This post is part of an ongoing project: scanning my old slides, prints, and negatives (late 1970’s to 2004) to digital.
Ghost Town In The Sky is 3,300 feet above the small town of Maggie Valley, North Carolina. It is located atop Buck Mountain, with a top elevation of 4,650 ft. Ghost Town opened as a very popular Wild-West themed amusement park in 1961 and was promoted as “North Carolina’s mile-high theme park.” At one point, 620,000 people visited Ghost Town each year.
(Side note: Frequent Fliers may find the promotional tag amusing)
The park fell upon hard times in the 2000s and closed several times. It finally shut down permanently in 2016. Its final fate is unknown.
I visited the park in its heyday in September, 1986, accompanied by “A Lovely Model” and son.
The park was accessible by chairlift and, for a long time, an incline railroad.
The views from the top were spectacular.
The park featured a Wild West town, complete with staged shootouts,…
and local artisans,…
and rides.
With a young one in tow, we limited ourselves to kid-appropriate rides.
The park also featured, at one time or another, the Red Devil Cliffhanger roller coaster, Goldrusher, Sea Dragon, Monster, Black Widow Scrambler, Bumper Cars, Dream Catcher Paratrooper, Casino, Round Up, Merry Go Round, Silver Bullet flume, and the Ghost Town Train.
(notice A Lovely Model and Son at upper left)
Corporate advertising was provided gratis.
Good-bye, Ghost Town.
Slides were scanned to digital on June 17, 2025
Click here to see full-size, no watermark, images at www.ImagesByBill.us
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June 19, 2025
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