The site of Phantom Ranch and the areas around it were used by various Native American peoples for millennia. Numerous artifacts, including split-twig figurines carbon dated at 4000 years old, have been discovered in nearby caves. Puebloan peoples built pit houses and a ceremonial kiva in the area around AD 1050, and likely survived by hunting and growing corn, beans, and squash.[2]Paiute and Havasupai people also inhabited Grand Canyon for many centuries and probably visited the area, although no direct evidence of this has yet been discovered.
The earliest recorded visit by European Americans took place in 1869, when John Wesley Powell and his company camped on the beach at the confluence of Bright Angel Creek and the Colorado River. It was Powell who gave Bright Angel Creek its name, contrasting its clear, sparkling waters with the turbulent, salty, muddy waters of a creek he and his men had passed earlier and named Dirty Devil.[3] Powell explored the area briefly and discovered the Puebloan ruins.
In 1903, after François E. Matthes completed his pioneering survey work of Grand Canyon for the US Geological Survey,[4] Edwin Woolley and other investors formed the Grand Canyon Transportation Company, hoping to develop the tourist potential of the Canyon's north rim in the same way that the Santa Fe Railroad was doing at the south rim. Woolley hired his son-in-law David Rust to improve an ancient Native American route that Matthes had used to travel down Bright Angel Creek to the Colorado River. By 1907 Rust and his crew had completed the trail work and added a small tent camp alongside the Creek at the bottom.[5] Rust planted native willows and cottonwoods to give the camp shade, grew alfalfa (for livestock), peaches, and plums, and raised chickens and rabbits as food for guests.[6]Theodore Roosevelt, who as president had declared Grand Canyon a National Monument in 1908, traveled down to the camp during a hunting expedition in 1913; in honor of this visit the site became known as Roosevelt Camp.[7]
Roosevelt's enthusiasm for Grand Canyon helped lead to its incorporation into the National Park System in 1919. Rust's concession for the camp was transferred to the Fred Harvey Company, which hired American architect Mary Colter to design permanent lodging for the site. Construction presented a major challenge, as all the building materials except rock had to be hauled down by mules. Colter's solution was to create buildings from on-site rock and rough-hewn wood, in an architectural style that would come to be known as National Park Service Rustic.[8] Fred Harvey officials had intended to call the new lodge Roosevelt Chalet, but Coulter insisted on the more evocative "Phantom Ranch", taking the name from nearby Phantom Creek and Phantom Canyon. When the Ranch opened on November 9, 1922, it consisted of a central cooking and dining hall surrounded by three guest cabins and a caretaker's cabin; other structures, not designed by Coulter, included a barn, chicken house, rabbit run, blacksmith shop, and water reservoir.[9]
The Ranch's initial success quickly led to plans for enlargement and additional features. A small orchard and a vegetable garden were planted using some of the same land that Rust had previously cultivated. In 1925 four tent cabins, each sleeping four persons, were added, followed by a wooden bath house and an electric power generator. In 1927–28 Coulter oversaw the construction of a recreation hall, eight new cabins, and an enlargement of the dining hall.[6]
During the Great Depression the Civilian Conservation Corps made a number of upgrades to the Ranch, including a mule corral, the Trans-Canyon Telephone Line, improved plumbing and sewage systems, and a 35' x 70' pond-shaped swimming pool, fed by the waters of Bright Angel Creek.[10] The 1930s saw the Ranch's popularity continue to grow, its isolation and relaxed atmosphere drawing many wealthy and notable guests, some of whom would stay for days or even weeks at a time. The writer Adrian Harbin, after a 1937 visit, wrote:
Phantom Ranch is one of the earth’s most restful spots. Time for a swim or shower before dinner. This meal is served family style and if you prefer to stand after eight miles in the saddle, dinner will be served on a shelf.[11]
Through the end of World War II mule riding was the main method of getting around in Grand Canyon and the most popular way for tourists to experience the views that only traveling below the rims could bring. This began to change in the late 1940s as more and more people―many of them former soldiers who were used to walking long distances with packs on their backs―became interested in the idea of hiking for recreation and sight-seeing.[12] Well into the 1950s commercial mule trips from both the south and north rims were responsible for transporting about 2/3 of the guests that stayed at Phantom Ranch, with hikers taking any remaining space (mostly in the four tent cabins from 1925) on a first-come, first-serve basis.[13] As the popularity of hiking continued to grow, however, the need for different priorities became apparent. During Easter weekend in 1964 nearly 1000 hikers arrived at the Ranch with the intention of spending the night, leading the National Park Service to finally establish a reservation system for the Ranch and begin looking for ways to add additional hiker accommodations.
The growing crowds and a natural disaster combined to put increasing strains on the Ranch's infrastructure as the 1960s progressed. In 1966 an immense flash flood swept through the inner canyon, stranding visitors and mules at the Ranch and damaging or destroying numerous buildings and structures in the area. The flooding also uprooted many of the cottonwood trees lining the banks of Bright Angel Creek. By the time the waters receded most of nearby Bright Angel Campground had been destroyed as well.[9] Repairs from the flood took several years to complete. The increase in visitors in this period caused recurring maintenance problems for the swimming pool which, along with more stringent hygiene regulations, led to the pool's permanent closing by the early 1970s.[14] A sewage treatment plant, replacing the overburdened septic tanks that had been installed by the CCC in the 1930s, was completed in 1981.
In June 2020, the sewage treatment plant began experiencing problems and it soon became clear that "critical rehabilitation" would be needed. The project has been estimated to take 18 to 24 months and in the meantime, usage levels in the area were reduced in order to reduce the load on the plant. Hiker dormitories, already closed since March 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, remained closed through 2021, along with the showers; nearby Bright Angel Campground will be limited to 50 percent capacity.[15] Visitation levels have been much above its designed capacity and the $3 million rehabilitation is only a temporary measure; the plant will eventually need to be fully replaced.[16]
Phantom Ranch in the 21st century
Phantom Ranch remains a very popular destination, and is considered one of the most difficult hotels in the United States to get reservations for.[17] All accommodations are offered 15 months in advance via a monthly lottery system and usually sell out immediately.[18]
The site currently includes nine regular cabins which sleep 1–4 persons, four or five of which are taken almost every night by mule riders. In addition, there are two large cabins, sleeping 8–10 persons, which are used by Colorado River boat groups and big hiking parties. All cabins are equipped with bedding, a cold water sink, a toilet, liquid soap, and hand towels; cabin guests shower in the centrally located Shower House. There are also four hiker dormitories (two for men and two for women), which were built in the 1970s, replacing the four 1925 tent cabins. Each dormitory has 10 beds set up in bunks, a sink, a toilet, and a shower; bedding, towels, and soap are provided. Total capacity for the Ranch is about 90 guests per night. (The dormitories, closed in March 2020 due to COVID social distancing restrictions, remain closed due to the ongoing work on the sewage treatment plant.) The dining hall, now called Phantom Ranch Canteen, serves breakfast and dinner on a strict schedule and requires advance reservations; the Canteen is open to the public during non-meal hours, offering a small variety of items including snacks, beverages, stamps, T-shirts, postcards, headlamps, and first-aid supplies.[19] Additional facilities include the mule corral, a small amphitheater, employee housing, a ranger station (with limited emergency medical services), and a heliport. Cottonwood trees, a few of which date back to the time of Rust's tent camp, line the creek and shade the buildings. Campers from Bright Angel Campground are not allowed to use the Shower House, but may reserve meals at the Canteen.
The only modes of access to and from Phantom Ranch are trails (used by both hikers and mules) and the Colorado River. The North Kaibab Trail leads 13.6 miles to the North Rim. Two trails lead to the South Rim. One is the 9.3 mile route that crosses the Silver Bridge, follows the River Trail for two miles, and then climbs the Bright Angel Trail to Grand Canyon Village. The other is the steeper 7.1 mile route across the Black Bridge and up the South Kaibab Trail. The two bridges, about 700 meters apart, are the only Colorado River crossings within a several-hundred-mile span.[20]
Phantom Ranch has no official mail service (unlike Supai, Arizona[21]), but concessionaires have traditionally transported letters and postcards by mule. Packages are excluded from this service.[22][23]
Cabins at Phantom Ranch
Geography
Phantom Ranch's elevation is 2,460 feet (750m); that is about 4,800 feet (1,500m) lower than the South Rim and about 5,800 feet (1,800m) lower than the North Rim.
The average daily high and low temperatures are 106°F (41°C)/78°F (26°C) during July and 56°F (13°C)/36°F (2°C) in January. This represents a wide differential from temperatures at the top of the Grand Canyon; at the South Rim, the average daily high and low temperatures are 84°F (29°C)/54°F (12°C) in July and 41°F (5°C)/18°F (−8°C) in January. The South Rim averages 58 inches (150cm) of snow, and Phantom Ranch less than 1 inch (2.5cm). The riparian zone at the ranch is subject to invasion by non-native species such as tamarix, and volunteers are at times invited to help maintain the original biome by removing them.
Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often considered one of the Wonders of the World. The park, which covers 1,217,262 acres of unincorporated area in Coconino and Mohave counties, received more than six million recreational visitors in 2017, which is the second highest count of all American national parks after Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Grand Canyon was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. The park celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 26, 2019.
At 1.6 million acres the Kaibab National Forest borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon, in north-central Arizona. It is divided into three major sections: the North Kaibab Ranger District and the South Kaibab and are managed by the United States Forest Service. The South Kaibab is further divided into two districts, the Tusayan Ranger District, and the Williams Ranger District. Grand Canyon National Park separates the North Kaibab and the South Kaibab. The South Kaibab covers 1,422 square miles (3,680 km2) and the North Kaibab stretches over 1,010 square miles (2,600 km2). Elevations vary on the forest from 5,500 feet in the southwest corner to 10,418 feet at the summit of Kendrick Peak on the Williams Ranger District. The forest as a whole is headquartered in Williams.
The South Kaibab Trail is a hiking trail in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. Unlike the Bright Angel Trail which also begins at the south rim of the Grand Canyon and leads to the Colorado River, the South Kaibab Trail follows a ridge out to Skeleton Point allowing for 360-degree views of the canyon.
The Bright Angel Trail is a hiking trail located in Grand Canyon National Park in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The known human history of the Grand Canyon area stretches back 10,500 years, when the first evidence of human presence in the area is found. Native Americans have inhabited the Grand Canyon and the area now covered by Grand Canyon National Park for at least the last 4,000 of those years. Ancestral Pueblo peoples, first as the Basketmaker culture and later as the more familiar Pueblo people, developed from the Desert Culture as they became less nomadic and more dependent on agriculture. A similar culture, the Cochimi also lived in the canyon area. Drought in the late 13th century likely caused both groups to move on. Other people followed, including the Paiute, Cerbat, and the Navajo, only to be later forced onto reservations by the United States Government.
The North Kaibab Trail is a hiking trail in the North Rim side of the Grand Canyon, in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The Hermit Trail is a hiking trail in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. This trail provides access to a historic area of Grand Canyon and offers a more challenging route to the Colorado River for more experienced canyon hikers.
The Tonto Trail is a hiking trail on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The River Trail is a hiking trail in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. This trail connects the end of the Bright Angel Trail with Phantom Ranch and the South Kaibab Trail.
The Clear Creek Trail is a hiking trail below the North Rim, from lower Bright Angel Canyon into lower Clear Creek Canyon of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The Plateau Point Trail is a hiking and pack trail located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona.
The North Bass Trail is a hiking trail located on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Grand Canyon National Park, located in the U.S. state of Arizona.
Grand Canyon Village Historic District comprises the historic center of Grand Canyon Village, on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The district includes numerous landmark park structures, many of which are National Historic Landmarks themselves, or are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town design as a whole is also significant for its attention to integration with the Grand Canyon landscape, its incorporation of National Park Service Rustic design elements, and for the idiosyncratic design of park concessioner structures such as the El Tovar Hotel.
The Trans-Canyon Telephone line in Grand Canyon National Park crosses the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the North Rim via the Inner Canyon. On the south side of the Canyon, the phone line left the South Rim developed area by Bright Angel Lodge, went down Pipe Creek, and crossed the Colorado River. On the north side, the phone line followed Bright Angel Creek up to the rim to the Wylie Way Tourist Camp before the construction of the Grand Canyon Inn. The line was in place by 1924 and was altered in 1938-39 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. It has been unchanged since then. Telephone lines are supported using 592 assemblies of 2-inch (5.1 cm) galvanized pipes and fittings, which could be easily transported and assembled with minimal impact to the canyon environment. It is a rare surviving example of open-wire copper -weld technology. The line extends for 18 miles (29 km), paralleling the Bright Angel Trail and the North Kaibab Trail, providing a direct link between the North and South Rims, as well as the Inner Canyon. A spur line ran along the South Kaibab Trail to the Tipoff.
Grand Canyon Conservancy, formerly known as Grand Canyon Association, is the National Park Service's official non-profit partner of Grand Canyon National Park, raising private funds, operating retail shops within the park, and providing premier guided educational programs about the natural and cultural history of the region. Supporters fund projects including trails and historic building preservation, educational programs for the public, and the protection of wildlife and their natural habitat.
The Grand Canyon Inn and Campground, also known as the North Rim Inn, were built by the William W. Wylie and the Utah Parks Company as inexpensive tourist accommodations on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Grand Canyon National Park. Intended to complement the more expensive Grand Canyon Lodge, the cabins and Inn were located near Bright Angel Point, but father back than their more expensive counterparts, near the Grand Canyon North Rim Headquarters. The design of the cabins and the redesign of the Inn building were undertaken by architect Gilbert Stanley Underwood.
Bright Angel Lodge is a hotel complex at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. Designed by architect Mary Jane Colter, the lodge is a complex of cabins around a central lodge building, directly on the edge of the canyon. The rustic lodge complex is a major contributing building in the Grand Canyon Village National Historic Landmark District. In 2022, Bright Angel Lodge is also a member of Historic Hotels of America, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Isis Temple is a prominence in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, Southwestern United States. It is located below the North Rim and adjacent to the Granite Gorge along the Colorado River. The Trinity Creek and canyon flow due south at its west border; its north, and northeast border/flank is formed by Phantom Creek and canyon, a west tributary of Bright Angel Creek; the creeks intersect about 3 mi (4.8 km) southeast, and 1.0 mi (1.6 km) north of Granite Gorge. The Isis Temple prominence, is only about 202 ft (62 m) lower than Grand Canyon Village, the main public center on Grand Canyon’s South Rim.
Brahma Temple is a 7,551-foot-elevation summit located in the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County of Arizona, US. It is situated six miles (9.7 km) north-northeast of the Yavapai Point overlook on the canyon's South Rim, and 4.5 miles south of the North Rim's Bright Angel Point. It towers 5,000 feet above Phantom Ranch in Bright Angel Canyon. Its nearest higher neighbor is Oza Butte, four miles to the north-northwest. Other neighbors include Zoroaster Temple one mile to the south, and Deva Temple, 1.5 miles to the north. Brahma Temple is named for Brahma, the Hindu creator of the universe. This name was applied by Clarence Dutton who began the tradition of naming geographical features in the Grand Canyon after mythological deities. This geographical feature's name was officially adopted in 1906 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
↑ Schwartz, Douglas; Marshall, Michael; Kepp, Jane (1979). Archaeology of the Grand Canyon: The Bright Angel Site. School for Advanced Research Press. ISBN0933452004.
1 2 Moore, Randy; Witt, Kara Felicia (2018). The Grand Canyon: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, LLP. p.288. ISBN978-1-61069-839-9.
↑ Berger, Tod (2016). It Happened at Grand Canyon. Rowman & Littlefield. p.66. ISBN978-0-7627-7197-4.
↑ Berke, Arnold: Mary Colter: Architect of the Southwest. p. 118. Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. ISBN156898345X
1 2 National Park Service Cultural Landscape Inventory: Cross Canyon Corridor Historic District. U.S. Department of the Interior. 2013.
Audretsch, Robert W. (2012). Grand Canyon's Phantom Ranch. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishers. ISBN978-0-7385-8525-3. – Audretsch, who worked as a NPS ranger at Grand Canyon for nearly 20 years, tells the story of Phantom Ranch, its history, geology, and peoples, accompanied by numerous historical photographs.
Thybony, Scott (2001). Phantom Ranch. Grand Canyon, AZ: Grand Canyon Assn. ISBN978-0-938216-76-6. – This 32-page book reveals the Ranch's history and the people who made that history. Also touches on the flora and fauna of Grand Canyon. The author is an archeologist and former river guide.
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