"Come Experience Where Montana's History Lives"
Rediscover Virginia City & Nevada City, Montana!
Virginia City and Nevada City lie along Alder Gulch about one mile apart, and is the site of the richest placer gold strike in the Rocky Mountains, with an estimated total value of 100 million dollars throughout the 19th and 20th centuries! The area represents the true and original Old West.
Virginia City was designated as the new territorial capital of Montana in 1865 when Alder Gulch had gathered most of Montana's population. At its peak, 10,000 people flooded the area named "Fourteen-mile City" for the numerous settlements that lined the gulch. Virginia City became the largest settlement with an estimated population of 5,000 by mid-1864. It rapidly became the territory's first social center and transportation hub.
Virginia City is open year round and Nevada City is open Memorial Day weekend through September. Our busiest season is between Memorial Weekend and Labor Day when all of the lodging, shops, restaurants and saloons are open. There is still plenty to see and do when visiting after Labor Day.