Visiting Grafton Ghost Town in Utah
Add a visit to Grafton Ghost Town to your next trip to Springdale, Utah!
This now abandoned town was once a small but thriving community of Mormon pioneers, who worked hard to eke out a living here.
Today, visitors can explore several of the buildings that are still standing, learn about the inhabitants, and pay their respects in the local cemetery.
My family and I visited while in town to see Zion National Park, and it was an excellent side trip.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about visiting Grafton ghost town, from detailed directions on how to get there, the town’s history, the best time to visit and if the place is actually haunted.
The Louisa Russell Home in Grafton, Utah, now abandoned
This post contains affiliates. If you purchase through the links below, I will receive a commission at no charge to you.
What is the Grafton Ghost Town?
Grafton is the now abandoned town between Rockville and Virgin, Utah, that was once home to a group of Latter Day Saints settlers.
Today, it is an off-the-beaten-path adventure for visitors to Springdale, Utah, and nearby Zion National Park. Since it’s only 9.3 miles from Zion National Park, Grafton is an easy add-on to your time in Springdale, or as part of a larger Utah Mighty 5 road trip with your kids.
Plus, access to the ghost town is free, and it’s an excellent way to learn about the Mormon settlers that helped shape the agriculture, culture, and landscape in this part of Utah.
The exterior of the Alonzo Russell Home in Grafton
Spending time in Zion National Park, too? Don’t miss out on these helpful posts:
Grafton Ghost Town Directions
From Springdale, take Zion Park Boulevard out of town and away from Zion National Park.
When you pass the Wild Thyme Cafe at Trees Ranch (at the edge of Springdale) on your left, you’re about 1.5 miles from your next turn, so get prepared.
You’ll come into Rockville, Utah. Look for the Heller House Inn sign on your left. As soon as you see this sign, you’re going to count two side streets, and then turn at the second street.
Look for this small road sign in Rockville!
This second street is Bridge Street, and it looks like an utterly normal side street. The only thing to indicate that you’re on the correct path is a very small brown street sign that simply says “Grafton” with an arrow.
You’ll find this little sign on the corner of Bridge Street and East Main Street on your left as you turn. It will be nearly invisible from this angle!
From the corner of Bridge Street and Main Street, you have about 3.5 miles to go before you get to Grafton. The road is paved most of the way, but even that can be bumpy, so go slowly.
Once on Bridge Street, continue down this small 2-lane road.
It’s still paved at this point, and you’ll soon come to an old bridge spanning the Virgin River. This bridge is very narrow and can only fit one vehicle comfortably, so go slowly. (You’re unlikely to run into much traffic out here, though!)
Such a pretty bridge!
Just beyond the bridge, you’ll come to a fork in the road. Follow the road around the bend to the right, and the road will turn into 250S, an even less traveled span than Bridge Street. You’ll go straight on 250S for just over a mile and then it will make a gradual turn to the left while also climbing a bit.
PIN ME!
NOTE: Be on the look for the California condors that often fly around this area!
250S winds its way through rolling hills and red cliffs as the road becomes more remote. Continue on 250S past the sign for the Smithsonian Buttes. The road is less maintained beyond this point, so go slowly.
Continue to follow 250S (also known as West Grafton Road) for another 1.6 miles. You’ll pass a couple of driveways along the way, but, overall, you’re unlikely to see anyone else.
When you pass the turnoff for the Zion Red Rock Oasis and Villa, the road becomes increasingly rough, eventually devolving into a gravel and dirt road by the time you get to the ghost town.
You’ll first see the Grafton cemetery, which has a side loop off of West Grafton Road for parking.
If you continue on past the cemetery for another 0.5 miles, you’ll come to the ghost town proper.
There’s no specific place to park, but the dirt road here is wide. Pull over to the side of the road near the fences and park.
Grafton Ghost Town History
Once you step out of your car, you’ll immediately feel as if you’ve been transported back in time.
Members of the Latter-Day Saints arrived in what is now Grafton, Utah, in 1859, primarily to start cotton farming, one of the big initiatives of Brigham Young.
When the high water needs of cotton farming didn’t mesh well with the arid, desert climate of Grafton, the settlers pivoted to more traditional crops that didn’t need so much irrigation. That farming still required intense work, but the people of Grafton pushed through.
This area of southwest Utah was also settled by the Southern Paiute people, who often came into conflict with the LDS settlers as they pushed west in the mid-1800s.
The gravestones of those killed by the Navajo raiders
You can see this conflict in several of the graves at the Grafton cemetery, including Robert Madison Berry and his wife Mary Isabella Hales Berry who were killed in April 1866 by native raiders.
The Berrys' death was just one part of a chain of events in late 1865 and early 1866 in this area.
That specific conflict started in December 1865 when several Navajo raiders stole cattle from the Mormon settlers near Kanab (about 45 miles to the east of Grafton) and later killed 2 other ranchers in Pipe Springs (roughly 200 miles north of Grafton).
A group of Mormon men came together to seek revenge, a decision that ended up killing multiple Navajos near Pipe Springs.
This back-and-forth violence continued, and the Berrys were attacked and killed on the road near Grafton simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Grafton, which was already sparsely populated by this point, was consolidated along with several other smaller outpost towns as a way to help protect the Mormon settlers from additional attacks. Those living in Grafton were temporarily housed in Rockville, a bigger town about 4 miles to the east.
While no one stayed overnight in Grafton during this time, the farms there were still tended and people would return in groups to repair the homes, till the fields, and take care of their animals.
By 1868, the threat of violence by the native people had subsided enough that Grafton’s population returned full time.
From that point on, the town thrived, though it never grew as big as nearby Rockville, Springdale, Hurricane, or La Verkin.
The town ultimately dwindled down to just a handful of people by the 1930s, and the property truly became a ghost town in 1945 when the last residents moved to nearby Hurricane, Utah.
Today, the descendants of those settlers keep up the houses and cemetery, and they are the reason that Grafton ghost town stays tidy and ready to welcome visitors. If you’d like to help out the Grafton Heritage Partnership, they have a small donation box on-site, or you can donate online here.
What to See in Grafton
Here, the town is the main attraction. There are multiple houses to wander through, a church/school house to explore, a cemetery to wander through, and even a few cows to greet.
Grafton is an interesting ghost town because, while no one lives here anymore, it’s still very well taken care of, thanks to the Grafton Heritage Partnership. When you visit, the porches will be swept, the fences will be mended, and the gravestones will be (mostly) free of dust.
Yet, there are no tours, no large crowds, and no gift shops here, like you might find at the equally interesting ghost town in Bannock State Park in Montana.
Both are kept up, but Grafton Heritage Partnership has done its best to let the property be so that visitors see it as close to its original state as possible. (That being said, do NOT sleep on Bannack State Park if you’re ever in that area. It’s 4 or 5 times the size of Grafton with a Wild West history to rival the best Westerns!)
So, if there aren’t any docents or guided tours, how do you know what you’re looking at?
That’s where the Grafton Heritage Partnership shines again. Inside each of the unlocked buildings, you’ll find signs and placards with information on the building’s history, its role in the town, and its inhabitants.
Some of the interpretive signs on the town's history and restoration efforts in the Alonzo Russell Home
In many cases, there are photos of the homes’ inhabitants, too, which helps to humanize them immensely.
The fact that many men, women and children lived their entire lives on this small patch of Utah soil is driven home even more when you visit the town’s cemetery, where you can may your respects to them now.
For example, Ellen Wood, one of the people who lived in one of the remaining homes, has her photo on her mantelpiece. She’s also laid to rest in the cemetery.
Buildings in Grafton Ghost Town
Today, the town has 4 homes that you can walk through, each with a different layout. It is interesting to compare the styles of homes with what the owners did—the largest home, the Alonzo Russell Home, was where one of the town’s more well off families lived, while the others, which belonged to the regular farmers, are much more modest.
The exterior of the Alonzo Russell House
The Louisa Marie Russell Home, which is directly in front of the Alonzo Russell Home, has a front room that is so low that I (at 5’7”) could easily touch the ceiling!
That house had been added onto with regular height ceilings elsewhere, but that front room is a reminder of how compact some of these basic frontier homes were.
As a fun fact, this house was built by Alonzo Russell for his fourth wife, Louisa; he lived across the street with his first wife. I guess that’s a convenient way to keep all of the kids from the various marriages close!
The small cabin on the corner horizontal to the church is the Ruby Rose cabin.
My dad walks through the front door of the rebuilt Ruby Rose cabin.
While it looks just as rustic as the rest of the buildings here, it’s actually a rebuilt version of the original cabin that once stood here. In 2020, the owner rebuilt the cabin using wood salvaged from the previous building.
There’s also a barn outside of the John and Ellen Wood Home that you can peek into with an antique wagon and farm equipment inside.
The historic barn behind the John and Ellen Wood Home
You’ll notice that there are signs throughout the town reminding you to close all of the doors, which helps keep the interiors of the buildings from getting dirty or getting exposed to the copious amounts of dust everywhere.
The large brick church sits in the middle of the town, but it’s usually locked nowadays.
The multi-functional church building at the heart of the town
It was built in 1886, and the bricks were handmade from local clay. The industrious residents also brought in wood from 75 miles away to use for the structural beams in the room.
This building served the needs of the community in a variety of ways, as a church, of course, but also as a one-room schoolhouse and a town meeting hall. The last class graduated in 1919.
Points of Interest in the Grafton Cemetery
Rows of graves in the Grafton cemetery
Definitely make a stop at the cemetery, either as you’re coming into or leaving Grafton. I found that visiting it after seeing the homes and buildings made visiting the inhabitants’ graves more poignant.
While I’m one of those people who loves to wander an old cemetery, picking up bits and pieces about the people who came before me, there are some really interesting tombstones here. This was an actively used graveyard from 1862-1924 and offers up some excellent glimpses into Grafton’s history.
The Berrys, who were killed in the Navajo raiders attack I mentioned in the history section above, are buried here. Their headstone reads “Killed by Indians” as a reminder to everyone left behind about the dangers that existed in the West.
Another notable pair in the cemetery are two girls who died in an accident, where they took a fatal fall while playing on the rafters of an old mill nearby. They were in their early teens at the time: Loretta (Lotty) Russell was 14 and Elizabeth (Lizzy) Woodbury was 13.
You’ll also find several children who died of diseases that have been largely eradicated today. It’s a sobering reminder of how far we’ve come in our medical progress as a culture.
Grafton Ghost Town FAQs
What are the Grafton ghost town hours?
Grafton is open to visitors every day from dawn until dusk.
The Grafton Heritage Partnership asks people to be out by dark to discourage any vandalism or damage to the National Historic Register buildings.
The town does have video surveillance throughout and members of the Partnership make regular visits to the town to lock or unlock doors, tidy up, and check the buildings.
So, if you go, please be respectful of both the visiting times and the historic nature of the buildings.
Is Grafton, Utah, haunted?
Overlooking the beautiful red rocks from the upstairs at the Alonzo Russell Home
There are plenty of local rumors that yes, Grafton ghost town is haunted!
While a ghost town doesn’t necessarily have ghosts, it seems that there are always those stories that crop up about these historic places.
There are stories of visitors hearing babies crying when there aren’t any other people nearby.
Others have reported hearing heavy boot steps on what sounds like a wooden walkway, only to realize that there’s nothing but dirt and grass outside.
In the late 1920s, a local girl claimed to have seen the ghosts of the two teen girls, Lotty Russell and Lizzie Woodbury, who died in that accident I mentioned earlier.
While the town is an incredible historic snapshot of life in the late 1800s, it can also be a bit spooky when you’re exploring since you’re likely to be the only ones on the property at any given time.
Rambling around those old houses can make the imagination run wild!
What to Bring to Grafton, Utah
Grafton, Utah, is fairly remote, so you’ll want to come prepared.
As I mentioned earlier, there isn’t any visitors center here. That means you’ll need to bring in your own snacks and plenty of water. It’s easy to dehydrate out in the Utah sun, and areas of Grafton have little shade.
Even when you’re going in and out of the houses, they have no air conditioning and can be stuffy on warmer days. Pace yourself and keep drinking water.
You’ll also want to ensure that you have plenty of gas before you head out here. It might be only 3.5 miles back to Rockville, but that’s a long way to hike if you run out of gas. If you’re trying to get to the nearest gas station, that’s going to be the Chevron in Springdale, 6.2 miles from Grafton.
Cell service out at Grafton can be a bit spotty, so be sure to let someone know where you’re going in case you do have car or medical trouble.
Binoculars are helpful, not for the town, but rather for the drive. There’s some interesting wildlife out in rural Utah, including the endangered California condor. A small group lives in and around Zion National Park, and you might get lucky and see one soaring above on your drive.
Closed toed shoes are recommended for exploring the old houses, as the floors are uneven and there are areas that could absolutely stub a toe if you’re not careful. There are some steep stairs in the Alonzo Russell house with no railing where you’d want more grip than flip flops could provide, and there are many ant hills throughout the property. I’d recommend wearing my go-to Keen Newport H2 hiking sandals, but any closed toe shoe will work.
