Entry No. 25 — the Phoenix file — filed under: hidden tunnel

Great Papago Escape Tunnel Marker

On the night of December 23, 1944 — the breakout wasn't discovered until Christmas Eve — 25 German POWs (a mix of U-boat officers, including six submarine commanders, and enlisted men) escaped through a 178-foot tunnel out of Camp Papago Park, using a volleyball court as their dirt-disposal cover story: the largest Axis POW escape on American soil. A bronze manhole cover set into the Crosscut Canal path, two blocks north of where E Oak St dead-ends, marks the tunnel exit — an escape doomed by blue map lines of the Salt River that turned out to be nearly dry.

The move: Walk the Crosscut Canal path at the Oak Street dead-end at dusk, find the bronze marker, and read the inscription aloud — then trace the two-block walk the fugitives actually took toward the water they thought would carry them to Mexico.

• 📍 Crosscut Canal, Papago Park / Scottsdale border
• 💸 $$
• ⚡ Up for anything
• 🌗 Indoors

Where: Crosscut Canal Trail at the E Oak St dead-end, Scottsdale, AZ 85257

Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: hmdb.org · wheninyourstate.com · phoenixmag.com

last checked: 2026-07-19