Grand Canyon Caverns

Walter Peck purchased this property in 1927 after accidentally discovering the caverns. He thought he'd get rich mining gold, which didn't work out because there wasn't any gold there.

So he did the next best thing and turned the caverns into a tourist attraction. For 25 cents he'd tied a rope around the visitors waist and lower them into the pit, sound like fun?

Thanks to the Great Depression the U.S. Government used a couple of programs, the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) and Works Progress Administration (WPA), to give people jobs and build Walter a new entrance to the Caverns in the mid 1930's. No more dangling by a rope!

That worked out pretty well because it let visitors start their tours of the cavern by walking down some wooden steps, climbing down some ladders and crossing a swinging bridge. That lasted until 1962 when a new entrance with an actual elevator was built.

The caverns have had several names over the years, among them, the Coconico Caverns, and in 1957 it became the Dinosaur Caverns. For the last 70+ years starting in 1962 it has been known as the Grand Canyon Caverns, that one seems to have stuck.

The giant dinosaur stands ready to have it's photo taken by happy travelers.

The motel office, general store and bar building are out front. The restaurant and gift/souvenir shop are about a mile off Route 66 in the main Caverns building.

The motel buildings sit back a bit from the road. But wait! There's more! They even have an underground motel guest suite down in the caves!

Need more dinosaurs? No problem, they have a few corralled next to the parking lot!

Photo(s): 2013 - 2015