Grafton Ghost Town - Utah

Disclaimer - this post does not include any cool hikes or drinking spots. I know, that's what the whole blog is supposed to be about! However, I enjoyed my time in Grafton so much, I felt it deserved an honorable mention. As far as ghost towns go, Grafton has a lot to offer. Hopefully, you'll be inspired to add this stop to your Utah itinerary.

If you take Utah State Route 9 to Zion National Park's south entrance, you'll pass the small town of Rockville on your way in. Rockville has a few bed and breakfast's, a fruit stand, and seemingly not much else... except the gateway to Grafton, a well preserved piece of Utah's wild west history.

The people of Grafton originally settled one mile downstream of it's current location in 1859. In 1862, the nearby Virgin River flooded, and the settlers relocated to Grafton's current location. The new settlement still dealt with periodic flooding, but they also had a limited amount of farming land, making it hard to expand. Most of the settlers relocated to nearby towns around the turn of the century, although a small population remained until Grafton officially became a ghost town in 1945. 

Today, all that is left of Grafton is about 5 buildings and a pioneer cemetery. It's maintained by a volunteer organization, and they have done an excellent job of preserving what is left. It's one of the best kept ghost towns I've been to, and one of the few where you have a chance to walk inside some of the buildings. And if the pictures look vaguely familiar, it's because you may have seen it before - about 5 films were shot in Grafton, the most famous of which being Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. 

My friend and I stopped by early on a Friday morning in August, and we were the only people there during our visit. There's no gift shop, no tour guides in period clothing, no cowboys putting on a fake shootout. There's desert scenery, lonely buildings, and little else, making this a truly immersive and slightly eerie ghost town experience.

When you drive in, you'll come to a fork in the road and a sign. One direction leads to the cemetery, the other to the ghost town. We stopped at the cemetery first. It's clear the town, and the people who lived there, are remembered and cared for today. Each grave is marked with an intact, legible marker, and silk flowers were left at each headstone. A plaque outside the cemetery mentions a few of the residents and how they passed, a reminder of the expected tragedies settlers regularly faced. Some died from disease, some were murdered, and two children died from an accident on a swing. We walked around for a bit, then got back in the car and headed into town.

A small, well kept pioneer cemetery

Some of the headstones may have been replaced

There isn't much left of the town except a church/school and four homes, but the buildings are in great condition. They have been restored, but not decorated or painted up. The church is closed to visitors, although there are stairs on the side where you can peer in the windows. We were able to walk through a home with only two small rooms, and I felt like I was intruding on someone's personal space, someone who isn't around to tell me to buzz off. We didn't have any "ghostly" experiences, but walking around the abandoned town empty of tourists is definitely an eerie feeling.

Between the cemetery and the town, we spent about an hour in Grafton. Zion National park is only a ten minute drive from Rockville, so it's well worth a stop in Grafton if you are passing through. Please take a note from the locals and volunteers who preserve Grafton and be respectful of the town, so people can continue to enjoy it.

 The church/schoolhouse

One of the larger homes still standing

You can walk inside this small home

If you love history, ghost towns, and the wild west, this is the place for you. Have you been to Grafton, or any other ghost town you loved? Let me know in the comments!