Nestled between the Puget Sound and the Central Cascades, Snohomish County is especially beautiful in the autumn. And if you need an excuse to pay this area a visit before winter, just spend a day exploring the ghost town of Monte Cristo.

Monte Cristo is an old mining town that would later become a resort town.
Marshmallow / Flickr
These days, it's just a plain old ghost town, which you'll find near Granite Falls.
One way to reach the ghost town is by hiking the 8-mile (round trip) Monte Cristo Trail.
Chad Dirlam / alltrails.com
Despite is length, the trail is a fairly easy walk, and the payoff is worth it.
In 1889, gold and silver were discovered in this area by Joseph L. Pearsall.
Susan Helland / alltrails.com
The town of Monte Cristo was founded in 1893 by the Monte Cristo Mining Company.

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Monte Cristo was the first live mining camp on the west slopes of the Cascade Range.
Raelene Schifano / alltrails.com
In 1893, the railroad came to town.
Before long, the town was at the center of a mining boom that attracted thousands of miners and businessmen, including John D. Rockefeller.
Elisa Behrens / alltrails.com
But the mining boom didn't last long, and operations ceased here in 1907. For awhile, Monte Cristo was used as a resort destination, but the only remaining business in town, a lodge, burned down in 1983.
While there aren't many remaining structures, the ghost town has been fairly well preserved.
Mary Anderson / alltrails.com
Hike out to Monte Cristo and spend a day exploring part of Washington's mining history.

If you enjoy exploring our local ghost towns, you’ll love this ghost town road trip.

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