The Independence gold mine is located outside of Sun Valley and down Independence Gulch. The mine consists of numerous mining roads, tailing piles, metal and wood artifacts. There is a entrance to a mine shaft but it was still buried in snow when I visited. There is also an old trailed with some shelves.
The Hornsilver mine is a large, open pit silver and gold mine in the Arco desert. There are two large pits, a runoff pond and an old building from the original mine. The area appears very polluted with heavy metals and there are numerous signs posted warning to not drink or go in the water. It's an easy hike from the road up to the pit. It smelled like sulphur.
The Edres Mine is a lead and silver mine located down Townsend Gulch outside of Bellevue. The mine entrance is still visible and with bars preventing entrance into the mine. There are lot's of metal and wood artifacts lying around. The tailing piles are visible from pretty far away.
The Eureka Mine is located in Bullion Gulch outside of Hailey. The mine has many collapsed structures and one standing building. The mine also has an exposed mine shaft. I dropped a rock into the shaft and never heard it hit the bottom. Use extreme caution when visiting this mine. There are large tailing piles on either side of the road. There are lot's of artifacts scattered around the area.
The Memorial Silver Prospect is a small mine that is visible from highway 75. There are a couple openings covered by iron bars. Easily accessible from Toe of the Hill trail.
The Custer Ghost Town is located past the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge. It was established as a mining town in 1877. It is now a museum that contains many artifacts from the era.
There is an active open-pit mining operation on the edge of the Frank Church Wilderness of No Return. It's located past the Yankee Fork Gold Dredge up Loon Creek. You get the best view of the operation from the top of the winding switch back near the Loon Creek Summit.
