Rackensack Canyon Tours donates services to Cave Creek Museum

Rackensack Canyon Tours is donating more than $8,000 to provide three-hour tours of the famous Rackensack Mine as part of the crowd pleasing Arizona Gold Mining Experience (AZGME) at Cave Creek Museum. The first of the mine tours will take place on Saturday, November 9 and Saturday, December 14, 2024. The mine tours come to life at 1 PM following the Arizona Gold Mining Experience. Reserve tickets online at cavecreekmuseum.org as there is a limit. Following the Arizona Gold Mining Experience, guests interested in the gold mine tour pay $145 per person for the three-hour tour (no special senior or child pricing), which departs from the museum; participants must be onsite by 12:45 PM. Reservations are required. Visit cavecreekmuseum.org to reserve or call 480.488.2764.

Gold Fever participants head out for the three-hour gold mine tour in a unique 10-passenger 4WD Jeep, which will travel takes them into the Tonto National Forest and the patented Ft. Worth Gold Mine. The tour ascends them to the Mountain Chaparral vegetation zone with absolutely breathtaking views up to a 4,500-foot elevation.

“The short ride to the summit can be a bit dusty and bouncy but is exhilarating fun with entertaining narration and educational photo stops along the trail,” says Charles Underwood, Rackensack’s owner. “Before heading to the gold mine, guests can relax in the off-grid small studio/gift shop and enjoy complimentary refreshments with free time to relax on the patio while taking in the jaw-dropping vistas. We are thrilled to be able to offer the mine tours at a special rate for museum customers, with proceeds going to benefit our wonderful mining museum.”

Guests then proceed to the gold mine where they are rewarded with a historic tableau of 1800s artifacts excavated from the Ft. Worth Gold Mine site. This mine was part of the Historic Rackensack Mines, which were instrumental in the founding of Cave Creek, Ariz. People will be able to interact with the knowledgeable guide and follow the same vein of gold that prospector Old Rackensack (Edward G. Cave) chased in 1880.

About Rackensack Canyon Tours

Native Arizonans Cliff and Charles Underwood returned to Arizona in 1997 after managing their Luxury Leathergoods firm in Dallas, Texas for 20 years. Astonished by the rampant growth, they began searching for property that had the wide-open vistas of their childhood. As fate would have it, the brothers along with Ginger (wife of Charles), stumbled upon a long dormant mining claim named “Dallas.” They purchased the 62- acre property in February 1998 and spent the better part of four years procuring a legal easement to transform the mine’s overgrown mule trail into a winding scenic road.

The 54-year-old museum’s mission is to preserve the artifacts of the prehistory, history, culture and legacy of the Cave Creek Mining District and the Cave Creek/Carefree foothills area through education, research, and interpretive exhibits. The Cave Creek Museum is located at 6140 E. Skyline Drive in Cave Creek, Ariz., 480.488.2764. Open October through May.