East Carbon, Utah is not technically abandoned, but it is a town that has lost most of its reason for existing. Once two separate coal-mining communities — East Carbon and Sunnyside — they merged in 1991 as the mines were shutting down. The Sunnyside coal operations, which had employed thousands since the early 1900s, closed for good in the 1990s. What remains is a community of a few hundred people scattered among blocks of empty houses, derelict company buildings, and infrastructure that once served a population six times larger. It occupies a strange middle ground: too inhabited to be called a ghost town, too hollowed out to be called a living one.
Built on Coal, Abandoned by It
The Sunnyside Coal Camp (1901–1940s)
The Utah Fuel Company established the Sunnyside coal camp around 1901 to supply coal to the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. The location was ideal — thick seams of bituminous coal ran through the Book Cliffs just above the valley, and the railroad could carry it directly east and west. By the 1910s, Sunnyside had become one of the most productive coal operations in Utah, with a company town built around the mines — company-owned houses, a company store, a bathhouse, and eventually a school and churches. East Carbon developed separately on lower ground as an independent town for workers who preferred to own rather than rent from the company. At their peak in the 1950s, the combined communities housed over 3,500 people and had a functioning Main Street, multiple churches, and a local economy entirely dependent on what came out of the ground.
The Long Shutdown (1950s–1990s)
The decline came in stages. Competition from oil and natural gas ate into coal’s market share through the 1950s and 1960s. Mechanization reduced the workforce even as output continued. Each closure of a mine or reduction in workforce sent another wave of families packing. Businesses on Main Street followed. By the 1980s, the two communities had lost more than half their peak population. In 1991, East Carbon and Sunnyside officially merged to form East Carbon City, partly in hopes that consolidating resources would stabilize what remained. The Sunnyside mines shut down completely in the mid-1990s, removing the last major employer and accelerating the exodus.
What Remains
Today East Carbon is a quiet, sparsely populated community on the edge of the Book Cliffs, about 18 miles southeast of Price. Many of the old company-era structures have been demolished or have collapsed, but the grid of streets remains, with houses spread unevenly across blocks that were once fully occupied. The old Sunnyside mine site above town has largely been reclaimed, though the landscape still bears the marks of decades of extraction. A small number of residents remain — some with roots going back generations, others who stay for the cheap land, the solitude, or lack of anywhere else to go. It is a town that has not quite given up, but has lost most of what it was built for.
What’s Left to See
East Carbon is not a curated historic site — it’s a real, still-inhabited town with the quiet weight of industrial decline. Most visitors come as a stop on a longer Carbon County loop rather than as a destination in itself.
The original company town site above East Carbon, where rows of identical company houses once stood. Many structures are gone, but the layout and remnants of the old camp are visible.
The dramatic escarpment of the Book Cliffs rises directly above town — one of the longest unbroken cliff lines in the world. The views from the upper roads looking back across Carbon County are striking.
About 40 miles northwest, Nine Mile Canyon is known as the world’s longest art gallery — thousands of Fremont-era petroglyphs and pictographs carved into canyon walls over 1,000 years ago. A must-do on any Carbon County trip.
The neighbouring town of Helper, 20 miles away, is a better-preserved example of a Utah coal-era town and has reinvented itself as an arts community. The Western Mining and Railroad Museum there provides essential context for East Carbon’s history.
How to Get to East Carbon
East Carbon is in Carbon County, Utah, tucked against the base of the Book Cliffs about 18 miles southeast of Price. It is only accessible by car.
Visitor Tips
- Combine with Nine Mile Canyon petroglyphs and Helper’s Western Mining Museum for a full Carbon County day trip
- This is a real town with real residents — be respectful of private property when photographing
- The Book Cliffs roads above town require a high-clearance vehicle and should not be attempted after rain
- Price has the nearest accommodation, food, and fuel — plan accordingly
- Late spring and early fall offer the best light and temperatures; summer can be very hot on the valley floor