Cool Arizona Places Grand Canyon Caverns

There is nothing better on a hot summer day than going cave exploring. Hidden away amid the high grassy plains and juniper-dotted hills of northern Arizona, Grand Canyon Caverns were formed in the limestone bed of an ancient sea that once covered the region. The caverns are now dry, meaning they support no life. The caverns went through many names until 1962, when an experiment was performed to determine their size. Red smoke bombs were set off in the caverns. Two weeks later, red smoke was spotted wafting from a crack in the Grand Canyon, 63 miles away.

Grand Canyon Caverns have been snagging Route 66 travelers almost as long as there’s been a Route 66. In 1927, a young woodcutter named Walter Peck was on his way to a poker game when he nearly fell into a hole. Peck bought the property, believing it to contain mineral wealth. When that proved false, he opened the caverns for tours. Visitors plunked down a quarter for the privilege of being lowered by rope 150 feet into a massive, pitch-black hole.

The enterprise became one of the first roadside attractions of Route 66, which had been commissioned in 1926. During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps created a new entrance to the caverns, building wooden staircases and a swinging suspension bridge. Now more than one person at a time could enter. After these improvements, the admission price was raised to 50 cents.

Today, visitors descend in comfort via a 21-story elevator. Guided tours last about 45 minutes and cover three-quarters of a mile, moving through chambers and tunnels. Guides lead you through the dramatic depths, past flowstone formations and walls glittering with selenite crystals. Guests will meet Gertie the Ground Sloth, a 15-foot-tall statue re-created from skeletal remains found in the cave. Giant ground sloths roamed the area about 16,000 years ago. Somehow one stumbled into the caverns and became trapped. Long claw marks rake the walls where the creature tried to escape.

There’s also a large stockpile of food and water neatly stacked. The supplies were hauled in during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963. The rations, enough to support 2,000 people for two weeks, were never needed. But because of the cool, dry conditions of the cave the food remains edible today.

Stout-hearted guests with fat wallets can spend the night in the Cave Room, a hotel suite 220 feet below the surface. It is a comfortable platform room in a chamber 400 feet long by 200 feet wide. It has two double beds, a living area with sofa, a bathroom and other amenities for $700 per night.

The complex also includes a topside motel, restaurant, RV park, riding stables and gift shop. Cave tours cost $16.95, $12.95 for ages 5-12. 

Location: 22 miles west of Seligman on Route 66 at Mile Marker 115. 928-422-3223, 
Website: http://www.gccaverns.com.

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