With a name like Craters of the Moon National Monument this Idaho location beckons travelers to explore the unique landscape. The best way to explore this volcanic landscape, born of several eruptions over thousands of years, is on the well laid out hiking trails across the park. The Craters of the Moon trails are mostly flat and easy. This makes them accessible by most individuals of varying skill levels. We’ve got the six best trails when visiting this lunar-like landscape listed here.
Planning Your Visit to Craters of the Moon
- Time: 2-3 days to do it all.
- When: June – Sept
- Campground opens mid-April thru November. It snowed on us in early June.
- The park can be explored on skis or snowshoes during the winter but expect a vastly different experience.
- Camping: Lava Flow Campground
- Reservations: No (First-come, First-served)
- Cell Service: None
- Showers: No
- Potable Water: Yes
- Electricity: Some sites
- Hotels/Motels: Nearest Town is Arco, ID
Top 6 Craters of the Moon Trails
#1 – The Lava Caves
- Permit: Yes – To enter any of the caves
- Type: Out-and-Back
- Distance: 1.6-miles (total)
- Rating: Easy (trail) – Caves Vary
- Warning: Do not bring any gear that has ever been in another cave system.
No visit to Craters of the Moon is complete without venturing into the Park’s spectacular Lava Caves—Indian Tunnel, Boy Scout Cave, Beauty Cave, Dewdrop Cave, and Buffalo Cave. Getting to explore these dark and cold (sometimes frozen) caves is a unique opportunity and the highlight of any visit to Craters of the Moon National Monument. Make sure you stop at the visitor center to pick up your cave permit and to educate yourself on what to bring and, more importantly, what not to bring on your adventure. If caving isn’t your thing, know that all the caves are shallow and short hikes. While most require a headlamp, the Indian Tunnel can be done without one.
#2 – Hiking North Crater Trail
- Type: Out-and-Back or Thru-Hike
- Distance: 1.8-miles (one-way)
- Rating: Moderate
North Crater Trail has the most picturesque landscape to be found on the trails in Craters of the Moon National Monument. Made up of North Crater and Big Craters, the red and orange hues of the Big Craters remind me of the colors found in New Zealand’s active Tongariro Crossing. Like on the Broken Top Loop, this hiking trail crosses over the ancient lava flow.
While the trail is one-way, it can be done as a thru-hike if you have a second vehicle or a bike that can be dropped at one end. You can also try hitchhiking.
#3 – Hiking the Broken Top Loop
- Type: Loop
- Distance: 2.8-miles
- Rating: Moderately-easy
Hiking the 1.8-mile loop around Broken Top, which is a large cinder cone, provides visitors with panoramic views across the lava fields. A lava bowl known as the Big Sink is one of the unique features that can be seen from above on a short spur off of the loop. Other highlights include getting to see uplifted fissures up close, lava bombs, and walking across the youngest lava flow in the park (Blue Dragon). This loop also provides some of the best views of the largest cinder cone in the park, the aptly named Big Cinder Butte. The trail is also the way to Buffalo Cave.
#4 – Backpacking the Wilderness Trail
- Type: Out-and-Back
- Distance: 5-miles (one-way)
- Rating: Moderately-easy
Want to sleep under the stars in a volcanic landscape? If so, then Craters of the Moon has you covered. There is a 5-mile (one-way) mostly flat trail that leads between the buttes and into the volcanic wilderness. Acquire a permit from the visitor center and you can actually camp inside one of the craters.
Even if backpacking isn’t your thing a hike to the Lava Trees is well worth the effort. You can see small cones with tree molded inner linings formed from the tree bark. The abundance found in this area is far better than those found on the Tree Molds Trail and it is only slightly further into the wilderness.
#5 – Climbing the Inferno Cone
- Type: Out-and-Back
- Distance: 0.2-miles (one-way)
- Rating: Moderately-difficult
The Inferno Cone Trail is a short but somewhat steep climb up a well-worn cinder scree path. From the top of the cone, hikers are rewarded with 360-degree views of the volcanic landscape. The Park’s cinder cones and buttes stretch out across the otherworldly terrain. This is also the best spot in the park to see Idaho’s snowcapped mountains to the north.
#6 – Walking Inside the Spatter Cones
- Type: Out-and-Back
- Distance: 0.1-miles
- Rating: Easy
A unique experience to be found in Craters of the Moon National Monument is to walk into a small ancient volcano. These dormant, miniature volcanoes had explosive births and the terrain is gnarled and potted from that violent past. There are two cones to be explored. The larger of the two allows visitors to walk directly into the top of the spatter cone. The second one ends with a view looking straight down the barrel with the surprise that this once fiery cone is now filled with ice, giving its name of Snow Cone.
Conclusion to Hiking the Best Craters of the Moon Trails
Walking along the Craters of the Moon trails feels like stepping off of this planet and onto the lunar landscape. For many of us, this is as close as we can get to walking on the surface of our celestial neighbor. This is a unique and wonderful place to be discovered and should not be missed by anyone traveling through this remote region of the country.
YOLO, and y’all are not wasting it. Proud of you both
great pictures, looks like a great place. Only recommendation – pictures of jenn 🙂