Welcome
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Our mission at Grand Canyon Caverns has been to maintain this Historic Route 66 Classic for generations to come. We are committed to preservation of the caverns themselves. We continue to broaden our guests' understanding of this remarkable geologic site with consistent updating as new information becomes available. Our intention is to provide our visitors from around the world with a warm "Route 66" welcome every visit. Each year we work toward these goals, offering expanded hospitality services and good value. For immediate
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History
In 1927, a young
woodcutter, Walter Peck, was on his way to play poker with his friends. Before
reaching the game, he stumbled and nearly fell into a rather large,
funnel-shaped hole. Since he didn't have the proper equipment to explore the
hole, he continued on 
to the poker game. Once there he
started telling the boys about a new, big hole in the middle of his trail. The
next morning Walter gathered some friends. With ropes and lanterns, they went
to explore his new hole. A rope was tied around the waist of a local cowboy. He
was lowered into the hole. By the time his feet touched the floor of the hole,
150 feet of rope had been let out. He found himself in a very large, dark
cavern. Using the coal oil lantern, he began exploring. However, the only thing
that excited him was the thought he had found a very rich vein of gold. As he'd
cast the light from this lantern across the cavern it picked up some sparkles
in the rock. He quickly gathered up a sack full of samples. He gave his signal,
three tugs on the rope. Walter and the other men started pulling him back up
out to the hole. Upon reaching the surface he excitedly showed the samples to
Walter. Then he told his friends that , on a ledge at
the 50 foot level, he'd seen the remains of two human skeletons and remnants of
a horse saddle. By the time the newspapers had finished with the
story, these had become the remains of a prehistoric caveman with no mention of
the horse saddle. The story caused a great stir among people. Soon, scientists
had come from the east to pick up and study the bones. While all of this was
going on, Walter purchased the property and the Caverns in preparation for
mining gold!
The Man with the Plan
However, when the assay report came back, Walter was a mightily disappointed man. No gold was found -- only lots of iron oxide or rust! Walter had spent his money on an empty, funnel-shaped hole -- and a rust factory. But, being a very enterprising young man, he soon came up with a brilliant idea. He would charge 25 cents to enter the Caverns and to see where the "caveman" had been found. He built a very primitive elevator. Visitors were tied to one end of a rope and lowered down by a hand-operated winch. These early tourists were expected to provide their own light source, usually a kerosene lantern. Upon reaching the floor of the Caverns, it would be unwise to untie the rope and stray away. For, if the light source were dropped or otherwise lost, the pioneering spelunkers would find themselves in absolute darkness.
In late 1935, during the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) and the works Progress Administration(WPA), set up work camps to employ the many people out of work. The C.C.C. made a deal with Walter. If he would furnish all the materials, they would build a new entrance to the Caverns. When finished, this improved access included several components. The first 30 feet into the Caverns was a wooden staircase. Then came three ladders (15 feet each). The last 60 foot stretch was a beautiful swinging (suspension) bridge. This new entrance entailed 15 stories of walking in and 15 stories of walking out. After this phase of construction was completed, the price was increased to 50 cents a person. Now more than one person could enter the Caverns at a time! This was the only way in and out of the Caverns until 1962. Then, a new shaft was blasted 210 feet deep and a modern elevator was installed. At that time, the natural entrance was sealed off forever.
