Ghost Town in the Sky in Maggie Valley, North Carolina is the most searched abandoned place in the state and one of the most extraordinary theme park ruins in the United States. Built in 1961 by entrepreneur R.B. Coburn on top of Buck Mountain at an elevation of 4,600 feet in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, the park was accessible only by chairlift or inclined railway -- there was never a road to the top. For four decades it was one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Smokies, drawing families from across the Southeast to a fully recreated Wild West ghost town perched on a mountain summit with panoramic views of the Blue Ridge. The park closed for the last time in 2009 and has been decaying on its mountaintop ever since, its rides rusting, its Western storefronts collapsing, its chairlift towers standing silent above the valley.
This guide covers the complete history of Ghost Town in the Sky, from its ambitious 1961 construction to its current state as an abandoned theme park locked in legal limbo. The GPS coordinates are available on the Urbex Maps interactive atlas, along with access notes and the current legal status of the property.
The construction: building a theme park on a mountaintop (1961)
R.B. Coburn was a Maggie Valley businessman who saw the tourism potential of the Great Smoky Mountains in the late 1950s, when the Blue Ridge Parkway and the growing interstate highway system were bringing millions of visitors to western North Carolina for the first time. His idea was audacious: build a theme park not in a valley or on flat land, but on top of a mountain, where visitors would ascend by chairlift and step out into a fully constructed Wild West town at the summit. The location he chose was Buck Mountain, a 4,600-foot peak overlooking the Maggie Valley corridor, visible from the highway below.
Construction began in 1960. Workers hauled building materials up the mountain by chairlift and mule train. Coburn hired architects to design a complete Western frontier town with wooden storefronts, a saloon, a jail, a general store, a blacksmith shop, and a church. The town was laid out along a main street at the summit, with panoramic mountain views in every direction. A separate "Indian Village" area featured demonstrations of Cherokee crafts and dance. A third section, "Miner's Mountain," housed the park's amusement rides: a roller coaster called the Red Devil, a Ferris wheel, a scrambler, bumper cars, and a mine train ride that ran through tunnels blasted into the rock.
Ghost Town in the Sky opened on May 1, 1961. The chairlift carried visitors 1,600 vertical feet from the parking lot at the base to the summit in about 15 minutes. The inclined railway -- a funicular on steel tracks -- provided an alternative for visitors who didn't want to ride the open chairlift. At the top, live actors in period costume performed gunfight shows on Main Street every hour, and the Cherokee dancers performed throughout the day. Admission was $3.50.
The golden years: 1961 to 2002
The park was an immediate success. By the mid-1960s, Ghost Town was drawing over 300,000 visitors per year, making it one of the most attended attractions in the southern Appalachians. The combination of the dramatic setting, the live-action shows, the rides, and the novelty of reaching a theme park by chairlift gave it a character that no flat-ground park could replicate. Families who visited in the 1960s and 1970s brought their own children in the 1980s and 1990s. The park became a multi-generational Smoky Mountains tradition.
Through the decades, Ghost Town expanded and updated its attractions. The Red Devil roller coaster was replaced with a newer coaster. New rides were added. The gunfight shows evolved. The park employed over 200 seasonal workers at its peak, many of them local Haywood County residents. Coburn sold the park in the 1990s to a group that continued operating it, but rising maintenance costs, the challenge of maintaining mechanical rides at 4,600 feet in a climate that includes ice storms and high winds, and increasing competition from Dollywood (which opened in 1986, 90 miles east) gradually eroded attendance.
The park closed at the end of the 2002 season. The stated reason was the need for extensive mechanical repairs to the chairlift and the inclined railway -- the two systems that made the park accessible. Without those lifts, there was no way to get visitors to the summit.
The failed revival: 2007 to 2009
In 2007, a new ownership group led by Alaska Presley, a Maggie Valley businesswoman, purchased the park and invested in repairs to the chairlift and rides. Ghost Town reopened in May 2007 to significant local excitement. But the revival was troubled from the start. The chairlift broke down repeatedly. The inclined railway required constant maintenance. A series of mechanical failures forced temporary closures during peak season, damaging the park's reputation with tourists who had driven hours to visit.
The 2008 recession hit tourism across the Smokies, and Ghost Town's already fragile economics could not absorb the drop in attendance. The park operated intermittently through 2009, with the chairlift and inclined railway experiencing ongoing problems. In 2010, a landslide on the mountain damaged portions of the access infrastructure, effectively sealing the park's fate. Ghost Town in the Sky closed permanently.
The current state: 2010 to 2026
Alaska Presley died in 2016, leaving the property to her niece Jill McClure and business partner Frankie Wood as co-owners. The two have been locked in a legal dispute over the property's future since at least 2023. McClure filed a lawsuit in 2024 to dissolve the partnership and force a sale; a North Carolina business court dismissed the suit, ordering the partners to continue working together. As of spring 2026, the property remains closed, unsold, and decaying.
The physical state of the park is extraordinary. The Western town buildings on the summit -- the saloon, the jail, the storefronts -- are still standing but deteriorating, their wooden facades weathering and sagging. The chairlift towers still line the mountainside, their cables hanging slack. The roller coaster tracks and the Ferris wheel structure remain on the summit. The inclined railway car sits on its tracks partway up the mountain. The entire park is overgrown with mountain vegetation that is slowly reclaiming the summit.
The property is fenced, gated, and monitored by cameras. Trespassing is actively prosecuted. Multiple urbex explorers have been arrested for attempting to access the site. The owners have made clear that unauthorized entry will result in criminal charges.
How to see Ghost Town in the Sky without trespassing
The park is visible from several public vantage points in Maggie Valley. The chairlift towers can be seen from US Route 19 as it passes through the valley. The summit structures are visible from elevated viewpoints on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Waterrock Knob area). Drone photography from public airspace has produced extensive documentation of the current condition. The best public viewing is from the Ghost Town parking lot at the base of the mountain on Fie Top Road -- the lot itself is accessible, though the chairlift base and the mountain above it are private property.
FAQ: Ghost Town in the Sky
Can you visit Ghost Town in the Sky?
No. The property is private, fenced, monitored by cameras, and trespassing is prosecuted. You can see the chairlift towers and summit structures from public roads in Maggie Valley and from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Is Ghost Town in the Sky being demolished?
No. As of 2026, the park is still standing. It is locked in a legal dispute between co-owners and neither demolition nor redevelopment has been announced.
Will Ghost Town in the Sky ever reopen?
Multiple parties have expressed interest in purchasing and reopening the park over the years, but the ongoing legal dispute between the current co-owners has prevented any sale or development plan from moving forward. The cost of rebuilding the chairlift and inclined railway to modern safety standards would be substantial.
How high is Ghost Town in the Sky?
The park sits at approximately 4,600 feet elevation on Buck Mountain. The chairlift carried visitors approximately 1,600 vertical feet from the base parking lot to the summit.
What rides are still on the mountain?
As of the most recent aerial documentation, the roller coaster tracks, Ferris wheel structure, mine train ride, and several flat rides remain on the summit in various states of decay. The chairlift towers and cables are still in place on the mountainside. The inclined railway car and tracks are partially intact.
Is Ghost Town in the Sky haunted?
The park has generated significant paranormal interest since its closure, particularly because of the "ghost town" name and the eerie atmosphere of a complete Western town decaying at the top of a mountain. Multiple paranormal investigation shows and YouTube channels have covered the location. Whether the site is genuinely haunted is a matter of personal belief.
Conclusion
Ghost Town in the Sky is one of those rare abandoned places where the setting amplifies the abandonment. A theme park in a parking lot is sad when it closes. A theme park on top of a 4,600-foot mountain, accessible only by chairlift, surrounded by the Blue Ridge, decaying in mountain weather while its Western storefronts collapse and its roller coaster rusts among the clouds -- that is something else entirely. It is the most visually dramatic abandoned theme park in the eastern United States, and its 8,100 monthly Google searches prove that the public has not forgotten it.
The GPS coordinates are on the Urbex Maps atlas. Respect the property boundaries. See it from the valley, see it from the Parkway, see it from the air. But do not trespass.
