Craters of the Moon Hiking Trails

Introduction.

Craters of the Moon National Monument appears to be another relatively small sized park located near Arco, Idaho, about midway between Idaho Falls, Idaho and Sun Valley, Idaho. However, it is deceptively large, covering over 1,100 square miles. The more than 60 lava flows that make up the area of the park provide the experience of being on the moon, though since I cannot attest to that, I can tell you the topography is very similar to the big island of Hawaii.

General logistics information.

There is only one entry point into the park, 18 miles southwest of Acro on Highway 20/26/93. There is no lodging inside the park and the only food options are some vending machines. Lodging and restaurant options are available in Arco. Based on our travel plans, we only had 1 day to spend at Craters of the Moon National Monument, so this post will review the highlights of our visit.

Of course, if you have more time there is much more to explore at Craters of the Moon including many more hiking trails. If however you only have a limited time as we did, the guidance below will give you a good taste of the history and some very interesting and different visual experiences.

Craters of the Moon Hiking Trails.

• As always, we believe it is a must to stop at the Visitor’s Center. Check out the gift shop, watch an informative film on the vast ocean of lava flows, get questions answered from one of the rangers, and learn about park activities.
• Our plan was to drive the 7 mile loop road, taking advantage of roadside pullout stops and also taking a few Craters of the Moon hiking trails, on and around the lava flows.
• We started out by hiking the short North Crater Flow trail (pictured above) which is only about .3 miles and which provided some very interesting views of the lava flows from over 2,000 years ago.
• Along these trails, you will have the opportunity to look for volcano bombs. These were hot globs of lava that were hurled from volcanoes, and then cooled.

• The next stop was Devils Orchard Nature Trail.
• This is a .5 mile paved trail that includes a number of informational exhibits along the way.
• This area is somewhat unusual as you will come across a mixture of items such as dead trees, live trees, flowering shrubs, and a variety of plant life.
• This makes for an interesting contrast against the backdrop of black lava fields.



• Our final stop for this day was the Caves Trail. This is approximately 1.5 miles long and there are places where the footing can be a little tricky.
• Our primary destination was Indian Tunnel, which is a lava tube about .5 miles from the parking area.

• This is the largest cave in the park, but let me point out that we are not spelunkers. This cave has a very high ceiling and also has skylights, which permit plenty of sunlight.
• There is no concern here about a small spaces or for the requirement of flashlights and/or other equipment, such as hard hats.



• With Sun Valley and the Sawtooth Scenic Byway ahead of us, this was all the time we were able to spend on Craters of the Moon hiking trails. The uniqueness of this park was well worth the visit.