Question about big and little cottonwood canyon mines?

[motherlode68]

Who among the mojave group has ever been exploring underground in the mines in big & little cottonwood?( pre gated/reclaimed) I have been hiking the cottonwood canyons and sub canyons since I was a boy-scout! I've been to alot of old mine sites in the B&C, but have never been more than 25' into any of the open ones I have found. ( stay out and stay alive !) I've done some basic research on the mining in the Wasatch, but what I've found is very brief.

If anyone has some info? I would really like to hear what you know.

I have a friend who has some "open" mines on private property in BC! I've never asked him for access to his mines... but maybe I should?

[XXX Snow]

I know the cottonwoods well, be careful of bad air in Big. Pm me and I''ll fill you in. A lot are use for drinking water so they are sealed like Fort Knox.

[ExpUt]

What would you like to know? I have the geo surveys of both canyons, along with dozens and dozens of internal mine working maps from both the Big Cottonwood Mining District and the Little Cottonwood Mining district. I've been inside a handful of the more notable mines, the Woodlawn, the Cardiff, the Emma, the Bay City and the Wasatch Drain among others. As Brent pointed out many of the bigger mines in the Cottonwoods are protected access as they are used for water by both private and public entities, access to these mines is often impossible, in some cases they are plugged and flooded hundreds of feet deep for use as a water reservoir. The history of the Cottonwoods is often more of interest then the actual mine exploration proper.

I would be interested to know which mines your friend has in BC, my guess if you know the canyon or mine name I likely have maps and history on the operations there. PM me if don't want to post it publicly. Your welcome to stop by and take a peak at some of the information I have, I'm often not too keen on sending it home as many of these are unique and rare maps/books but if you want to stop by and check them out, lmk.

[$ alex $]

does anyone know of a mine (i believe its the blackjack in little cottonwood), that you can ride a railcar down? i saw a video on youtube (or another related site a while back), but i cant find it now haha. i would be very interested in checking that one out!

[Danb]

Here are some videos from Big Cottonwood. It may take a while for them to load.

http://www.silvercityminingcompany.com/solitudetunel.htm

http://www.silvercityminingcompany.com/woodlawnmine.htm

Enjoy,
Dan

[$ alex $]

sweet! me likey! are these your personal videos? i tried finding the woodlawn mine a couple utah/byu games ago (we went before kickoff haha) and we couldnt find it because of the snow. i knew it was open so thats why i tried finding it haha. you know how the cat track ends and the trail opens up into that big draw? how much further up do i have to trek to find the woodlawn? oh and i mountain bike at solitude all the time. care to share how to get to the solitude tunnel?

[Danb]

Yep. My video’s. They are too big for Youtube, so I built a site to park them.

The Woodlawn is here: N 40° 36’ 25” W 111° 36’ 35” It’s one heck of a hike. When the draw opens up, keep heading the same direction a few hundred yards and you will find it after the snow melts. I think I heard was sealed but was opened again.

The Solitude Tunnel is here: N 40° 36’ 12” W 111° 36’ 6”. It is on the west side of Lake Solitude. From Silver Lake at Brighton, take the trail to the right and you will hit a fork that will tank you to Lake Solitude.

Dan

[$ alex $]

sweet. i have some hikes to go on now! haha. im stoked. do you know of any other safe openings in the cottonwoods? im trying to get a whole hike schedule planned out for the summer... haha

[Danb]

I explored these and other mines in the area 15 years ago. Most had caved in or were caped for water. With the exception of Mineral Fork, I haven’t been off the main road in either canyon since then. I did find an adit with a shaft up Days Fork in BC. The shaft was grated but the tunnel was open. Above it, the topo map showed an adit. I hiked up to it. It went back 5 ft. There is another tunnel I know about. It goes under Brighton. It’s the Steam Boat Tunnel. It’s accessed by the Heber/Midway side of the mountain at the top of Snake Creek. It’s a drain tunnel that was accessible years ago and maybe still is. You will need an ATV or a good 4x4 to get to it, or hike. And now that I think about it, there was an ore cart inside, derailed and to heavy to move. We went back in a long, long way and never found the end. N 40° 34’ 22” W 111° 43’ 51”.

I just remembered another tunnel up Cardiff Fork that we explored. The Tarbaby Mine.
N 40° 37’ 5” W 111° 39’ 13” . I think I or a friend may have a video. That was back when the Cardiff Fork road was still open.

I would suggest studying the topo maps, plan a hike and see what you find.

For me, the research and planning is half the fun.

Dan

[ExpUt]

The mine often called the 'Black-Jack' is actually the Sells Tunnel. Links to the video's of people riding the car? That could be us... I went with a group from Mojave up there a couple of summers ago now and I think someone was filming us playing in the cart? I've been back a handful of times since. Its located on private property so beware.

I've been into a dozen or so mines in BC/LC, the Sells, Blind Miner, Lost Emma, Bay City, Wasatch Drain, Cardiff, Woodlawn, Mineral Fork and a few others. Several were 'guilded' tours with the managing agency, wish I could line something up for a tour but they are super restrictive about access (did I mention they have cameras monitoring them too )


Bay City/Emma


Sells Tunnel

Oh and the Steamboat Tunnel/Mine is reclaimed and blocked, visited there as recent as August of 09' and its closed.


Steamboat Tunnel Entrance

[$ alex $]

kurt - if you could set up a tour, i would be in for sure!!! let me know!!!

[motherlode68]

Reading, "The lady in the ore bucket" A history of settlement and industry in the tri-canyon area of the wasatch mountains.

Good read if your looking for history of mining in the Cottonwoods.

[ExpUt]

Reading, "The lady in the ore bucket" A history of settlement and industry in the tri-canyon area of the wasatch mountains.

Good read if your looking for history of mining in the Cottonwoods.

x2, a phenomenal read. He did some killer research not only on the mines but the side canyons and their roads in general. A must read for any Tri canyon aficionado's.

[Danb]

Hey Kurt,
Are you sure the Pic you labeled the “Steamboat Tunnel” is not the adit at the bottom of Mineral Fork? The Pic of the 2 green pipes looks like it but I haven’t been to the adit in several years.

The Steamboat Tunnel we explored had a large cemented gated structure with a 2-3 foot drain pipe with a lot of water flowing out of it. The vent screen was detached so we were able to explore it. It also had a second entrance but I think it was caved in. The tracks in the tunnel are supported by timbers about 2 feet above the tunnel floor. Under the tracks were a good 2 feet deep flow of water. This Tunnel is up above Midway and goes under Brighton.
Are we talking about the same Steamboat Tunnel?

Danb

[ExpUt]

Hey Kurt,
Are you sure the Pic you labeled the “Steamboat Tunnel” is not the adit at the bottom of Mineral Fork? The Pic of the 2 green pipes looks like it but I haven’t been to the adit in several years.

The Steamboat Tunnel we explored had a large cemented gated structure with a 2-3 foot drain pipe with a lot of water flowing out of it. The vent screen was detached so we were able to explore it. It also had a second entrance but I think it was caved in. The tracks in the tunnel are supported by timbers about 2 feet above the tunnel floor. Under the tracks were a good 2 feet deep flow of water. This Tunnel is up above Midway and goes under Brighton.
Are we talking about the same Steamboat Tunnel?

Danb

While I'm not 100% sure that is the actual Steamboat Tunnel adit, that is at least the one that shows up on my maps. It is at the largest of the tailings piles (with several associated buildings) in Snake Creek Canyon. We investigated all the other obvious adits we could find in the area and all were closed or caved.

I know the exact adit your referring to at the bottom of Mineral Fork (~50 yards east of the gate), it is taller, and has a skull/crossbones painted on the face of it.