Goldfield Ghost Town, located on State Route 88 a little past Apache Junction, is a former western frontier mining town filled with legendary folk tales as big as Superstition Mountain.

On this adventure of Backpack Pat, we follow in the footsteps of the original town folk that might still be present in a nearly two hour guided ghost tour. Grab your partner and a flashlight as we experience the Goldfield Ghost Tour and learn what lurks in the town at night.

On a picturesquely cool and crisp fall night, my group and I arrived at Goldfield Ghost Town when the crowds have died down and the ghosts might be coming out to play. After signing up online, the ghost tour guides asked everyone to meet at the train depot which is immediately adjacent to the main parking lot.  Be sure to arrive at your designated time so the ghost tour doesn’t leave you at the station.

 

When arriving, you will be greeted by several ghost tour guides. After providing our name to check in, each group will be handed a small flashlight as some portions of the tour will involve stairs.

The guides mentioned that there will also be times when to not use the flashlight in order for the whole tour to get the full ghost tour experience.  The tour guides do have lanterns with them to help the attendees trek through the tour safely during the moonlight hours.

The tour starts close by the train depot with the story behind the Unknown Prospector. The tour guide went into the story behind this ghostly monument and how the formerly operating mine struck the aquifer below and drowned a number of the prospectors in the 1800s.

I am going to leave the other details to the tour guides, but you may just get goosebumps about the story of the Unknown Prospector.

The tour guides then take the tour into Goldfield Ghost Town and the next stop is behind one of the main buildings to tell the tale of one of the employees experiencing a ghostly encounter. When the tour guide reenacts the experience, don’t be surprised that you start feeling chills as if the ghost is in close proximity to you. The tour guide also goes into detail on just who the ghost might be and how their story came about.

If a person attending this tour has not experienced goosebumps yet, then just wait until everyone enters in the underground mine.

That’s right, in the middle of the night, the tour guides will have everyone go into the actual Goldfield Mine and learn what life was like down in the mine.

When everyone is below ground, the tour guides will talk about another ghost, Danny the Miner, and eventually turns off all the lights so all of the guides and visitors can experience the darkness for themselves.

 

Be sure to pay extra attention to what you hear in the pitch black mine as you never know what may come out of the adjacent tunnels.  One of the guides may even ask for a brave volunteer to walk to the other side of the mine to see if they experience the presence of a ghost when away from the rest of the group.

After everyone experiences the quiet darkness of the Goldfield Mine for a few minutes, the group is taken to Lu Lu’s Bordello. This stop is located on the second floor of one of the buildings on the main drag of Goldfield Ghost Town.

Once inside, the guides will tell the story of a former ghost tour attendee hearing her name get called out, not once, but twice and multiple people heard the ghost! The guides will also go over stories of what happened inside Lu Lu’s Bordello and explain why it is on the tour.

Everyone is welcome to walk about around the establishment, take pictures, and experience the environment with heightened senses.

In fact, the tour guides encourage everyone to take photos as ghostly figures have shown up in various photos taken by attendees over the years. The attendees are also encouraged to share the photos of questionable figures with the guides to help continue telling the story of this haunted ghost town. Since the tour ends at this place, it is time to hand back the small flashlight and thank the guides for their stories of other worldly adventures and larger-than-life characters that once roamed Goldfield Ghost Town.

After going on the tour on a Friday or Saturday, there may be an opportunity to stop in the iconic Mammoth Steak House and Saloon as this establishment is open until 9 pm those nights.  Go through the old-fashioned double saloon doors and you will see a wide assortment of food and beverage items. This might be a great time to talk about the spirits you experienced over a beverage! Or perhaps visit other nearby food and beverage establishments in Apache Junction after the tour ends.

Finally, Goldfield Ghost Town proves that this attraction needs to be experienced during the daytime and nighttime given the numerous amounts of things to do and ghosts to experience. There will certainly be another future blog post about this popular local hotspot as there are so many other activities and attractions to experience.