Mogollon Ghost Town
917 Bursum Rd, Glenwood, NM
Mogollon, NM
A silver and gold town clinging to a steep canyon deep in the Gila high country, reached by a narrow switchback road and half returned to the mountains.
Mogollon is one of New Mexico's most atmospheric ghost towns, a former gold and silver camp clinging to the walls of a steep canyon high in the mountains of the state's rugged southwest. Getting there is half the experience, a narrow switchback road that climbs up out of the valley near Glenwood and threads into the Gila high country, discouraging the casual visitor and preserving the town's isolation.
In its day this was a booming, rough-edged mining town, tucked into a canyon so tight that its buildings crowded the creek and the road ran right down the middle. Floods, fires, and the swings of the mining economy battered it repeatedly, and when the ore played out most people left. Today a scatter of weathered buildings and mine ruins remain, some restored, some slowly returning to the mountain, in a place that still feels a long way from anywhere.
What Guests Love
- The dramatic drive in, a narrow switchback road climbing into the mountains
- Weathered old buildings and mine ruins tucked into a steep, forested canyon
- The remote, quiet feel of a town half reclaimed by the Gila high country
- A vivid sense of the rough, isolated life of a mountain mining camp
Worth Knowing
- The road up is narrow, steep, and winding with tight switchbacks, so drive slowly and check conditions before you go
- Mogollon is a partly living community with private property; look and photograph from public areas and respect the residents
- The town and some businesses keep seasonal and limited days, so many services are not always open
- Winter snow and ice can close or hazard the mountain road, so a warm-season visit is safest
Details
Mogollon, NM
Learn about Mogollon Ghost Town
Gold, silver, and a rough camp
Mogollon grew up in the late 1800s around rich veins of gold and silver in the surrounding mountains. Ore was hauled out and mills processed it in the canyon, and the town swelled with miners, merchants, and all the trades that followed a mining boom, becoming for a time one of the more productive mining districts in the territory.
Life here was hard and often dangerous. The canyon setting was prone to flash floods that tore through the town, and fire was a constant threat among the wooden buildings. The town also earned a reputation as a wild place, remote and rough, where law and order were thin. Despite it all, mining continued in fits and starts for decades as ore prices rose and fell.
Bust and the slow fade
As the richest ore was worked out and metal prices dropped, Mogollon's fortunes declined. Mines closed, reopened, and closed again through the early twentieth century, and each downturn drove more people away. The remoteness that had always made the town hard to reach now made it hard to sustain.
By the middle of the century the town was largely abandoned, its buildings emptying out and beginning to weather in the mountain climate. Unlike many ghost towns that vanished entirely, though, Mogollon held on to enough of its structures, and a handful of residents, to survive as a place you can still walk through and read.
The drive and what remains
The road to Mogollon is an experience in itself, a narrow, paved mountain route that climbs in tight switchbacks from the valley below, with steep drop-offs and blind curves that ask for slow, careful driving. It is the kind of road that filters out the crowds and rewards the patient.
At the top, the town strings along the canyon: old commercial buildings, cabins, a theater, and the scattered ruins of mills and mine works climbing the slopes. Some structures have been restored and a few businesses open on seasonal days, while others stand weathered and empty. Much of the town is private, so visitors are asked to explore respectfully from the public road and public areas.
Seasons and the Gila country around it
The warm months, late spring through fall, are the time to visit, when the mountain road is clear and any seasonal businesses are most likely to be open. Fall adds color to the canyon, and summer days are cooler here than in the lowlands thanks to the elevation. Winter can bring snow and ice that make the switchback road hazardous or impassable.
Mogollon sits on the doorstep of the Gila, one of the wildest stretches of country in the Lower 48, including the nation's first designated wilderness. The same rugged remoteness that shaped the town's rough history now makes it a gateway to hot springs, cliff dwellings, and deep forest for those continuing on into the high country.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Glenwood
Glenwood
About 9 miles southwest
A small valley town on the road below Mogollon and the base for visiting the Catwalk and the surrounding Gila country.
Catwalk National Recreation Trail
About 14 miles southwest
A metal walkway suspended over a narrow gorge along Whitewater Creek, following the route of an old mining waterline.
Gila Wilderness
To the east
The first designated wilderness in the world, a vast, roadless expanse of forested mountains and canyons.
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
A long mountain drive east
Ancestral Mogollon cliff dwellings tucked into caves above a canyon, deep in the Gila high country.