Nature Is Reclaiming This One Abandoned Montana Spot And It’s Actually Amazing

Thanks to its rich mining history, Montana has quite a few ghost towns that are still available to explore. But while our more popular deserted spots like Bannack and Garnet are well-preserved, the old mining town of Comet is slowly being reclaimed by nature... and it's pretty cool to see.

Comet is located about 20 miles southwest of Helena.

You can find it by following High Ore Road north from Interstate 15.

The remains of the town are spread over about 35 acres.

The buildings range from an ore processing building, several other company buildings, and a few private houses.

The town was named after the Comet Mine, which which was developed in 1883 by the Helena and Livingston Smelting and Reduction Company.

Gold was discovered here in 1874. The operation shut down in 1897, but it was revived in 1900 by a copper company. But in 1941, the mine was exhausted and operations were permanently shut down.

At one time, the mine here was the richest mine in the district, producing $20 million in ore.

That's 10 times more than the nearest mine, which produced $2 million.

These days, the town is completely abandoned except for one single active resident.

Although it's on private grazing land, the ghost town itself is open to the public.

If you enjoy Montana ghost towns, here are eight more to explore.