Abandoned Towns
USGS aerial view of the Melmont townsite in the Carbon River valley

Coal mining town · Railroad and road town

Melmont

Melmont supplied coal to the Northern Pacific. Its school basement and explosives shed survive beside a trail, with access changed by the Fairfax Bridge closure.

47°01′51″N 122°02′00″W · ≈1,390 ft

Aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).

Bridge closed; hike from Carbonado

WTA’s current guide directs visitors to park near Pershing Avenue in Carbonado and use the trail, avoiding the closed Fairfax Bridge. Its July 15, 2026 trip report describes muddy and eroding sections beyond the bridge area. The bridge is closed to vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The mapped Carbonado trailhead is separate from the townsite, and overnight parking is not allowed.

Overview

Railroad coal beneath the forest

The Northwest Improvement Company founded Melmont in 1900 to produce coal for its parent, the Northern Pacific Railway. The company town had miners’ cottages, a depot, school, saloon and a hotel containing shops and the post office.

Mining ended around the close of the 1910s, and an early-1920s fire removed much of the abandoned town. Some buildings were dismantled for lumber. Today the forest and old rail grade conceal low ruins rather than a standing commercial street.

Video

Melmont in 30 seconds

Melmont was a railroad coal town in Washington’s forest. Historic photographs and maps are dated on screen; current access is summarized in the guide.

Images and historic maps: U.S. Geological Survey (Public domain), U.S. Geological Survey (Public domain), U.S. Geological Survey (Public domain), U.S. Geological Survey (Public domain). Cropped, animated and overlaid with text. Video adaptation: CC BY-SA 4.0. Original synthesized music; narration by Google Gemini 3.8 Flash TTS, Charon. English captions included.

History

How Melmont grew and changed

  1. The Northwest Improvement Company establishes the coal town.
  2. Coal is being shipped to Carbonado for processing.
  3. The post office closes.
  4. Mining operations cease.
  5. Fire and dismantling remove much of the town.
  6. Hikers continue visiting from Carbonado while Fairfax Bridge remains closed.

On the ground

What remains at Melmont

The school basement, an explosives-storage building and bridge foundations survive. Washington Trails Association identifies the townsite as White River School District property and much of the approach rail grade as Pierce County Parks land. Leave the remains as found and do not dig for artifacts.

Before you go

Access and current conditions

WTA’s current guide directs visitors to park near Pershing Avenue in Carbonado and use the trail, avoiding the closed Fairfax Bridge. Its July 15, 2026 trip report describes muddy and eroding sections beyond the bridge area. The bridge is closed to vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The mapped Carbonado trailhead is separate from the townsite, and overnight parking is not allowed.

Reading the maps

The town in its landscape

The sheets trace the Carbon River, railroad grades, Fairfax and nearby mining features. The 1897 sheet predates Melmont’s founding.

Historic maps

Melmont on USGS maps, 1897–1991

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

USGS topographic map around Melmont, 1897
Tacoma sheet, 1897, 1:125,000 · U.S. Geological Survey, public domain · catalog record

Map & directions

Getting there

The routes below use OSRM on OpenStreetMap data. Follow the access notes above and confirm current conditions before traveling.

USGS topographic map of the drive to the Carbonado trailhead; Melmont is reached on foot to the south

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

From Enumclaw10.8 miabout 20 min
  1. Start on the connecting road0.1 mi
  2. Turn left onto Initial Avenue0.1 mi
  3. Turn right onto Cole Street0.4 mi
  4. Turn right onto Enumclaw Buckley Road (SR 410)3.4 mi
  5. Turn left onto SR 165 (SR 165)0.4 mi
  6. Continue straight onto State Route 1651.2 mi
  7. At the end of the road, turn left onto State Route 165 (SR 165)0.9 mi
  8. Continue straight onto Carbonado-South Prairie Road (SR 165)0.7 mi
  9. Fork slight left onto State Route 165 (SR 165)0.6 mi
  10. Continue straight onto Carbonado South Prairie Road (SR 165)0.1 mi
  11. Continue straight onto Church Street (SR 165)0.9 mi
  12. Continue straight onto State Route 165 (SR 165)0.4 mi
  13. Continue straight onto Burnett-Fairfax Highway (SR 165)0.6 mi
  14. Continue straight onto State Route 165 (SR 165)1.0 mi
  15. Turn right onto Pershing Avenue0.0 mi
  16. Arrive at the routed road endpoint0.0 mi
Google Maps directionsApple MapsOpenStreetMap

Directions go to Carbonado trailhead near Pershing Avenue, where the drive ends, not to the townsite.

Road and safety notes

  • WTA’s current guide directs visitors to park near Pershing Avenue in Carbonado and use the trail, avoiding the closed Fairfax Bridge. Its July 15, 2026 trip report describes muddy and eroding sections beyond the bridge area. The bridge is closed to vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The mapped Carbonado trailhead is separate from the townsite, and overnight parking is not allowed.
  • The road routes end at the Carbonado trailhead, not Melmont. Continue on foot using the current WTA approach; do not cross the closed Fairfax Bridge.
  • The road routes end at the Carbonado trailhead, not Melmont. Continue on foot using the current WTA approach; do not cross the closed Fairfax Bridge.
  • The driving map labels the Carbonado trailhead. The townsite is south of this approach map; the historic maps and aerial imagery show Melmont itself.

Photos

Have photos of Melmont?

We haven’t added photographs of Melmont yet. If you’ve visited, share your photos and a field report below.

Visitor reports

Been to Melmont?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

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Nearby

Other sites near Melmont

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our Washington index.

Sources

Sources and credits

  1. Melmont, Washington - Wikipedia: history, surviving features and visitor information; read October 25, 2026.
  2. Melmont - Washington Ghost Town: history, surviving features and visitor information; read October 25, 2026.
  3. Melmont Ghost Town — Washington Trails Association: current Carbonado approach, bridge closure and July 15, 2026 first-hand trip report.
  4. Elevation at the mapped point: USGS 3D Elevation Program query, October 25, 2026. Historical topographic sheets: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain).
  5. Road routes and step distances: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), October 25, 2026. Route endpoints are shown separately where they do not reach the town point; estimates do not confirm current road access.

Photo and map credits