When it comes to abandoned places to visit and photograph, there are two types – the No Trespassing sign ones and the ones where you can purchase a ticket.
Here are ten abandoned places you can explore, some are run by the National Park Service, others are run as State Parks while others are private operations.
Typically there are various fees for entrance or amateur vs commercial photography. Visit the website of each abandoned place for specific information.
1. Bannack State Park
Bannack State Park near Dillon, MT is a National Historic Landmark and the site of Montana’s first major gold discovery on July 28, 1862. Over 70 buildings remain in a state of arrested decay.
Entrance fee.
Also nearby are Virginia City, MT a “living ghost town” (free with restaurants and shops) and Nevada City, a museum featuring historic buildings moved to the site. (Entrance fee)
More info: https://www.dogfordstudios.com/?s=bannack
Abandoned Mining Town 
Bannack Ghost Town Fine Art Photography 
Bannack Ghost Town 
Bannack Montana rich history of a gold mining boom town now a ghost town.
2. Grafton Ghost Town, Rockville, Utah
Outside of Zion National Park, a collection of several old buildings left from an early Mormon settlement failed due to flooding and Native American troubles.
Free. More info: https://www.dogfordstudios.com/?s=grafton
Sunset Grafton Ghost Town Canvas Print 
Log Barns Grafton Ghost Town https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/log-barns-grafton-ghost-town-edward-fielding.html 
Sunset at Grafton Ghost Town by Wendy Fielding 
Map of Former and Present Buildings in the Grafton Ghost Town 
Chair by the window – abandoned home in Grafton Ghost Town, Rockville, Utah
3. Eldorado Gold Mine, Nevada
About an hour from Las Vegas, Nevada, this valley was famous for its rich silver and gold mines. The Eldorado Canyon Nelson District was dotted with several mines, including the Techatticup Mine, Gettysburg, Duncan, Solar, Rand, Wall Street, Swabe and Golden Empire Mines in what was to become one of the earliest and richest mining districts in Nevada.
Now set up for tours as well as photographing the collection of old vehicles and buildings. Often used for photo shoots, music videos and movie production such as the film 3,000 Miles from Graceland.
More info: https://www.dogfordstudios.com/?s=eldorado
Timed fee for photographers.
Desert Cactus Teddy Bear Cholla Eldorado Canyon Nevada by Edward M. Fielding 
Example of an HDR photograph of an abandoned truck interior 
American School Bus by Edward M. Fielding 
Ghost Town
4. Jerome, Arizona
One of many old copper mining towns in Arizona, Jerome was founded around the turn of the 19th century. Two companies were literally tearing down the mountains to get at the riches beneath it. The town literally blew itself up a few times and fires raged below in the mined dug underneath the buildings. The old town jail literally slid off the foundation and ended up a few streets below.
By the 1960s the town was basically deserted and earning not tax revenue to the State basically gave it away to any hippies interested in moving in and fixing up the place. Now it’s a bustling little tourist spot with museums, art galleries, and restaurants.
Free to walk around Jerome. Fee for Gold King mine and collection of old junk.
More info: https://www.dogfordstudios.com/?s=jerome
Travel to Jerome Arizona 
Edward M. Fielding Photographer On Location
5. Old Car City
Old Car City in White, Georgia contains the world’s largest known classic car junkyard. Visitors enjoy the beautiful vegetation of the deep south that is intertwined with the hundreds of cars that reside in Old Car City. Old Car City started as a small general store in 1931 and is still family-owned and operated. Come enjoy the Old South environment, folk art, ghosts of beautiful classic cars, and much more!
With over 34 acres and over 4000 American-made cars from the early 20th Century, these cars, trucks, vans, and even a couple old school buses are placed in such a way as to be ideally suited for photos, videos and custom camera shoots.
Entrance fee.
6. Sloss Furnaces
Sloss Furnaces is a National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States.
If artistic photographs of Sloss are to be exhibited, full credit must be given to Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark.
Entrance fee – $5. Amateur photography: $20 for up to 3 hours.
7. Bodie, CA
Bodie Historic District, the best-preserved ghost town from the California Gold Rush, is located 7 miles south of Bridgeport, California at an elevation of 8,379 feet in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Now in a state of arrested decay, Bodie is an excellent example of an American West boomtown and the accompanying lifestyle that developed in the western mining towns.
Entrance Fee.
8. New River Gorge, WV
You can visit the remains of the former boomtown of Thurmond. Part of the National Park Service.
Entrance fee.
9. North Brother Island, NY
A 20-acre island in the East River built for its isolation. Riverside Hospital was built here in the late 1800s to quarantine people with smallpox and home of Typhoid Mary during her final years. By the 60s it was abandoned, leaving the trees to take over the buildings. The city has restricted access to the island, and potential visitors have to apply and be accepted before attempting to set foot on the island.
Prior arrangements.
10. Glenrio, New Mexico/Texas
Located on the former U.S. Route 66, the ghost town sits on the Texas–New Mexico state line. It includes the Glenrio Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
Free.
