Nelson
Ghost town · Shoshone County, Idaho

Nelson is a ghost town in Shoshone County, Idaho. It is one of 13 former communities in Shoshone County on the federal names register. No county in Idaho has more among the 36 Idaho counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Nelson as a historical populated place on the Grizzly Mountain topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 47.6541° N, 116.0899° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Grizzly Mountain |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 2,288 ft |
| Nearest living town | Kellogg, ID |
| Distance to it | 8.5 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 399357 |
| Coordinates | 47.65409, -116.08989 |
What's there now
Nelson is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Kellogg, ID (population 2,232), about 8.5 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 2,288 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Steamboatghost town · Shoshone County · 3 mi
- Sunsetghost town · Shoshone County · 13.5 mi
- Masoniaghost town · Shoshone County · 14.6 mi
- Friscoghost town · Shoshone County · 14.6 mi
- Black Bearghost town · Shoshone County · 14.6 mi
- Burkeghost town · Shoshone County · 15.6 mi
- Carbonateghost town · Shoshone County · 20.5 mi
- Dorseyghost town · Shoshone County · 20.7 mi
- Pottsvilleghost town · Shoshone County · 22.1 mi
- Boraxghost town · Shoshone County · 24.7 mi
- Bullionghost town · Shoshone County · 24.9 mi
- Kyleghost town · Shoshone County · 27.4 mi
Questions
Where is Nelson?
Nelson is in Shoshone County, Idaho, at 47.6541, -116.0899.
How many ghost towns are in Shoshone County?
Shoshone County, Idaho has 13 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.
- USGS Geographic Names Information System (Domestic Names) — GNIS Domestic Names, feature record (public-domain)
- U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line and ACS — Census Gazetteer + ACS 5-year population (public-domain)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.