjoy wandering off with us! Watch our Monte Cristo video on YouTube (Wandered Off - please subscribe) and if you have any questions or would like additional info about our hike, please leave a comment or send us an email.
We truly appreciate it!
Chris and Brandi
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