Unionville, just southwest of Helena: Helena's Last Chance Gulch was panned clean of gold quickly after the metal's discovery in 1864, but hard rock mining in Unionville kept Helena afloat from 1870-85. To get there, take Park Avenue south out of town and bear left on Orofino Gulch

Park City, Dry Gulch and Springtown: Settlements beyond Unionville and farther up Grizzly Gulch, where the Park City Mine yielded ore worth millions of dollars

Blackfoot City and Marysville: Head west on Highway 12 over MacDonald Pass to Avon. Take Highway 141 north from Avon for three or four miles and jog right for five miles to Blackfoot City, an 1865 town that still can be recognized. Keep going past Blackfoot City and the loop takes you back to Belmont and Marysville. There's not much to recognize in Belmont anymore; it was active around 1880. With a brewery, 27 saloons, 3,000 residents and three newspapers, Marysville once was one of the most thriving gold towns in the area. It remains one of the best preserved. The local Catholic church was fully restored in the 1980s, and old, abandoned buildings still line Marysville's street

Diamond City: Drive to the east side of Canyon Ferry on Highway 284, and then take Highway 360 up Confederate Gulch. Nine miles along the gravel road is the recognizable site of Diamond City. The road continues past Watson and the site of now vanished Fort Logan

Bannack State Park and Ghost Town is one of Montana's best-preserved ghost towns dating back to the 1800s. Camping facilities available. To get there, take I- 15 south of Dillon to exit 59 (the Hwy. 278 exit). Head west on Hwy. 278 for 20 miles, then turn south onto the paved Bannack road.

-- IR's 101 Summer Things to Do Around Helena