Silver Reef
Personal Notes
This page presents our personal notes on our visit to the ghost town of Silver Reef, Utah.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
10:43 a.m.
We drove from La Verkin, Utah and caught the southbound on-ramp to I-15 at Toquerville, where we spotted a Road Runner crossing the lane. I believe that's the first Road Runner we've seen in Utah. Most have been in Utah and southern California.
10:57 a.m.
We exited the Interstate near Leeds and followed the signs into the ghost town of Silver Reef. We weren't too sure of what we could look at and what we couldn't, since there are modern buildings and homes in the area, sort of mixed in among some of the ruins.
Once we found the main cluster of ruins, near the Wells Fargo building (which is indicated on a prominent sign along the main road through the area) we were able to explore freely. The paved road heads to the south, while the main road goes on to the west.
We poked around the ruins and explored where we could. Some of the structures are better preserved than others, with most buildings being constructed of stone and concrete. There is a museum in the Wells Fargo building, which probably has some information on the area. We decided not to go in, wanting to explore on our own. There are unique pieces of rusting mining equipment scattered around the outside of this building, as well as a nice cluster of Joshua trees.
There is also a good sized parking area near a nicely reconstructed building that used to be the bank. A couple of information kiosks explain the history of the area, with one providing a nice platte map of the original town site.
11:29 a.m.
After we explored the main part of the old town we drove down into the bottom of the valley and visited the old Protestant Cemetery. It's pretty large, but most of the eroded wooden crosses have no names. That's kind of sad, but the way time works.
11:47 a.m.
Then we drove up a short hill to the old Catholic Cemetery. It's much smaller than the Protestant Cemetery, but has some great views of the surrounding area. On the way down I took a few photos of an old head frame above a mine shaft.
While we visited Silver Reef the weather was wonderful, sunny, and probably in the upper 60s to lower 70s.
