Prairie Elk
Ghost town · McCone County, Montana

Prairie Elk is a ghost town in McCone County, Montana. It is one of 13 former communities in McCone County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 12th among the 55 Montana counties with a vanished settlement on record.
The U.S. Geological Survey lists Prairie Elk as a historical populated place on the Sadie Coulee 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 47.7833° N, 105.8631° W.
Key facts
| USGS quadrangle | Sadie Coulee |
|---|---|
| Elevation | 2,230 ft |
| Nearest living town | Vida, MT |
| Distance to it | 17.5 miles |
| GNIS feature ID | 1716175 |
| Coordinates | 47.78334, -105.86307 |
What's there now
Prairie Elk is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Vida, MT (population 60), about 17.5 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 2,230 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.
Nearby places
- Sand Creekghost town · McCone County · 10.1 mi
- Hamblinghost town · McCone County · 12 mi
- Pearmondghost town · McCone County · 15.5 mi
- Presservilleghost town · McCone County · 17.7 mi
- Coal Creekghost town · McCone County · 19.7 mi
- Lost Creekghost town · McCone County · 22.6 mi
- Pleasant Valleyghost town · McCone County · 23 mi
- Paxtonghost town · Dawson County · 26.5 mi
- Redwaterghost town · McCone County · 27.5 mi
- Wiotaghost town · Valley County · 28.5 mi
- Cactus Flatghost town · McCone County · 30.8 mi
- McCone Cityghost town · McCone County · 31 mi
Questions
Where is Prairie Elk?
Prairie Elk is in McCone County, Montana, at 47.7833, -105.8631.
How many ghost towns are in McCone County?
McCone County, Montana 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.