When I was planning a trip to Utah in 2008, I thought "Utah probably has a bunch of ghost towns. I SHOULD GO TO ONE!!" As luck would have it, there was a ghost town right near one of my destinations: Zion National Park. Grafton, Utah. Excellent. I printed out
(old school!) some Google Maps, threw them in my duffel bag, and hopped on a plane!
Visiting Grafton!
My friends and I stayed at a B&B in Glendale, which was on the other side of Zion National Park from Grafton. So we had an hour drive in the morning, during which I was REALLY excited for our arrival. We drove through Zion quickly, with the intent of going back later in the day. Got to Rockville (yes,
that Rockville), turned left on Bridge St, continued along the dirt road for a while...
View Larger Map
But when we arrived in Grafton, all was not well. Something was wrong. Or rather, nothing was wrong. The only two buildings we could see had been recently renovated, new windows and all. They were in perfect condition! Not only was Grafton missing the ghost town vibe I was hoping for, but there was a big fence keeping us far away from the buildings. And lots of "under surveillance 24 hours" signs. This was the closest we got to the house:
House in Grafton, UT.
Most well-kept ghost town ever.
Sure it's still pretty cool looking, but... fences? Why preserve it if not for people to visit and learn? It's great to preserve it so it looks like it did in its heyday, but I would've enjoyed my visit a lot more if allowed to walk around near the buildings, rather than being kept at a distance.
If I had done my research before we went, I would've learned that the
Grafton Heritage Partnership Project keeps this place in tip-top shape, and that my search for desolation probably shouldn't have led me there.
As disappointed as I was in Grafton's lack of decay, all was not lost. Zion National Park was
awesome, and I got to drive on this way cool bridge in Rockville:
Yay bridges!
If you're interested in learning about Grafton's actual history, here you go:
Side Note: Rockville, UT
For those who may remember, there was a rock fall in Rockville back in February 2010. On my trip I had driven right past the site of the rock fall, which is depicted here:
UGS 2010 Rockville rock fall diagram (source)
Nearby Ghost Towns
There are a few other ghost towns relatively close to Grafton. Pahreah/Paria and Silver Reef seem the coolest from what I've read.
- Pahreah\Paria - Pahreah\Paria is actually two sites, one is an old Mormon town, and one is a former movie set (which was destroyed in 2006 via arson).
- Silver Reef- Silver Reef sounds awesome! It seems to have a few remaining residents along side its many old and abandoned buildings. A winning combination!
I'll try to visit Silver Reef next time I'm in southern Utah. Could be sooner than I think; changes are on the horizon!
