Cheap Hotels in Virginia City, Montana, United States

Virginia City, Montana, is a preserved gold rush town of about 220 residents in Alder Gulch. Cheap hotels in Virginia City are hard to define here, because the town has no chain hotels and only a short list of independent places to sleep. You can book a historic inn, a restored hotel room, a cabin, a small rental, or a campground. This guide covers every Virginia City hotel and lodging option we could confirm, flags the gaps, and drops several properties from our older version because we could not verify them. We do not quote rates. Check current totals with each property before you book.

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Hotels in Virginia City Montana: The Short List

Where to Stay in Virginia City, MT

Most guests sleep in one of four places. The Fairweather Inn and the Historic Bonanza Inn sit inside the town. Cabins and rentals fill the edges of town and the Ruby Valley to the north. The Rambling Moose Campground serves RV and tent travelers. Nevada City Cabins sit about 1.5 miles west of Virginia City.

The Southwest Montana tourism site lists six Virginia City lodging entries. They are Elijah’s Rest, Fairweather Inn, Just An Experience, Rambling Moose Campground, The Carriage House, and Vigilante View. The Montana Heritage Commission also promotes the Fairweather Inn and Nevada City Cabins. Short-term rental listings add the Historic Bonanza Inn and the Governor Meagher Cabin.

Fairweather Inn

The Fairweather Inn is the best known hotel in town. The address is 305 West Wallace Street, Virginia City, MT 59755. Call 406-843-5377. The inn also takes bookings through the historic accommodations office at 800-829-2969.

Two tourism listings describe the same amenities. Rooms have air conditioning and Wi-Fi. A coffee room offers a microwave and hot water for tea. The inn lists concierge help, parking, public restrooms, and non-smoking rooms. Restaurants stand within two blocks, and the inn accepts major credit cards.

Rooms differ by floor. Second-floor rooms have private baths. Main-floor rooms come with private or shared baths, so ask which type you are booking. All rooms carry Victorian furnishings.

The building has a long past. A restaurant called the Young American Eating House opened on the site in 1863. The building later served as a butcher shop and then as the Anaconda Hotel and Saloon in the 1890s. The name honors Bill Fairweather, who found gold in Alder Gulch. In 1946, Charles Bovey added a second story and a new front modeled on the Goodrich House in Bannack.

We could not confirm check-in and check-out times, pet rules, or exact room counts. The Montana Heritage Commission says its historic lodging runs from mid-May to mid-September. Call to confirm dates if you plan to visit outside this window. Pick the Fairweather Inn if you want to walk to the theaters, shops, and saloons.

Historic Bonanza Inn

The Historic Bonanza Inn rents rooms through Airbnb, and the Montana Heritage Commission also names the inn on its lodging list. Listings describe a queen bed in each room, a private bath, and mountain views. Guests get Wi-Fi, free parking, and window air conditioning. A shared lobby offers coffee and a microwave.

Check-in is self-service. Each room has a keypad lock, and the host sends the code on arrival day. The inn sits one block from the historic district and within walking distance of Main Street.

The building opened in 1866 as a county courthouse while Virginia City served as the territorial capital. Sisters of Charity later ran the building as a hospital for miners. A remodel turned the building into a hotel in 1940. We found no official website, so confirm the details in the current listing before you pay. Pick this inn if you want a private bath and no front desk.

Nevada City Cabins

Nevada City Cabins stand along Highway 287 in Nevada City. The historic accommodations office lists 406-843-5382. Nevada City sits 1.5 miles west of Virginia City, and the Alder Gulch Railroad connects the two towns.

Nevada City is an open-air museum with 108 buildings. Fourteen of the buildings are original to the site. The Nevada City Music Hall holds the largest collection of automated music machines in North America. The State of Montana owns the town, and the Montana Heritage Commission runs the town.

Wikipedia also mentions a Nevada City Hotel, built by joining a building from Salisbury, Montana, to a structure from Yellowstone. We could not confirm whether the hotel rents rooms today. Ask about the hotel when you call about the cabins. The cabins suit travelers who want a quieter night away from Wallace Street.

Just An Experience Cabins

Just An Experience is a cabin rental at 1570 Montana Highway 287 South. Call 800-879-1159, the Southwest Montana tourism line listed for the property. Wikipedia names the business as a bed and breakfast in the Nevada City area. The property website is justanexperience.com.

The tourism listing describes furnished cabins with queen beds, full kitchens, full baths, and sleeping lofts. The grounds hold a yard with gardens, a horseshoe pit, ladder golf, a playground, and a hot tub open all year. The listing also mentions a hot breakfast, but we could not confirm how the breakfast works. Ask when you book.

This property rests on a single tourism listing plus a Wikipedia mention, so treat the amenity list as unconfirmed. Reserve early, because the listing advises advance reservations.

Elijah’s Rest

Elijah’s Rest is a cabin rental at 8 Stagecoach Northwest Lane in the Ruby Valley, just north of Virginia City. The listing gives 800-879-1159. The listing mentions private baths, a private porch with mountain views, a kitchen, a microwave, a refrigerator, and Wi-Fi.

The listing places Yellowstone National Park about 90 minutes away. We could not confirm this figure with a second source, so check a map. This property is a single-source listing. Call before you rely on any amenity.

The Carriage House

The Carriage House is a short-term rental at 325 West Idaho Street. The unit sits above a garage built in 1999. The listing describes a private entrance, a three-quarter bath, a kitchenette, a sitting area with a queen sofa sleeper, and a double brass bed. A deck looks over a garden, and a private parking space comes with the unit.

The listing says the unit stands within walking distance of the theater, museums, and tours. Contact the host through the listing, because no phone number appears. This is a single-source listing, so confirm details before you book.

Governor Meagher Cabin and Vigilante View

The Governor Meagher Cabin is a one-bedroom rental on Airbnb. The listing says the cabin sleeps three, has a queen bed, an updated kitchen, Wi-Fi, free parking, and window air conditioning. The host says the cabin stands about a three-minute walk from the historic district and carries a historic register listing.

Vigilante View is an upstairs studio apartment rental. We found a listing but could not open enough detail to describe the unit. Use the listing to read current reviews and house rules.

Rambling Moose Campground

The Rambling Moose Campground serves RV and tent travelers. One listing gives the address as 1302 East Warren Street, and another gives 1302 East Wallace Street. Both agree on the number and the town. The Campendium listing gives 406-843-5493.

The tourism listing describes two dry cabins. The Glacier cabin sleeps two on a queen bed. The Yellowstone cabin sleeps more people on twin and full bunk beds. Both cabins include a charcoal grill and a picnic table. The campground allows pets and offers full hookups, showers, laundry, Wi-Fi, a store, bike rental, and an RV dump station.

Campendium counts 30 sites, with about 10 pull-through sites and 20 back-in sites, plus tent spaces. The listing says the campground opens seasonally, but we could not confirm dates. Call before you travel in spring or fall.

Closed or Unverified Properties From Our Old Guide

Our earlier version of this guide named several places we could not find. We removed the Old Town Inn, the Virginia City Victorian Hostel, and the Historic Virginia Hotel. We found no listing for any of the three in Virginia City, Montana, on tourism sites, booking sites, or the state lodging directory.

One older photo caption in the post named a Virginia wine country villa in the state of Virginia. Another named an inn in Virginia City, Nevada. Neither belongs in a Montana guide. Virginia City, Nevada, is a separate town.

If you find an Old Town Inn or a Victorian Hostel on a booking site, check the state in the address. Search results mix the Montana town with the Nevada town and with the state of Virginia.

Cheap Hotels in Virginia City: How to Save Without Guessing

We cannot name a cheapest property, because we do not publish rates and prices change by date. You can still compare costs with a short routine.

Start with the campground cabins and the rentals with kitchens. A kitchen lets you cook some meals. The Carriage House, Governor Meagher Cabin, and the cabins at Just An Experience list kitchens or kitchenettes.

Compare the total with taxes and fees on two booking sites and by phone. Ask whether a shared bath lowers the nightly total at the Fairweather Inn. Ask about cancellation rules and about cleaning fees on rentals.

Visit outside the main season if your plans allow. Most attractions run from Memorial Day through Labor Day, so you trade fewer open sites for easier booking. Confirm lodging dates first, because the historic lodging runs from mid-May to mid-September.

Things to Do Near Your Hotel in Virginia City

Gold was found in Alder Gulch on May 26, 1863. Virginia City served as the Montana territorial capital from 1865 to 1875. The town and the surrounding area became a National Historic Landmark District in 1961. Nearly 300 structures remain, and about half date before 1900.

The Montana Heritage Commission runs the historic district. Visitors can pan for gold and ride the Alder Gulch Railroad to Nevada City. The railroad runs about 1.5 miles and takes roughly 15 minutes each way. Firetruck tours last about 35 minutes and leave hourly.

Live theater runs through the summer. The Virginia City Players put on family shows seven times a week, and the Brewery Follies targets adults. Cousin’s Candy Shop opened in 1926 and makes fudge daily. The Virginia City Creamery serves homemade ice cream. Ghost tours leave nightly from the Bale of Hay Saloon at 9 pm and from the Pioneer Bar at 4 pm and 8 pm.

Boot Hill holds the graves of road agents executed during the vigilante era. Season dates and tour times change, so check the Montana Heritage Commission before you plan a day.

Getting to Virginia City, Montana

You need a car. Montana Highway 287 runs through town. The highway leads east 14 miles to Ennis and northwest 28 miles to Twin Bridges. Nevada City lies on the same highway.

The Carriage House listing puts Bozeman about 70 miles away and Yellowstone about 90 miles away. We could not confirm drive times, so check a map for current road conditions. Winter driving needs extra care at this elevation of 5,919 feet.

Book lodging before you drive. The town has a few rooms in total, and a summer weekend can fill every option on this list.

How to Choose Where to Stay in Virginia City

Couples who want history should start with the Fairweather Inn or the Historic Bonanza Inn. Both stand in or beside the historic district.

Families should look at the cabins with kitchens and lofts, such as Just An Experience, or at the Rambling Moose cabins. A kitchen and extra beds give children room to spread out.

RV and tent travelers should call the Rambling Moose Campground. Pet owners should ask each property about pets in writing. We confirmed pets only at the campground.

Travelers who want a private bath and a quiet night should ask about the Bonanza Inn rooms. Guests who want a bath inside every room should confirm the room type at the Fairweather Inn.

Before you pay, confirm the property name, the cancellation policy, parking, and the front desk hours for late arrivals. Ask for a written confirmation.

What We Checked and What We Could Not

We checked the Fairweather Inn against the Southwest Montana tourism site, the Montana tourism site, the historic accommodations site, and the Montana Historical Society. We checked town history against Wikipedia and the Montana Heritage Commission pages. We took the Bonanza Inn, Governor Meagher Cabin, and Vigilante View details from Airbnb listings. We took the other cabin details from the Southwest Montana tourism site.

We could not confirm rates, check-in times, pet policies at most properties, or whether the Nevada City Hotel rents rooms today. We could not confirm opening dates for the campground. Phone numbers and policies change, so confirm each detail with the property.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Virginia City offers a short and honest lodging list. The Fairweather Inn and the Historic Bonanza Inn put you inside the historic district. Cabins, rentals, and the Rambling Moose Campground give you other options. Several places from our old guide could not be verified, so we removed them. Confirm the current property name, dates, and policies by phone, and book early for a summer trip to Virginia City.