Many people may think that the Wild West no longer exists, but nothing could be further from the truth. The Western United States still offers a lot of remnants of the days of gunslingers and cowboys, along with a truly western atmosphere.

If you like history and adventure, visiting the Old West can be a real treat. Though today there may be no herds of wild buffalo roaming the western frontier and you will nearly always find running water, you can be sure that the Wild West is still alive and well.

There are plenty of places to visit if you are looking to taste the flavor of the untamed frontier. Once you cross the Mississippi into the west, the land opens wide up into a place of natural beauty and history. For those who like ghost towns you will find plenty in the west. Wyoming is famous for some of its gold rush towns; one of the most well known being “South Pass City.”

This restored piece of history offers a town as it appeared in the west’s heyday, complete with saloons, hotels and a blacksmith’s shop, just to name a few. The goldmine that first brought this town into existence is just up the hill and is still a working mine. Near South Pass City there are several additional ghost towns which are still much like they were when the towns’ citizens began to dwindle away. These towns include, Atlantic City and Miner’s Delight. Atlantic City has many of its original buildings and the saloon is still in operation and now offers delicious grilled steak dinners. Miner’s Delight has several of its original log buildings in different stages of ruin, though the BLM has done much to keep the buildings from disappearing. Not far from Miner’s Delight is an old army fort that is in ruins, but there is some remnant of the original building.

Of course Wyoming offers far more than just ghost towns, there are ranches where you can stay in cabins or bunk houses and experience life as a cowboy; Jackson Wyoming offers just about everything western. You can even take a wagon train trip through the Shoshone National Forest near Yellowstone.

Once you have explored Wyoming, you can head for Nevada and the old western town of Virginia City. Virginia City is located near Reno and offers a glimpse of what life was like in the Nevada of the Nineteenth Century. Though the streets are now paved, most of the town has been kept the way it was over a hundred years ago, complete with the original buildings. On the main street, you will find establishments like the Bucket of Blood Saloon and the Silver Dollar. Gaming is available in these saloons as well. If you are in the mood to explore some silver mines, this isn’t a problem. There are frequent tours offered near the Bucket of Blood.

This is just a very small sample of what the Wild West has to offer today. Some other interesting places include, Dodge City in Kansas, the Four Corners Region, The Rocky Mountains, the Grand Canyon, and the Little Big Horn. The list literally goes on and on.

Taking a trip back in time is easy if you head out west.