Lucin Ghost Town
Wendover, UtHistorical, Educational, and Place to Explore
Difficulty: Easy
Length: < 0.3 miles
Elevation Gain: 10-110 ft
Approximate Hiking Time: 15 min
Features: Ghost Town
Nearest Town: Wendover, Ut
Lucin Ghost Town was originally commissioned in the 1800’s to provide fresh water to steam engines as they made their trip across the country. Water was piped from the nearby Pilot Mountains to create the Lucin ponds that form today’s desert oasis.
Later in the 20th century a group of retirees who had lived in Lucin as children moved back to the site. In the early 1990’s the last of the residents once again moved away. Today the site is once again unoccupied, but a great place to explore a ghost town.
- Trail Condition 50%
- Usage 15%
- Trail Head Easy to Find 100%
- Kid Friendly 100%
Hike Highlights
1. When To Go
Any time of year as long as the roads are reasonably good because the dirt roads can be impassable when wet.
2. What Is It?
Artifacts from years gone by can be seen throughout the site. Spend some time pondering what it was used for.
3. A Special Place To Explore
Come prepared. Once you’re here you may just want to keep exploring. Visit the Nancy Holt Sun Tunnels. Have a picnic. Enjoy the serenity of this off the beaten track place.
Hike Overview
Trailhead Directions
Starting from Wendover take the I-80 heading west towards Elko for about 32 miles. Take exit 378 towards Montello on Hwy 233, continue on hwy 233/ut-30 for 43 miles. Here you’ll leave the highway onto a set of dirt roads. These roads may not be passable when wet. We got stuck for over an hour at the Sun Tunnels the first time we came out here. Come prepared!
Turn right onto Grouse Creek Road for 6.5 miles where the road changes to Pilot Mountain Road. You’ll see the Lucin Ghost Town after 5.8 miles. It’s clearly marked.
You can Google Maps the route, but there is no cell service in the West Desert. Pay attention to the directions so you don’t get lost on your way back!
Hike Details
Climb through the gate to enter the Lucin ghost town. Follow the path from the trailhead to the oasis, a pond surrounded by enormous cottonwood trees, birds, and lush vegetation. It’s unmistakable against the desertscape surrounding it.
The path continues around the oasis to a root cellar. Keep an eye out for the vent on top of the hill. From here continue around the site to the concrete phone booth. There really isn’t a defined path through the rest of the site, but walking through here is easy. After peeking in the phone booth, continue on to another underground cellar.
Once you are done exploring return back to the trailhead. We also found some cabling coming out of the ground in the center of the field and the pipe that feeds the spring from the Pilot Mountains. What will you find?
Why is this hike easy/moderate?
The site is relatively level with only slight elevation gain. While the path isn’t well defined, it’s less about following a defined path and more about exploring the site.
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