Peppersauce Cave is a popular place for residents and visitors alike to see stunning natural beauty and enjoy outdoor recreation. Despite it’s allure, the area has also attracted vandals who destroy the scenery with ugly graffiti.

This past weekend, dozens of volunteers set out to change that and make a difference to this beautiful spot by cleaning up hundreds of graffiti tags in and around Peppersauce Cave. The event was organized by Central Arizona Grotto, a caving club based in Phoenix that arranged for people across the state to come to the Santa Catalina Mountains and clean up the damage. There were once over 1500 graffiti tags, but previous clean-up efforts by the group have already eliminated around 750 tags.

There’s been brand new graffiti in recent months, but the volunteers aren’t deterred. They come prepared with drills, sand blasting tools and biodegradable solvents to remove the graffiti. Signs were placed in the cave to direct toward the exit, but those have since been stolen, so the volunteers are adding new ones to the cave.

Visitors are reminded to be careful of the landscape at Peppersauce Cave, and to leave only footprints. For more information on the awesome work Central Arizona Grotto is doing, please visit their official website HERE.