We chose this hike because it’s length and it is rated good for kids and dogs. We loved that it got us into the foothills, But we expected to see more ruins and remnants than actually exist. So if you’re expecting to see a ghost town; you won’t. Also TURN LEFT at the coal car. If you veer right at the fork by the coal car you’ll follow a long wide gravely road that wraps around the hilltop but goes in the opposite direction of the mine shaft, cemetery and stunning mount rainier view. You’ll go miles in the wrong direction because there are no signs pointing you in the right way.

The parking lot had icy puddles and frozen frost. The “footpath” towards the mine shaft gets narrow and has many slick parts where leaves cover the trail and a few down trees to scramble over. But the “footpath” is up to the LEFT of the goal car.

It was a decent 3+ mile walk -since we went the wrong way for a while and had to double back. It was a gentle uphill 1/2 way there then it flattens & meanders.  But once you near the cemetery it’s all grown over in blackberry bushes and there’s not much to see but a single file overgrown path with sticker bushes. There’s no large clearing and only a few gravestones visible but they’ve either been moved, removed or are hiding under black berries. Really not much to see at the cemetery so our kids were disappointed.

The mine shaft has a safety railing surrounding it and is covered by an iron grate to prevent onlookers from the 1,000 foot fall. That was neat to see and so were some of the exposed cable remains on the trail. 

It was easy enough for our 4yo, and 8yo though the little one did end up riding on my shoulders a few times.

No bathrooms, No garbage cans, no cell service. Seems more like a path local kids hit up to smoke and graffiti. So if you’re into a more natural wander through the woods and a bit of an escape into nature I’d suggest a different trail.

But if you’re looking for a clear view of the mountain and this path has a simply gorgeous view of Mount Rainier.

Whoever maintains this land could really stand to cut the ivy and invasive species and blackberries because they’re covering a lot of the open spaces.

A wonderful, easy-going hike into a ghost town is just what I needed. Very gorgeous and easy for beginner hikers!

We went there looking to explore this historical place with our kids ages 14,9,6 and we are all frequent hikers but found this trail to be very sad and disappointing. The parking lot as described by others is closed to the public but down the road about a minute just over the bridge you will find a parking lot you can use. The hike was very long with no signs directing you to where the town is or cemetery and cell service is non existent so you may want to download a map before hand. We were able to find the mine shaft after walking a mile in the wrong direction, and eventually found what is supposed to be the cemetery but there is only one or two fallen over headstones visible. The whole property is not taken care of at all by whomever owns it, and it is very sad. Places like this should be taken care of and preserved, especially if people are paying to come and visit it. We drove two hours and hiked for about three trying to discover a town but sadly there is no town to be seen anymore just miles of blackberry bushes. It was very sad. It seems like something should be done about it.

This was our second time visiting Franklin Ghost Town. The first time we visited was in 2017 and we remembered this trail being a nice little adventure. This time around the experience was rather sad. Firstly, the people managing the parking lot decided not to open the gates to the parking lot due to people trying to camp overnight where it was not allowed. So we drove a minute down to the Green River Gorge Springs where we found parking for $5, though there didn't seem to be enforcement for payment nor any kind of security, then again, this is private property so we obliged, paid the $5, and walked across the bridge, past the closed gates, and into to the trail. Like others have stated, the beginning of the trail is wise and easy to walk, but just past the mineshaft, the trails is overgrown with wild blackberries. The thorns were very annoying but we continued with hopes of finding more ruins. There was a cement foundation, old rail tracks, and then the cemetery. The sad part was a) most of the gravestones are gone... Not sure what happened to them, and b) the amount of trash everywhere was just sad. 

I showed up on Saturday morning about 8:30, looking for an easy hike day hike with the dog and my in laws, but the gate was closed.  The sign on the gate didn’t indicate when it would open, if ever, but it did say the gate closed at 8pm.  I checked out the nearby bridge and spring water fill up, giving whoever 40 minutes to show up and open the gate but it never happened.  Luckily we had Kanaskat State park in mind as a close by alternative.