Horseshoe Mesa
Horseshoe Mesa is a designated camping area 3 miles below the South Rim accessible from the Grandview Trailhead. Horseshoe Mesa is as rich in history as it is in views. The trail leading to the mesa is incredibly steep and well defined for the first 1-½ miles. You can thank Peter Berry and the Cameron Brothers for their work on the trail. The rest of the trail is rugged and only maintained when wash outs occur. Upper portions of the trail may be dangerous in wintertime due to snow and ice. The Grandview Trail is traditionally one of the last trails on the South Rim to melt out. Native Americans used copper on the east side of the mesa for paints.
Beware: no water is available on Horseshoe Mesa. Page Spring or Miner's Spring is on the east side of the mesa, near the base of the Redwall (4400'). The trail to Page spring is not maintained. This route is exposed and steep. Cottonwood Creek is the closest water to the west. O'Neill spring is dry. Water purification measures are advised.
The Grandview Trail was constructed from the mesa's Last Chance Mine to a mill site on the rim. Ore was packed up the trail on burros daily. By 1910 the ore was no longer economically worth hauling out of the canyon and all claims were abandoned. Today, remnants of the mining days are still visible - the walls of the cookshack, mine shafts, rusty nails, cans and weathered boards.
Please protect the old structures and artifacts. Don't add your trash to the historic scene. For your safety, do not enter dangerous tunnels and mine shafts which are unstable and subject to cave in. Radon levels in these shafts have been measured at 12 times the normal level.
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