With fewer than 10 inches of rainfall annually in south-central Idaho and northeastern Nevada, what you see is mostly what you get. Including, in the spirit of the season, ghost towns.

There are more than a dozen between Wells, Nev., to the south and Ketchum on the north, and from Silver City on the west and Idahome to the east, that are readily accessible.

But not always accessible.

For example, Owyhee County's Silver City - the undisputed queen of Idaho ghost towns - is 6,200 feet up in the Owyhee Mountains and reachable only by unimproved roads 79 miles south of Boise. It's not a good winter destination.

And the historical remains in the old Atlanta mining district northwest of Fairfield - including fabulous Rocky Bar - are typically snowed in after Thanksgiving.

But for day trips and family outings, here are the top eight ghost towns in the northern Great Basin.

1. Silver City

It's a bit of a project, but a trip to Silver City is a must for anyone interested in ghost towns or Idaho history - or both. And the next fortnight may be the best time of year to visit Idaho's most complete remaining ghost town.

By Veterans Day, snow may cover New York Summit, the high point on a kidney-busting 23-mile drive from the nearest paved highway. Before then, you'll have Silver City - site of an epic silver and gold rush in the 1860s - mostly to yourself.

The Idaho Hotel, the city's signature structure, is open through the end of October, but most of the 100 or so folks who live part of the year in Silver City have long since thought about decamping someplace warmer for the winter. And virtually all of the 35,000 tourists who come here annually are gone.

You can wander Jordan and Washington streets, peer into historic structures, visit the pioneer cemetery and generally experience a ghost town when it's best experienced - empty.

The surrounding area is wooded and gorgeous in the fall, and while amenities are non-existent - even the water gets turned off in November so the town's pipes don't freeze - it's a fine place for a picnic and an afternoon outing.

But take a full tank of gas, check the forecast before you go and be alert for sudden changes in weather. Most passenger vehicles can navigate the eclectic road from Idaho Highway 78, but there are no service stations in Silver City, and cell phone reception in the Owyhee Mountains is intermittent.

War Eagle Mountain just to the east of Silver City brought thousands of prospectors in search of silver and gold here. At its zenith, 2,500 people lived in Silver City, which had six general stores, eight saloons and a brewery, a hospital, several brothels, Idaho's first telegraph service and its first newspaper.

Silver City is a four- to five-hour drive from Twin Falls. Take Interstate 84 to Hammett, then follow Highway 78 to Bruneau Dunes State Park. Continue past the park turnoff to the intersection with Idaho Highway 51, then turn left. Drive five miles south to Bruneau and two miles beyond, picking up Highway 78 again. Follow Idaho 78 about 25 miles past Grand View, until you see a historical marker and a sign pointing to Silver City, then turn off the highway and follow the dirt road up Striker Creek Basin Gulch, across Sinker Canyon and up Scotch Bob Creek to New York Summit, then down to Silver City along Jordan Creek.

If you need to fill up your car, do it in Grand View. And this time of year, take along extra blankets and food, just in case.

2. Contact, Nev.

Few ghost towns sit beside a major federal highway, but Contact always was unique among Great Basin boomtowns. A dozen miles south of Jackpot off U.S. Highway 93, the settlement was organized in 1887 after silver strikes on nearby China and Blanchard mountains. According to the Web site elkorose.com, the population peaked in 1897, but the mines played out and Contact was virtually abandoned by 1905.

U.S. Mining and Smelting Co. revived the district a couple of years later, and by 1907 Contact had 300 residents and rival townsites were platted. The population grew throughout World War I, and by the 1920s, Contact had several hotels. The Wells Branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad arrived in 1925, but the Great Depression dried up investment. After a boomlet during World War II, the community disappeared although mining continued until 1958 - copper, lead, silver, zinc, gold.

At the old Contact site, the rock walls of one of the first stores stand near the remains of the school.

A few folks still live in the Contact area, however, so respect private property. And beware of hidden mine shafts and rattlesnakes.

3. Metropolis, Nev.

Elkorose.com contains some fascinating history of one of the least-known corners of the lower 48 states, including the extensive ruins of Metropolis, a land promotion scheme of the Pacific Reclamation Co. located 12 miles northwest of Wells. Using a name denoting a large city and prosperity, the company started the settlement in 1911, according to local amateur historian Howard Hickson. Drought, water rights litigation, high interest rates, jackrabbits and Mormon crickets contributed to the demise of the town and surrounding farms.

For information about Metropolis, call the Northeastern Nevada Museum in Elko at (775) 738-3418.

4. Muldoon

Located 17 miles east of Bellevue, across the Little Wood River and up Muldoon Creek, Muldoon was named after a champion wrestler of the day, according to Wayne Sparling, author of "Ghost Towns of Idaho" (Caxton, $12.95). Established in 1881 to serve the silver mines up Muldoon and Argosy creeks, the town had a population of 1,500 at its peak - with livery stables, saloons, stores, houses and a hotel - but it lasted only a dozen years. A smelter was built nearby along with 23 charcoal kilns to furnish it with fuel. Today only a black slag pile and the remains of the kilns are left, according to Sparling.

5. Idahome

In 1914, a group of entrepreneurs took one look at the broad swath of the Raft River Valley and imagined a paradise.

The outbreak of World War I had sent grain prices soaring, and the endless Cassia County grasslands were ideal for barley and hard red winter wheat. Idahome, built astride the main north-south highway between the Snake River Plain and Utah, was supposed to be the nexus of that vision. But farm prices fell hard after the Armistice, and a decade of drought finished off Idahome before the Great Depression could.

The remains are seven miles north of Malta on Idaho Highway 77.

6. Henry, Nev.

Henry, south of Contact, was a depot and water station on the Oregon Short Line, according to elkorose.com. The station came into being in late 1925 and was named after Henry Harris, a popular black foreman for the Sparks-Harrell cattle empire. Harris had come from Texas and served as a cook for Nevada Gov. John Sparks. After moving to Elko County, he became respected and admired for his knowledge of the cattle industry.

A couple of ranches grew near Henry and used the depot for shipping cattle. Because of the number of children on nearby ranches, a school operated at Henry during the 1930s and '40s. By time the Oregon Short Line ended operations and pulled up its rails in 1978, the area was empty.

The small depot, adjoined by the water pump and tower, remain today amid a stand of trees. For information about Henry, call the Northeastern Nevada Museum in Elko at (775) 738-3418.

7. Doniphan

Located 11 southwest of Hailey, Doniphan flourished for 20 years beginning in the 1880s. Little remains of the town because fires have burned over the sagebrush, but the ruins of the Big Camas Mill still stand a short distance away.

In its heyday, Doniphan had a post office, store, houses, saloons and schools. It served the mines - the Tip Top, the Big Camas, the Hidden Treasure and the Black Cinder - of the Hailey Gold Belt. The Big Camas and the Black Cinder were the first silver mines in what's now Blaine County.

8. Bullion City

This one is seven miles west of Hailey at the mouth of Bullion Gulch. By 1882, it had a population of about 700, according to Sparling. The silver that flowed from the Mayflower, Jay Gould, May Queen and Idaho mines made Hailey possible. But as Hailey thrived, Bullion City dwindled until the post office was closed in 1890. Many mine dumps remain in the narrow gulch.

Steve Crump may be reached at 735-3223 or scrump@magicvalley.com.