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Step 1
Access Garnet Range Road. Go to the Highway 200, around 30 miles to the east of Missoula, located in the western region of Montana. The byway will end 12 miles later at the junction of the road to Elk Creek. From January 1 to March 31, the range road is closed.
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Step 2
Look for the Garnet Ghost Town. Go to the visitor center, which is open on the weekends. Take some pictures of the awesome views of the valley and the ranges below. The route has been groomed and marked at places where certain activities are allowed or best enjoyed. National Recreation Trails are also marked. Nearly 55 miles of trails are offered by the Bureau of Land Management here. There are also cabins for rent. Make plans to stay for an entire weekend. Also, warming shelters are provided along the Garnet Winter Trail. This is an attractive area to visit in the summer months, as well.
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Step 3
Coloma is positioned a few miles on the north side of Garnet. There are old mines that still remain at this location. Some of the mines contain deposits of gold which continue to be mined in the summertime. Some of the mining equipment, tracks and supplies are still there, as well.
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Step 4
Learn the history of Coloma, Montana. It appears to be very mysterious. U.S. Geological surveyors describe Coloma as a very active mining operation in 1896 through 1916. The mills were put in place, but then they were declared unprofitable. Slight traces of gold were found, but the amount of it apparently wasn’t enough to warrant the work involved. Then old mining records turned up missing, and then it was discovered that about $200,000 of gold ore was found, but was missing from the mines. It was recorded as mined, but never found. So the survey team aborted their research. There is still very little information about the mining site, and locals deny knowing anything. Coloma is in the southwestern section of Montana, off of Interstate 90 near the Missoula exit. It can also be found on the Garnet Range Road past Garnet, at the end of Montana Route 200. Coloma is a few miles above Garnet at the end of the trail.
