Bonanza

Idaho's ghost towns burned fast — placer gold camps that lasted a season, then timber towns the forest is still swallowing.

Bonanza is a ghost town in Custer County, Idaho, United States. It was originally established as a mining town. As of 2005, the land is privately owned but open to the public. Custer has a museum for the gold-rush era where visitors can experience the lives of the citizens of Custer and can search for gold. Bonanza is the site of one of many Boot Hill cemeteries.

Little stands at Bonanza today beyond foundations and scattered traces. Foundation-only sites reward visitors who enjoy reading a landscape — bring an old plat map or historic photo if you can find one, and the vanished streets start to reappear.

Public access makes Bonanza one of the easier ghost towns to actually stand in — though "public" in ghost-town country can still mean miles of dirt road, so check recent trip reports first.

Bonanza is publicly accessible — but give the word "accessible" some respect. Out here it can still mean miles of unmaintained dirt road. Check recent trip reports, carry extra water and a spare tire, download offline maps, and let someone know your route. The mapped point for Bonanza is roughly 44.3706, -114.7278 — use it as a starting point and cross-reference a current topographic map before leaving pavement.

Ghost-town etiquette is simple: take only photographs. Removing artifacts is illegal on public lands and disrespectful everywhere else — and on federal land it can be a serious offense.

The ground itself demands respect: open mine shafts, collapsing floors, and old wells hide in tall grass, cell service is often nonexistent, and help can be hours away. Tell someone your plans, pack more water than you think you'll need — and save the early morning or late afternoon light for your camera.

Want the full story? The Wikipedia article on "Bonanza, Idaho" covers Bonanza in more depth — find the link in Sources below. County archives, historic newspaper collections, and the state historical society are the next stops after that: plat maps, census rolls, and old photographs fill in what a short visit can't. If you make the trip, consider sharing your photos and notes — firsthand reports are how the record of Bonanza gets better.