5 days by RV from Bozeman: gold-rush ghost towns, the first reactor to make electricity and Craters of the Moon

In the desert of eastern Idaho, fifty miles from the nearest city, stands a plain brick building. On December 20, 1951, the reactor inside it lit four light bulbs. It was the first time a reactor had made a usable amount of electricity. Two hundred miles north, in the Montana hills, are the gold-rush towns of ninety years earlier: one still lived in, one a ghost town. And just west of the reactor lies a black lava field where Apollo astronauts came to learn geology before they went to the Moon.

This is a five-day summer RV loop from Bozeman around the western edge of the Yellowstone region: Virginia City and Nevada City, Bannack ghost town, the EBR-I Atomic Museum, Craters of the Moon and West Yellowstone. It doesn't go into Yellowstone itself; for that, see our 10-day Yellowstone and Grand Teton itinerary. Two rules for this page: the atomic and Apollo history is real, and we tell it as fact; the ghost stories are legends, and we label them. Every open date, price and RV rule below comes from the operator or a public agency, with the date we checked it. Anything we estimated is marked [A].

When to go

1. JanDon't gomuseum closed, lows 13 °F
2. FebDon't gomuseum closed
3. MarDon't goLoop Road closed
4. AprDon't gomuseum closed
5. MayLate Mayfrom Memorial Day weekend
6. JunBestall open, wildflowers
7. JulGoodhot lava, storms
8. AugGoodhot lava, smoke risk
9. SepEarly Septuntil Labor Day
10. OctDon't gomuseum closed
11. NovDon't goroads close
12. DecDon't golows 12 °F

Our rating [A], built on the EBR-I season [Y2][Y3], the Virginia City season [Y22][Y24] and NOAA 1991–2020 normals: Dillon highs of 82 °F in July, lows of 13 °F in January and 12 °F in December [Y32]; Craters of the Moon highs of about 82 °F in July [Y32]. The park says the surface of the dark lava can reach 170 °F in summer [Y10], and wildflowers peak from mid- to late June [Y10]. Mid-June to mid-August is the best balance [A]. In the first days of the season, in late May, nights are cold, and there may still be snow on the hills [A].

Route map

The 5 days at a glance

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Distances and drive times are our estimates for an RV at legal speeds without stops, from a road router [A]. Add 20–30% for photo stops, road works and the two-lane canyons. A note on day 3: on the map, Bannack and EBR-I look close. By road they aren't: there's no quick paved road south across the mountains, so you go down I-15 to Idaho Falls and back west on US-20. Allow 4 to 4½ hours of driving in an RV [A].

Before you go: checklist

1. Check the dates. Your trip must fall between Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day. EBR-I in 2026: May 22 to September 7 [Y2]. Virginia City's attractions: 10 am to 6 pm, seven days a week, Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day [Y22]; the train in 2026: May 23 to September 7 [Y23]. 2027 dates aren't published yet [A].
2. Book West Yellowstone for night 4 first: it fills early in summer [A]. Baker's Hole, a Forest Service campground 3 miles north of town, is on Recreation.gov: $35 with electricity, $26 without; no dump station, no showers [Y30]. Or Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park in town: full hookups for RVs up to 45 ft, 406-646-4466 [Y31].
3. Book Bannack State Park for night 2 if you want to sleep in the ghost town: by phone, 1-855-922-6768, or online through Montana State Parks [Y17]. Campsites are $4–34 a night, by season and amenities [Y17]. There are no hookups [Y19]. The site we checked, number 002 in the Vigilante loop, is back-in, with a 45-ft driveway and a 40-ft vehicle limit, on uneven grass: "good levelers" needed [Y18]. Over 30 ft, or no levelling blocks? Book Dillon instead.
4. The full-hookup option for night 2 is Southside RV Park in Dillon: every site has water, sewer and electric (30/50 amp), $56 a night including tax with one of their 10% discounts (Good Sam, AAA, AARP, military), a little more without [Y28]. Call 406-683-2244; cards only, $25 deposit; check-in from noon [Y28].
5. Book the Virginia City KOA Journey for night 1: open May 1 to September 30, full hookups, pull-through 30-amp and back-in 50-amp sites, up to 70 ft; 406-843-5493 [Y27].
6. Book Arco for night 3: Mountain View RV Park, all pull-through, full hookups (30 or 30/50 amp), from $54 a night plus tax; 208-643-7379 [Y29]. Or try your luck in the lava (next point).
7. Craters of the Moon's Lava Flow Campground can't be reserved. All 42 sites are first come, first served: you claim a site and pay by credit card at a machine, $15 a night in summer [Y11][Y12][Y16]. The park says it "generally fills by the evening on most nights" in summer [Y10]. No hookups, and you can't fill your RV's water tank there [Y16].
8. Know your RV's length. Bannack site 002: 40 ft [Y18]. Lava Flow: large pull-throughs, but RVs shouldn't go beyond site 15 [Y16]. Grizzly RV Park full hookups: 45 ft [Y31]. Our RV size guide helps if you're unsure.
9. Ask your rental company about gravel. The last 4 miles to Bannack are on Bannack Road [Y19], which travellers describe as gravel [A]. Many rental contracts restrict unpaved roads [A]; get the answer in writing.
10. Download maps before you go. Cell service is very limited inside Craters of the Moon [Y13], and the park warns that digital navigation can send you onto unpaved roads [Y14].

RV access, stop by stop

RV ok paved, parking for a typical campervan or Class C up to ~30 ft [A] · Caution possible, with a catch · No RV leave the RV and walk, take a car, or skip

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Not sure your rig fits? Our RV size guide explains length, height and what "unpaved" means in a rental contract.

Where you sleep: hookups and dump stations

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Water and tanks: fill up and dump at the Virginia City KOA on the morning of day 2 [Y27]; Bannack has no hookups [Y19]. Arco has full hookups again on night 3 [Y29]. Baker's Hole has no dump station [Y30], so dump in Arco on the morning of day 4 [A]. Camping is not allowed at the Craters of the Moon visitor center or in its Loop Road parking areas [Y11], and you can't stay overnight in the EBR-I parking lot [Y8]. When every campground is full, see our plan B guide.

Day by day

Day 1 — Bozeman → Ennis → Virginia City (~67 mi)

Fly into BZN and do the RV walk-through slowly: photos of every scratch, tank levels, generator and heater test. Shop for groceries in Bozeman [A]. Then drive south-west on MT-84 and US-287 to Ennis on the Madison River, and on MT-287 over the hill to Virginia City, about 67 miles [A]; the Heritage Commission gives 70 [Y22]. Check in at the KOA on the east edge of town [Y27] and walk in.

Virginia City and Nevada City lie about a mile apart along Alder Gulch, the site of what the Heritage Commission calls "the richest placer gold strike in the Rocky Mountains" [Y24]. Gold was found here on May 26, 1863 [Y25], and in 1865 Virginia City became the capital of Montana Territory [Y24]. Today the State of Montana owns many of the old buildings on the main street and keeps them as they were [Y27]. Walk the boardwalks, look into the shop windows, and climb to Boot Hill above town.

Sleep: Virginia City KOA Journey, full hookups [Y27].

Day 2 — Nevada City → Dillon → Bannack (~90 mi)

Fill up and dump at the KOA [Y27]. Drive 1.5 miles west to Nevada City [Y22], an open-air museum of old buildings, with the museum and music hall beside the highway [Y22][Y24]. Ride the little train to Virginia City and back if you didn't yesterday; Nevada City departures start at 10:30 am [Y23]. Then follow MT-287 down Alder Gulch through Sheridan to Twin Bridges, and MT-41 to Dillon [A]. Dillon is your last town until Idaho Falls: fuel, water and groceries here [A].

From Dillon, take I-15 south to exit 59, MT-278 west for 18 miles, and Bannack Road south for the last 4 miles [Y19]. Drive the gravel slowly [A].

Bannack is where Montana's first big gold strike was made, on July 28, 1862 [Y17]. By 1863 more than 3,000 people lived here, and the town was the first capital of the new territory [Y17]. Then the gold ran out and the people left. Today it's a state park and a National Historic Landmark, with more than 50 buildings along Main Street [Y17]. Montana State Parks calls it "the best preserved of all Montana ghost towns" [Y17]. Tours start at the visitor center, which is open daily in summer [Y17].

Sleep: Bannack State Park, Vigilante loop, no hookups [Y18][Y19]; or Southside RV Park in Dillon, full hookups, 31 miles back [Y28][A].

Day 3 — Bannack → I-15 → Idaho Falls → EBR-I → Arco (~230 mi)

Start early, by 8 am. The museum closes at 5 pm [Y2], and you have 4 to 4½ hours of RV driving before you get there [A]. Back to I-15 at exit 59, then south over Monida Pass into Idaho and across the Snake River Plain to Idaho Falls [A]. Fill up there and take US-20 west into the desert. The Idaho National Laboratory's site covers about 890 square miles of it [Y5]. Watch for the EBR-I sign: the turn is 50 miles from Idaho Falls and 18 from Arco [Y6].

The Experimental Breeder Reactor I was the first reactor built at what was then the National Reactor Testing Station [Y4]. Inside, you walk through the control room, where you're allowed to push the buttons, stand above the reactor, and read the names that the staff chalked on the wall [Y4]. Give it about two hours [A].

Outside, in the parking lot, stand two 1950s reactors from the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion project, an attempt to build nuclear-powered bombers for the Air Force [Y4]. INL calls EBR-I "the only place in America you can see four nuclear reactors" [Y1]. Next to them is a memorial to the three men who died in 1961 at the Stationary Low Power Reactor [Y4]. Please treat it as a memorial.

Drive the last 20 minutes west to Arco [Y8][A]. If you'd rather sleep in the lava, go on 18 miles to Craters of the Moon [Y14] and hope for a free site in Lava Flow Campground [Y10][Y16].

Sleep: Mountain View RV Park, Arco, full hookups [Y29]; or Lava Flow Campground, no hookups [Y16].

Day 4 — Craters of the Moon → Idaho Falls → West Yellowstone (~225 mi)

Dump and fill in Arco [Y29], and be at Craters of the Moon early. In summer the park advises hiking in the morning and visiting a cool cave in the afternoon [Y10]: daytime temperatures usually pass 80 °F, the black lava can reach 170 °F, and the parking areas have no shade [Y10][Y15]. Set your navigation to the visitor center, 1266 Craters Loop Road, Arco; the park says digital navigation can send you onto unpaved roads [Y14]. Pay the $20 vehicle fee (cards only at the machine and the booth) [Y12], then drive the paved 7-mile Loop Road [Y10][Y14]. The park itself describes "a 'weird and scenic' landscape of lava and sagebrush" [Y10].

Stop at Inferno Cone and at the Spatter Cones; both have some large-RV spaces [Y14]. Stay on the trails: the lava is sharp, and falls are the most common injury here [Y15]. Wear sturdy shoes and long trousers [Y15]. For a cave, get a free cave permit at the visitor center first; in October 2026 Indian Tunnel and Dewdrop Cave were open [Y13]. Take a torch: the caves have no lights [Y15]. On a stormy afternoon, leave the open lava: the park warns of lightning [Y15].

Leave by about noon [A]. Drive back east on US-20/26, past the EBR-I turn, to Idaho Falls, then north on US-20 through Rexburg and over the high plateau to West Yellowstone, about 200 miles from the park [A]. The West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park is at the edge of town [Y31]; for an evening drive inside, you need a park entrance pass [A].

Sleep: Baker's Hole, Forest Service, electric sites, no dump [Y30]; or Yellowstone Grizzly RV Park, full hookups [Y31]. This is grizzly country: keep all food and rubbish inside your RV [A].

Day 5 — West Yellowstone → Gallatin Canyon → Bozeman (~91 mi)

Take US-191 north along the Gallatin River, through the canyon, to Bozeman: about 91 miles [A]. It's a beautiful but busy two-lane road; use the pull-outs to let faster cars pass [A]. Return the RV: dump, refuel to the level in your contract, and leave at least 3 hours between the RV return and your flight [A].

Fact or folklore?

Every claim on this route, sorted. "Tourism marketing" means the claim comes from the operator itself; it may be true, but nobody independent has checked it.

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What we left out, and why

• Yellowstone National Park itself. It needs several days of its own. See our 10-day Yellowstone and Grand Teton itinerary and the Yellowstone route guide.
• Tours of the working Idaho National Laboratory. They're for groups, on request by email [Y3]. The museum is the public part.
• The BLM backcountry roads at Craters of the Moon. Unpaved, high-clearance 4x4 only [Y15].
• Bannack's Ghost Walk. An evening tour with actors in late October (2026: October 23–24, reservation required) [Y17], well outside this summer trip.
• Winter visits. See the summer box.
• "Shortcuts" from Bannack into Idaho over the mountains. We found no paved route quicker than I-15 [A]. Don't let a navigation app send you over gravel passes.

Alternatives: 4 days from Idaho Falls, one-way

Buffer day: if you can, add one spare day, ideally on the first night near the airport or right after the longest drive. It absorbs a late flight, a slow pickup, a closed road or bad weather without cancelling a booked campground. Our classic loops show where it fits.

• 4 days from Idaho Falls (IDA). Fly into Idaho Falls instead and turn the loop round. Day 1: IDA → EBR-I, about 52 miles [A] → Arco or Craters. Day 2: Craters in the morning, then via Arco, ID-33 and I-15 north to Dillon or Bannack, about 205 miles [A]. Day 3: Bannack → Dillon → Twin Bridges → Virginia City [A]. Day 4: Virginia City → Ennis → West Yellowstone → US-20 → IDA, about 167 miles [A]. About 560 miles in total [A]. Check first that your RV company rents from Idaho Falls [A].
• One-way, Bozeman to Idaho Falls. Days 1 to 3 as above, Craters on day 4, then about 90 miles to IDA [A]. That saves the drive back, but one-way rentals usually cost a drop fee [A].
• Dillon instead of Bannack. Full hookups at Southside RV Park [Y28], and day 3 is about 17 miles shorter [A]. Visit Bannack on day 2 and drive the 31 miles back [A].
• Add Yellowstone. Turn night 4 into three nights in West Yellowstone, and use our Yellowstone itinerary for the park days [A].

What it costs

Verified prices on this loop (checked 2026-10-28): Virginia City KOA, price not published [Y27]; Bannack State Park $4–34 a night by season [Y17], or Southside RV Park in Dillon $56 with a club discount [Y28]; Mountain View RV Park in Arco from $54 plus tax [Y29], or Lava Flow Campground $15 [Y12]; Baker's Hole $35 with electricity [Y30]. Without the KOA that's roughly $80–150 for those three nights, plus the KOA for night 1 [A]. Entry: EBR-I free [Y2]; Craters of the Moon $20 per vehicle for 7 days [Y12]; Bannack $8 per non-resident vehicle [Y17]; the Virginia City train $10 per adult and the Nevada City museum $8–12 [Y23][Y24]. An America the Beautiful pass covers Craters of the Moon (non-US residents $250 a year) [Y12].

The big items are the RV and fuel. At about 710 miles, a Class C that does 8–10 miles per gallon burns roughly 70–90 gallons [A]. Put your own dates, vehicle and fuel price into the trip cost calculator (choose 5 days and about 710 miles).

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