Absolutely Nothing Left in the Ghost Town of Coalwood, Michigan

Now here’s a ghost town that IS a ghost town.
No people.
No houses.
No stores.
No buildings whatsoever.

The only thing that remains that showed there ever was a place called Coalwood, is the trail that once had the old Munising Railroad coming through, east to west.

Coalwood sits empty in the Upper Peninsula’s Alger County, about eleven miles from Munising. It was basically created in 1901 when a train station was built along the train tracks. But a depot wasn’t the only structure here…there were also a couple of general stores and possibly a few scattered homes here and there. But not now.

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A post office opened in September 1906 and only lasted until July 1910. Even so, the post office stayed listed as operational until 1915. During that time, Coalwood’s population was a surprising 100…more than you would expect, coming across it these days and seeing how completely empty the village is.

The old railroad tracks have been ripped out, and is now called the Coalwood Trail, a 26 ½ mile strip between Munising and Chatham, open for snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles. You may even come across an unexpected building or two along this old track.

Located in Alger County’s Au Train Township, finding any extra information or history on Coalwood is not a simple task. Even though it’s now just an empty junction with the Coalwood Trail running through, it would still be an experience to go there, park, and explore the woods to see if any remnants of the old town still exist.