Grand Gulch Mine

History

The Grand Gulch was discovered in 1874 by a member of the Shivwits band of Paiute Native Americans who found a vein of high-grade copper that was 50% pure.  He told the residents of St. George about his find and soon after, several people ventured out to the remote region and started a mining operation.  By 1878, an adobe stone smelter was built but was never used.  Ironically, the chimney still stands today as one of the mine’s more prominent features.

The biggest challenge of the Grand Gulch mine was its remote location and hauling the ore to market was a costly task back then.  It was 90 miles on primitive trails to St. George and a round trip for pack trains hauling ore took about a week.  Then from St. George, the ore was hauled by wagon all the way to the railroad in Milford, Utah – almost 200 miles away from the mine!  From there, it was shipped to Salt Lake City for smelting.  Rising shipping costs caused the mine to close in 1882.  Try to imagine how difficult it must have been back then as you travel to the mine today in your modern vehicle with an engine and rubber tires!

In 1899, the mine was purchased by a new entity and work began at the site again including the sinking of a 500 foot-deep shaft.  In 1905, hauling expenses were reduced thanks to a 73-mile long road that was constructed to a railhead near the town of Moapa, Nevada.  Then later, in 1912, the haul road was reduced to 45 miles when a rail line was completed to the town of St. Thomas (that now sits at the bottom of Lake Mead). 

Teams of up to 10 horses were used to haul 8 to 12 tons of ore at a time.  The road squeezed through a very narrow and twisty canyon where the teamsters used specially trained horses to get through the tight turns.  Today, this route makes a great hike in Gold Butte National Monument.  These were successful years for the Grand Gulch.  They lasted until 1919 when the demand for copper after World War I decreased and the ore began to run out.

Starting in 1955, a new entity began reworking the ore dumps of the mine using new technology to extract precious metals but no actual mining was done during this phase.  Two classic Euclid dump trucks were used for hauling the ore to Hurricane (just east of St. George) for processing.  This didn’t last long, though, as the trucks were expensive to operate.  Today, those two trucks are still parked at the Grand Gulch site with their radiator fans spinning whenever the wind blows.

From 1901 to 1961, 6.6 million pounds of copper were extracted from the Grand Gulch as well as 24,349 ounces of silver and 715 pounds of lead.  When the National Monument was formed in 2000, a small portion of land was left out of the monument because the Grand Gulch still had active mining claims.  When you visit the site today, there are specific instructions to stay out of those areas as it is private property and someone may actually be mining it.  The two times we’ve visited the site, however, we saw no evidence of active mining.

Ranching

As seen on the video, cattle ranching is still an active industry on the Arizona Strip, including on the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument itself.  When you pass by active ranching activity or cattle drives, please treat them with respect.  Either pull over or drive by slowly.  These people are hard workers and make a living on the land you’re passing through.

Between Pigeon Canyon and the Grand Gulch Mine, two ranching areas will be passed.  These are not ranches per sei, but outposts of cattle ranching operations.  These sites consist of corrals, cabin ruins, and watering facilities.  Some of them are still in use today, so do not disturb them.  These outposts certainly add a dimension to the Arizona Strip landscape, as did the historic Grand Gulch Mine we’re visiting.

Getting There

Start your journey to the Grand Gulch Mine by first stopping at the BLM office on Riverside Drive in St. George.  Check road and other conditions with the staff here first before setting out into the remote expanses of the Arizona Strip.  The road conditions can, at times, be easy-going, but other times are impassable.  Because of the remoteness of the area, be prepared with food, water and other backcountry supplies and we also recommend that you travel with at least one other vehicle.  There is NO cell phone service.

From St. George, take I-15 south to Southern Parkway (Hwy 7) and exit at River Road.  Turn right and the pavement quickly turns to dirt as you cross the Arizona State line.  Reset your odometer, then continue on this road for 38.3 miles and turn right onto road 103.  Stay on 103 and when your trip odometer hits 63.9, look for and turn right onto road 1002.

Shortly after this turn, road 1002 dips down into Pigeon Canyon and here is where the road may become rough.  When driving through here, be sure to look up at the canyon walls to enjoy the rock formations.  They are one of the highlights of this trip.  There is also a wide variety of desert fauna growing here that changes as the road descends.  You start in a Pinyon-Juniper woodland environment that slowly changes into a high-desert.

After driving just over 78 miles on dirt from the Utah border, the Grand Gulch Mine is finally reached and the two Euclid trucks greet you at the end of the road.  Although much of the mining equipment has been removed and sold for scrap and many of the buildings have deteriorated, there is quite a bit left to see.  Next to the two trucks is the ruins of a brick building built in 1900 that served as the mine’s headquarters.  Across the road from this building is the adobe smelter chimney which sits in the area where the mining took place.  Behind the chimney are many mounds from multiple digs plus a few structures beyond that.  These are all on the existing claims that should be treated as private property.  Continuing a short distance down the road, you will see the old bunkhouse built in 1907.  A road bearing left goes to an airstrip built during the 1955 phase and is popular with pilots who can fly in and explore the site.