Phantoms of the Past

A Historic Walking Tour

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon National Park 1

“[N]early pulled end of finger 

off the other day. . .No use 

to say more - the tram runs 

o.k. and looks pretty good.” 

~David Rust, September 22. 

National Park Service (NPS) 

photo ca. 1910.

Cover Image: Sierra Club 

members perform a skit at a 

Phantom Ranch campfire. NPS 

photo ca. 1948.

Like a long-forgotten diary in a dusty cellar, 

Phantom Ranch tells stories of a time gone 

by. It is a memory of a era before cell phones, 

computers, and energy bars, when few 

people visited Grand Canyon. Shaped by 

entrepreneurs, presidents, architects, and 

work crews, Phantom Ranch sits humble 

and rustic. It still remains and reminds us, 

like musings in an old journal, of an era 

of changes, challenges, and achievements. 

On this walking tour, follow along in the 

diaries—and footsteps—of Phantom Ranch’s 

pioneers. 

Stop 1: Rust’s Camp (at Mule Corral)

 “An ill omen for us, a heart breaker. We had salty coffee for 

breakfast, but that isn’t the trouble. Just as we have finished 

the platform. . .we load the cage. . .and start her across. All 

goes lovely and jubilant until the car is nearly half way over, 

then buzz! Whang! Ka-splash. She sinks out of sight...a pall 

comes over me, stunning, like some friend were stricken dead. 

We...go to camp sad, sad!” 

 ~David Rust, April 1, 1907

A few years after the Santa Fe Railroad started bringing 

tourists to the South Rim, David Rust on the North Rim 

hoped to capitalize on increased tourism as well. A tourist 

here in 1907 would have seen a different landscape, with no 

permanent structures and little vegetation. Rust and several 

men worked hard to build a camp at the bottom of Grand 

Canyon. Against many challenges, Rust persevered. He and 

his crew improved trails, planted trees, built an irrigation 

system, and constructed several tents and ramadas for 

overnight guests. Eventually, his modest accommodations—

not so modestly known as Rust’s Camp—allowed 

prospectors, hunters, and a “few sturdy and adventurous 

tourists” to stay comfortably in the canyon.
2 Phantom Ranch: A Historic Walking Tour

At that time no reliable way existed to cross the Colorado 

River. To move tourists and their mules over the river, Rust 

installed a cable tramway. This system—a cage suspended 

60 feet (18 m) above the river on a 450-foot (137 m) long 

cable—relied on gravity to propel tourists halfway across 

the river. At a winch on the other side, a tram operator 

cranked the cage the rest of the way. One early tourist 

described riding in the cage on a windy day as “being the 

clapper in a bell.” 

Rust’s Camp operated from 1907 to 1919, when Grand 

Canyon officially became a national park. Though his camp 

did not survive, Rust is one of the most important—and 

most overlooked—figures in the development of inner 

canyon tourism. Rust’s achievements were the first to 

change the face of Phantom Ranch. Unfortunately, little 

evidence of Rust’s Camp remains today. Portions of his 

improved trail do exist in the form of the North Kaibab 

Trail, enjoyed today by many “sturdy and adventurous 

tourists.”

As you meander along the trail, think about the challenges 

(imagine: salty coffee!) Rust and his crew faced while 

making changes to the area. Walk north from the corral 

back toward the ranger station.

President Teddy 

Roosevelt, while on a 

hunting trip, enjoyed 

the tram so much he 

rode it multiple times 

and even cranked the 

winch!

Ellsworth Kolb and a young 

woman dine at Rust’s Camp. 

NPS photo ca. 1907.
Grand Canyon National Park 3

Stop 2: Orchard

“Our first dollar...I feel something like Lincoln felt over his first 

$1.00...We are puttering around on the farm. Radishes, peas, 

lettuce, oats up nicely. Alfalfa put in yesterday.” 

 ~David Rust’s diary, February 22, 1909

Pass by the ranger station on your way to the Phantom 

Ranch canteen. In the area between both mule corrals and 

spanning across the canyon floor, Rust, and later the Fred 

Harvey company, grew an orchard and alfalfa field for 

livestock. Because of the remote location, Rust’s Camp and 

Phantom Ranch had to be as self-sustaining as possible. 

Guests at meals often delighted in the fresh food: peaches, 

plums, apricots, and pomegranates from the orchard; 

chicken and eggs from a chicken house; and rabbits from 

a rabbit run. And you thought ice-cold lemonade was the 

cream of the crop! With all the hard work Rust, the Fred 

Harvey company, and architect Mary Colter put into this 

area, it started to look less like a desert and began to evolve 

into the hypnotic hideaway you find today. 

How will your dinner compare to that of early guests? Will 

you have steak and cake at the canteen? Or create your own 

feast in the campground?

Stop 3: Mary Colter Buildings

“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.” 

 ~Adrian Harbin, Phantom Ranch visitor, 1937

In early 1922, the Fred Harvey company and Santa Fe 

Railroad began to construct a new resort—Phantom 

Ranch—near the location of Rust’s Camp. While the name 

alone attracts attention, the stone cabins and canteen Colter 

designed provide the real appeal of the area. To achieve a 

rustic and homey look, she used rounded river rocks and 

simple wooden eaves painted a dark brown, with splashes 

of bright color for accents. Other than the color, little about 

the buildings’ outward appearance has changed since 1922. 

Phantom Ranch orchards (top, 

ca. 1933) and early Ranch 

guests (bottom, ca. 1925). 

Try to match the photos with 

what you see today. Do you 

see any resemblance? NPS 

photos.
4 Phantom Ranch: A Historic Walking Tour

The Fred Harvey company planned to 

name its newest hotel “Roosevelt Chalet.” 

A woman ahead of her time, Mary Colter 

had other ideas. The company’s architect, 

with her characteristic independence, 

preferred the more romantic, mysterioussounding ‘Phantom Ranch’. Many stories 

exist about the resort’s name, but everyone 

agrees that it is far more exciting than that 

of a president, no matter his influence.
Grand Canyon National Park 5

Sometimes staying weeks at a 

time, Phantom Ranch visitors 

enjoyed the fruits of the Fred 

Harvey company's labor: fresh 

food, music, stories from the 

mule wranglers, and billiards 

or bridge in the rec hall. It 

was a fun, exclusive vacation. 

NPS photo ca. 1950.

Designed to agree with 

nature, Colter’s buildings 

resembled a cattle ranch in 

the desert. Her initial layout 

had five buildings, as pictured 

opposite. NPS photo ca. 1922.

At the canteen, you will notice the stone foundation. Look 

for Colter’s whimsical touches here: a metate or grinding 

stone near the canteen entrance and a “baseball mitt” 

below the east windows. On the east side of the building, 

you will also see (and hear!) Phantom Ranch’s dinner bell. 

The animated ringing from the original 1922 dinner bell 

still awakens a Pavlovian response in dinner guests, whose 

stomachs are as empty as a mule’s saddlebags. 

Visits to Phantom Ranch became so popular that in 1925 

and in 1927, Colter designed more cabins. These ‘new’ 

cabins have less stone work than the originals. Can you 

distinguish the new cabins from the old? 

Stop 4: Swimming Pool

“The first time I saw Phantom Ranch the swimming pool was 

just completed. I remember diving into the water and finding 

little chunks of ice floating there. The temperature down there 

was about 105 so you can imagine the shock I received.”

 ~Civilian Conservation Corps enrollee Leon B. Sherrod

Look for a large weedy depression near cabins 5 and 6, 

seating area, and rock wall. Though overgrown now, this 

place tells a refreshing story of early Phantom Ranch. 
6 Phantom Ranch: A Historic Walking Tour

Until the 1960s, the Phantom Ranch guest book read 

like a ‘Who’s Who’ of the time. Movie stars. Authors. 

Oil and steel magnates. In every way possible, the Fred 

Harvey company assured these Phantom Ranch visitors 

an extravagant, semi-private experience. In 1934, to make 

Phantom Ranch more relaxing, the Civilian Conservation 

Corps (CCC) built a swimming pool. Tourists now enjoyed 

yet another opulent activity. Fresh breakfast, a soak in the 

pool, and a martini during cocktail hour. What a life!

Like a whisper, that luxurious life slowly faded. Use of the 

pool increased in the 1960s, and it became a maintenance 

and health nightmare. In 1972, the concessioner filled the 

pool in and, if local legend is true, crews tossed handcarved doors, oil-burning stoves, grills, blacksmithing 

materials, a piano, and a pool table into the depression. If 

you find yourself wishing the pool remained, you are not 

alone. CCC enrollee Louis Purvis wrote, “The enrollees 

who left some of themselves there in the pit wonder who 

could be so selfish and ungrateful as to deprive future 

visitors of the same privilege they enjoyed.”

Continue your walking tour, comparing the relaxing 

experience of the tourists to the hard working lifestyle of 

the CCC enrollees. Walk south toward the campground, 

stopping when you arrive at three wooden benches.

A crew of 20 CCC men dove 

into the pool’s construction 

and diverted creek water to 

fill a hand-dug hole. The pool 

even had a waterfall! Guests 

relaxing in the pool may not 

have known the hard work 

that went into it. Above 

photo by Dave Beal ca. 1961, 

NPS collection; below photo 

by George Grant ca. 1950, 

NPS collection.
Grand Canyon National Park 7

Stop 5: CCC’s Telephone Line

“Has the Civilian Conservation Corps increased my weight 

and hardened my muscles? It has done more than that. It has 

. . .proved to me that Americanism is a reality, and not just a 

simple word.” 

 ~Diary entry of Frank Ranney, CCC, 1933

To help the economy during the Great Depression of the 

1930s, President Franklin Roosevelt started the CCC. 

This nationwide project conserved “not only our national 

resources but our human resources” by giving thousands of 

young men a chance to make a living and help their families. 

In addition to a monthly $30 paycheck, the enrollees had 

food, clothing, and shelter. For three years, Company 818, 

with its crew of nearly 200 enrollees, changed the Phantom 

Ranch area to make it accessible for more visitors.

In both a challenging economic and natural environment, 

the crew produced remarkable results: the Clear Creek, 

Ribbon Falls, and River trails and the Phantom Ranch pool. 

One of the most challenging and important projects of all 

was the trans-canyon phone line. 

To get the job done on CCC 

projects, enrollees needed 

“a degree in engineering, 

the strength of a mule, the 

endurance of a camel, the 

surefootedness of a mountain 

goat, and the tenacity of a 

bull dog.” NPS photo ca. 1935.
8 Phantom Ranch: A Historic Walking Tour

Stop 6: CCC’s Bright Angel 

Campground

Continue south from the benches to the upper campground 

bridge, where you can see the campground and an 

alleyway of cottonwood trees. By improving the area, the 

CCC guaranteed generations of backpackers could enjoy 

a vacation almost as exclusive as the guests staying at 

Phantom Ranch.

The crews labored to level and landscape the campground 

and planted dozens of trees. Even though this CCC camp 

held “the distinction of being the most difficult to supply of 

any in the CCC system,” Company 818 met the challenges 

head-on and we still appreciate their efforts. 

As you amble south through the shaded campground, 

and perhaps play and splash in the water of Bright Angel 

Creek, think about how miserable this walking tour would 

be without the improvements the CCC made! Walk to the 

lower campground bridge for the next stop.

After a hard day’s work 

on the trail, CCC members 

returned to their camp. They 

said the “only thing attractive 

or nice about the site was 

the clean, pure water of 

Bright Angel Creek,” quite the 

contrast from the Phantom 

Ranch guests relaxing with 

their cocktails and cards. Top 

photo NPS ca. 1934; bottom 

photo NPS ca. 1935.

Replacing old lines and installing new poles, the project 

joined phone lines along the North Kaibab, South Kaibab, 

and Bright Angel trails, ensuring the South Rim, Indian 

Garden, Phantom Ranch, and the North Rim could 

connect. Ironically, the CCC enrollees did not have 

permission to make calls on the phone line they created. 

Unless a true emergency arose only guests of Phantom 

Ranch could make a phone call, further segregating the 

workers from the guests.

For years, the CCC phone line served as the only source of 

communication at Phantom Ranch and along the trails. By 

1982, technology had changed and Mountain Bell installed 

a microwave transmitter at Phantom Ranch. At that time, 

the National Park Service (NPS) removed a segment of the 

CCC phone lines between the Bright Angel Trail’s River 

Resthouse and Phantom Ranch; though not in use as phone 

lines, campers in Bright Angel Campground still “call on” 

these old poles to hang camping gear. Do you see the metal 

poles across the creek? These poles, and the nearby historic 

marker, reminds us of the great achievements of Company 

818. 
Grand Canyon National Park 9

Stop 7: NPS/USGS Homes

“This is the laboratory. I really got a thrill out of helping 

with the silt samples and evaporation. . .we watered the trees 

and ‘grass.’ ...the flour had weavils [sic] in it, and the icebox would never work! But what fun waking [with] the sun 

shining in your eyes, eating pancakes for breakfast and fishing 

for cat-fish in Bright Angel.” 

 ~Dorothy Cornelius, 1945, wife of USGS hydrologist

From the bridge, you see two houses. When the Fred 

Harvey company started to attract tourists to Phantom 

Ranch, the US government began housing employees in the 

area. Facing south, do you see the building on the left? In 

autumn 1922, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) 

initiated construction on a hydrologist’s cabin. Modeled 

after Mary Colter’s buildings, it had a metal roof, wooden 

walls, a stone foundation, and a laboratory. After collecting 

data from the Colorado River, the hydrologist brought 

samples back here to the lab to determine flood stages and 

silt load. 

In front of you and slightly to your right sits the Rock 

House, Phantom Ranch’s first park ranger residence. 

Completed in 1926, this building also followed Colter’s 

guidelines to ensure it did not intrude on nature. As the 

Flood! In southern California 

farming communities along 

the Colorado River, that 

word evoked both fright 

and excitement. At Phantom 

Ranch, Glenton Sykes and 

other USGS scientists helped 

predict floods for the farmers. 

NAU photo, 1922 NAU.

PH.90.9.1750. 
10 Phantom Ranch: A Historic Walking Tour

CCC crews toiled and the Phantom Ranch guests relaxed, 

the rangers—much like today—maintained trails, gave 

presentations to guests and CCC enrollees, and responded 

to emergencies. As a home and office, the Rock House 

symbolizes the demanding profession of park rangers. 

As you walk from the cabins and cross the lower 

campground bridge toward Boat Beach, think about how 

the landscape might look if the government buildings did 

not follow Colter’s guidelines.

Employees still live and work in these buildings. Please 

respect their privacy.

Chief Ranger Perry Brown 

and other park rangers often 

enlisted the help of CCC 

enrollees and Phantom Ranch 

staff for search and rescue 

efforts. Here, he has an easier 

day patrolling the trail. NPS 

photo ca. 1943.

Bonus! 

Interested in Grand Canyon 

pre-history? Visit Bright 

Angel Pueblo, located past 

Boat Beach on the trail to the 

Black Bridge, to learn about 

ancestral Puebloan people.
Grand Canyon National Park 11

Stop 8: Black Bridge/Boat Beach

“[You] finally even trusted [me] to take notes while [you]

waded the stream. Crossing the Colorado cable was another 

story. Every time I climbed from the platform to the cable car, 

I knew for sure I would fall!” 

 ~Dorothy Cornelius

From Boat Beach, you can see the Black Bridge and the 

USGS gauging station. When Grand Canyon became 

a national park in 1919, the NPS put a new wooden 

suspension bridge in place of Rust’s tramway. In 1928, the 

NPS deemed this “swinging” bridge faulty and built the 

sturdy “Black” Bridge.

Placed at the bridge to use nearby phone lines, the USGS 

built two recorder towers and, similar to Rust’s tram, a 

cable car full of scientific equipment. The towers helped 

the hydrologists determine the river’s stage. On the handcranked cable car, they dangled tools and specimen jars in 

the water to collect data. Relying on changing technology, 

the USGS still visits this site and gathers data via satellites.

After relaxing in the soft sand, continue back to the main 

trail. Reflect on the life of early rangers, scientists, and trail 

crews. Which challenging job would you prefer? Back at 

the Boat Beach and North Kaibab Trail junction, look for a 

grave.

Perhaps only slightly better 

than “being a clapper in a 

bell” on Rust’s tramway, 

this flimsy swinging bridge 

“tossed about so violently” 

in high winds sometimes it 

would flip completely over! 

NPS photo ca. 1920s.

CAUTION: With 

its cold water and 

strong currents, the 

Colorado River poses 

serious life threats. 

Swimming is not 

permitted. 
12 Phantom Ranch: A Historic Walking Tour

Stop 9: Rees Griffiths’ Grave

“...I said a few words to the effect that it was right that this 

man should be laid to rest near the spot where he fell and 

where he had spent a great part of his life; that it was fitting 

and proper that we who had known him, worked with him, 

and loved him should perform this last duty...we left him 

there beside the trail he built.” 

 ~Chief Ranger “White Mountain” Smith, 1922

Trail work in Grand Canyon is a challenging, and 

occasionally devastating, duty. On February 6, 1922, 

while constructing the “swinging” bridge, the NPS crew 

experienced trail-building tragedy firsthand. In preparation 

to build the bridge, the crew used dynamite to clear rock 

from the trail. A mammoth boulder fell with so much force 

and speed from the blast, it struck NPS Trail Foreman Rees 

Griffiths before he could move to safety. Though the blow 

did not kill him instantly, he later died from the extensive 

injuries it caused. The NPS buried Griffiths,“a man of 

A pioneering trail crewman, 

Rees Bladen Griffiths (left) 

worked “in the canyon he 

loved so well” for David Rust, 

the Kolb Brothers, the US 

Forest Service, and the NPS. 

Photo courtesy of Carol Judd. 
Grand Canyon National Park 13

Stop 10: Phantom Ranger Station

“We have gotten past the stage. . .when we are to be pardoned 

if we treat any part of our country as something to be skinned 

. . . for the use of the present generation. . .Whatever it is, 

handle it so that your children’s children will get the benefit of 

it.” 

 ~President Teddy Roosevelt, Grand Canyon, 1903

On your walking tour, you followed in the phantom 

footsteps of David Rust, Teddy Roosevelt, Mary Colter, 

Rees Griffiths, the CCC, the USGS, and the NPS. Visitors 

like you continue to add to the pages of Phantom Ranch’s 

diary those pioneers started over a century ago. And just 

like thumbing through diary entries, Phantom Ranch 

reflects a history of changes, challenges, and achievements. 

More than simply protecting Phantom Ranch, the NPS 

protects memories “for future generations.” Through the 

efforts of people past, present, and future, we all work to 

preserve Phantom Ranch’s unique historic character.

“[K]eep it for your children, 

your children’s children, and 

for all who come after you, as 

one of the great sights which 

every American. . .should 

see.” Honoring the request 

of Teddy Roosevelt, park 

ranger Pam Cox swears in the 

“future generation” of park 

rangers. NPS photo. 

Ranger Station 

Self-service station: stamp for your Passport To Your National 

Parks®, library, maps, and more.

In an emergency, use the red phone on the porch.

Further Information

Mary Colter: Builder Upon the Red Earth by Virginia L. Grattan 

Phantom Ranch by Scott Thybony 

www.nps.gov/grca

Follow Grand Canyon National Park on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, 

YouTube, and Instagram

Please return this brochure to the ranger station if you do not intend to keep it.

sterling character,” near the location he died. This site, the 

first and last official inner canyon grave, tells a cautionary 

tale of the dangers in this challenging place. 

From here, follow the trail back to the ranger station and 

immerse yourself in Phantom Ranch’s natural history. 

Enjoy the shade and water, listen to the breeze through the 

leaves, and look for wildlife. Mule deer, gray fox, squirrels, 

and birds often congregate here.
Grand Canyon National Park

P.O. Box 129

Grand Canyon, AZ 86023

www.nps.gov/grca

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National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

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