
05 – Silver City Cemetery
From the History of Silver City Website:
Silver City, Idaho is one of the few old mining towns that did not burn down or become commercialized into a modern city. Visiting Silver City is like going back into history. The Idaho Hotel is as it was 100 years ago with a few modern amenities.
At Pat’s What Not Shop, books, souvenirs, local mineral samples are available. Silver City Fire and Rescue Store provides Art, Antiques, Gifts & Backroom Bargains.
Rugged and picturesque, the 8,000 feet-high Owyhee Mountains surround Silver City, elevation 6,200′. The history-filled town contains about seventy-five structures that date from the 1860’s to the early 1900’s.
During its “heydays”, Silver City had about a dozen streets, seventy-five businesses, three hundred homes, a population of around 2,500, twelve ore-processing mills, and was the Owyhee County seat from 1866 to 1934. Some of the largest stage lines in the West operated in the area, and Silver City had the first telegraph and the first daily newspaper in the territory in 1874.
Telephones were in use here at least by 1880, and the town was “electrified” in the 1890’s. There were four separate burial areas nearby, with a few very interesting stones remaining; some quite large and elaborately carved. All are well worth the hike to see and photograph.
More that two dozen camps provided shelter, supplies and amusement for the thousands of people who came to the mountains seeking their fortunes in one way or another. The ruins of some of these can still be found though nature is reclaiming most of them at an accelerated rate. Almost a dozen cemeteries and many more remote burial sites attest to the hard and sometimes dangerous and violent lives led by many.
Hundreds of mines pock-mark and honeycomb the mountains; one had upwards of seventy miles of tunnels laboriously hand-dug through it. Between 1863 and 1865, more than two hundred and fifty mines were in operation and hundreds more were developed thereafter.
Through the seventy-odd years of mining, more than twelve ore-processing mills gleaned rich rewards in tons of gold and silver. Large stacks of gold and silver ingots were photographed for posterity. At the very least, sixty million dollars worth of precious metals were taken from the area. At today’s prices, that amount would be even more impressive.
At the present time, there are no major mines operating in the area. The De Lamar Silver Mine began operation in 1977, shut down in 2000. Today 3 businesses are open in Silver City. The historic Idaho Hotel, Pat’s What Not Shop and Silver City Fire & Rescue Store. Each has a link on the left side of this page to take you to their respective pages. Also visit ghosttowns.com for more information on Silver City, Idaho and surrounding mining and ghost towns.
More information:
Intermountain Histories: https://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/130
Coordinates: 43.01924, -116.73471
Elevation: 6153 ft
Difficulty: 2
What to expect: The journey from Boise to Silver City involves a mix of paved and gravel roads. Once you turn off from 78, you’ll encounter gravel within a short distance. Along the way, you’ll encounter several cattle guards and some rocks on the road surface. However, for the final 15 miles or so, the roads are generally well-maintained throughout most of the year.
Check In
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Always a fun ride. The newly graded road in the early spring can make it challenging at times. It can be a 2 or a 3. You have to walk up a road at the bottom of the town when you first get there – the road is on the right.
Solo ride to Silver City – Perfect weather!
I rode the loop through Murphy, Silver City, Jordan valley. Caught 4 other stops along the way. Rode through the town but forgot to take any pictures. Got this one online. Not sure why most of the roads are one way now. There was only me and a few cows in town.
Excellent ride led by Chatty. Walked up to the cemetery leaving the bandana on the bike, hence 2 pictures. Ride into Silver city was relatively easy from the East side and would have been easier still if I had adjusted tire pressure before the dirt!
I did a loop that ended here in the area. We started over by Grandview first. I have never been up the backside to Silver City. Definitely more adventure than the east side of the hill.
Nice cool day, I had to go to Silver City
It’s been years since I’ve been up here. Pouring rain. Enjoyed a nice lunch indoors where it was warm.
Nice ride in on the road. We explored a dead end trail beyond the town. Misunderstood the photo location but did pass by the cemetary on our way out. It is one of the larger ones I have seen. I am always reminded of how challenging life must have been back in the day. The road did have some rock buried in it here and there and I found myself hitting a few unexpected bumps in the mixed sun/tree shaded areas. Be ready for SxS / vehicles on every turn.
Snagged a picture at the silver city entrance, not at the cemetery oops! But was nice weather today to escape the heat down in the valley! Camped in the desert down below and rode some of the trails in the Owyhee front before it got too hot.
Grill at the hotel closes from 10 to 11 to prep for lunch. Got there at 10:10 after the short hike to the cemetery. I was bummed but was nice to get out of the smoke. 2nd time up here. The first was a year ago just after I bought the bike. I am sure glad I did.
Talked to a local, the road is closed due to issues with SxS speeding up and down the road. He said they’re was a bad SxS vs pedestrian accident a while back, which is when they decided to close it. Not really a bad walk, close to what he described as 2 blocks, 3 minutes or so. I have been up to Silver City several times, but never stopped at the cemetery before.
The road to the cemetery is a footpath, so you have to park in town and walk to it.
Road was closed so we walked to the cemetery
went on this ride with my dad while doing the other checkpoints in the area. a very cool place because of some of the abandoned houses you can find a bit further out. I did not find this ride too difficult just cause we where mostly on dirt road to get there.
Parked at the road closed sign in town and hiked the three minutes to the cemetery itself. It was bigger and more ornate than all the others we’ve visited so far. A heavy Masonic influence to it too. I’m going to say 2 on any bike….for all intents and purposes it’s a graded gravel road from the highway in to Silver City. Weather could change things quite a bit though. We had a perfect, dry, sunny day.
Last stop on our father/son day trip. We didn’t cross the river, but apparently there is a back way to get in. You get super close just from the main road.
The ride to Silver City isn’t horrible, but it’s more than a 2. Big bike friendly, I would say, just be careful.
Fun ghost town with very odd one-way streets. A very quiet Monday under a cloudless sky.
Stop 7 on our overnighter. Always a cool place to visit while in Silver City.
Not sure if this counts. The road was blocked off and I am too lazy to walk down there ????
A busy Sunday. Lots of people, 4×4’s & SxS’s. Hadn’t been there since I was a kid. Beautiful country and great time of year to visit.
My first time to Silver City. Lots of people and side-by-sides everywhere.
first ride of the year to silver city
Walking path the cemetery now. Quick walk through the water along the trail.
Short 5 minute walk from the road. Make sure to wear waterproof shoes 🙂