Grand Gulch Mine in the Arizona Strip

In the middle of the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument sits the remains of the Grand Gulch Mine. This copper/silver/lead mine is a great destination for anyone wishing to explore the Arizona Strip just south of St. George, Utah. Read more at www.BackRoadsWest.com/blog/grand-gulch-mine/

[@realnicksutton]

Your videos are very well produced and detailed. I like all of the visuals, such as maps, photos, and videos.

[@mtnseekerone]

Found the BLM air strip about 11yrs ago in an old VW camper. Never knew about the mine. Thank You for sharing.

[@scottg391]

I’ve spent 50 years looking over to the East from Meadview AZ, always wanting to make a trip to the parashant and have yet to put the trip together. This vid just reinforces my desire to spend a couple of weeks on that side of the canyon. Thanks for the great work.

[@CurlyToedShoes]

Such gorgeous scenery you've shared with us all! Informative, well-made and such a wonderful journey through different parts of the country. Thanks for the inspiration!

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for commenting.

[@wbweldingbikerbride2031]

Thank you once again for bringing us along on another journey. I see our bucket list is growing once again. Great pics editing. Per usual.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

You're welcome and thank you for the kind comments. Good luck on crossing off items on the bucket list.

[@davidhenderson8962]

An informative and thoughtful video. I appreciate your efforts.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you!

[@donf3877]

As "usual"... a fantastic video. And man... loved the sort-a oldish mo-town sounding jazz number for Entering Pigeon Canyon. Reminds me of when George Benson's Breezin' came out when I was stationed on Okinawa Japan back in the mid 70's. EVERYONE in the barracks had that LP.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thanks for taking the time to comment! How funny, I almost deleted that track thinking it really didn't go with the scenery. So I'm glad you commented that you liked it. George Benson, I'll need to play more of his classic stuff on Spotify....so much great music to choose from.

[@lawrencesavoy8033]

Thank you. Excellent video and the drone shots were superb!

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thanks for the comment

[@Wheres_Bobby]

Very interesting. Great video!

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you!

[@urbansingletrack1820]

Love your videos, really helping me orient myself to the area and what's here. There is a lot of desolation to venture into if you don't know where you are going. It would be great to see your approach to some of the wilderness areas around Vegas. There are a lot of them but the only videos are aimed at 4-hour tourist excursions.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you! We have a lot of photos of the Vegas area, but haven't gotten around to putting them into a video, except for a few. Have you looked at the website birdandhike.com/ ? He has a lot of great info.

[@bradleyjohnson452]

Great video. I just stumbled on your videos. I am particularly partial to So Utah video as I live in St George. Let me know when you are headed back this way. Perhaps we will meet up on the trails.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Will live also in Washington Co. Check out the BLM office's "brown bag" lectures on Friday afternoons. They just covered the Grand Gulch Mine.

[@hbjtf]

Did you see any 2WD ProMaster, Ford, or Sprinter vans? I have a 2WD sprinter with 3” raised suspension and KO2 tires that took on the dirt roads in AK and Mojave desert but deep sand is a concern. I’d stay away if muddy for sure. Your thoughts?

[@BackRoadsWest1]

No, saw almost no vehicles both trips. Even the ranchers have 4WD pickup trucks. Without 4WD you are taking a risk. Out of your 200 mile trip, all you need is a few hundred feet of sand or a steep crawl, that if you don't have 4WD you're stuck or turning around. Yes, take it from experience, do not travel on dirt roads south of the Utah border (or in Utah too) 2-4 weeks after rain or snow.

[@minhster714]

Were there that many other trucks out there or were they all part of your group?

[@BackRoadsWest1]

The footage was taken during 2 trips - one was a BLM field trip, where you saw all the other vehicles, and the other was with one other vehicle. When using the drone, a whole bunch of ATVs showed up around the site as you can see. Other than that, we saw no other vehicles except for 2-3 ranchers.

[@cmpe43]

Great Job! Are the portals shafts?

[@BackRoadsWest1]

No. The shafts are inside the what is private property. We didn't photograph those.

[@janblake9468]

The C cabs on the dump trucks indicate they are a lot older than 1950's.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

I'm sure the 1955 operation ran on a very tight budget, therefore those trucks were bought used and much older than 1955.

[@marcellaobdrzalek8435]

fan turning @16:54...love it

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Yea, that fan has been turning for over 50 years. It was turning in the slightest of winds the both times we were there. I had to pick one of my four best video snippets of the fan turning to include in this video.

[@marcellaobdrzalek8435]

@@BackRoadsWest1 thank you! love attention to details like that. must have really good bearings that fan does

[@marcellaobdrzalek8435]

another great video, thanks for the BLM office info @ the beginning...and super music choice again. :-)

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thank you!

[@johntuttle4486]

Drones not allowed in Nat. Monuments!

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Parashant is so remote, there is no drone policy, however neighboring Grand Canyon does.

[@w9jim]

@@BackRoadsWest1 Not true. There IS a drone policy for all national parks and monuments and that is NO drones allowed. Granted, it's a silly rule for places like this, but the law is the law.

[@BackRoadsWest1]

@@w9jim hmmm, that's interesting, because the people that run the Gold Butte National Monument say there is no restriction because it's so remote. But, with gov't employees, they all get mixed messages, so who knows what the policy is.

[@sluggotinfantryman]

Sorry I will take Mount Trumbull, Toroweap, Logan Wilderness, and Lime Kiln to Blackrock. Oak Grove to Point. Anything but this. Lol.

[@traveler5073]

Do not attempt with 4WD car rental. Their tires are bad. You need off road tires

[@BackRoadsWest1]

Thanks for the suggestion. Rental car companies need to make money, which means purchasing inexpensive tires. Furthermore, many rental car companies are now publishing roads rentals are not permitted on and use an on-board GPS to make sure you follow their rule. If you don't, you'll have a big fee waiting for you when you return the car.