If you’ve ever driven west from Lovell toward Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, you’ve passed near one of Wyoming’s most intriguing ghost towns. Kane, Wyoming, was once a bustling agricultural and transportation hub where ranchers, railroad workers, merchants, and travelers gathered. Today, much of the former townsite lies beneath the high water marks of Bighorn Lake, leaving behind only stories, the Kane-Iona Cemetery, interpretive signs, and scattered archaeological remains that occasionally reappear during periods of low water.
Founded in 1912 along the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Kane quickly became an important shipping point for lumber, cattle, sheep, and agricultural products moving through the northern Bighorn Basin. The community also served as the location of the Kane Ferry, the only crossing of the Bighorn River north of Greybull for many years. Before bridges connected the region, ranchers relied on the ferry to move livestock between the communities of Cowley, Byron, Garland, and the Bighorn Mountains.
As the town grew, so did its amenities. By the 1930s, Kane featured two general stores, a bank, hotel and boarding house, a school, a dance hall, service stations, and a thriving business district. Saturday night dances brought families from across the surrounding countryside, turning the small community into a social center for northern Big Horn County.
The town’s fortunes changed with progress. Construction of the Dayton-Kane Road and a highway bridge eliminated the need for the ferry, but tourism along the new highway kept the community alive for several more decades.
Everything changed during the 1960s with construction of Yellowtail Dam. The new reservoir, Bighorn Lake, would flood the entire townsite. The federal government purchased the properties, residents relocated, and unlike many communities displaced by reservoirs, Kane was never rebuilt elsewhere. By 1967, as Yellowtail Dam was completed and Bighorn Lake filled, much of the Kane townsite was inundated.
Today, only a few reminders remain. The Kane-Iona Cemetery still overlooks the area, preserving the names of many early settlers. Historic interpretive signs help visitors imagine the community that once stood there, while old bridge abutments and railroad features hint at its former importance. During exceptionally low lake levels, remnants of foundations occasionally emerge from beneath the water.
Visiting Kane today offers a unique perspective on the changing landscape of the Bighorn Basin. While the buildings are gone, the stories remain. Standing near the shoreline, it’s remarkable to imagine trains arriving, ferries crossing the river, and families gathering for dances in a town now hidden beneath the lake.
For history enthusiasts exploring the Bighorn Basin, Kane is a reminder that not all ghost towns fade away through abandonment. Some simply disappear with changing infrastructure, preserving their history in memory rather than on the landscape.
Planning Your Visit
Kane is located within the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, just west of Lovell. Visitors can explore the area using interpretive signs, visit the historic cemetery, enjoy scenic overlooks of Bighorn Lake, and combine the trip with nearby attractions including Horseshoe Bend, Devil Canyon Overlook, and the South District Visitor Center.
Learn More
- National Park Service: Kane Town History – https://www.nps.gov/bica/learn/historyculture/kane-town-history.htm
- Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area – https://www.nps.gov/bica/
- Wyoming Office of Tourism: Lovell-Kane Area Museum – https://travelwyoming.com/listing/lovell-kane-area-museum/1524/
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