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National monument in Idaho, United States
Photo: Marc Heiden - User: (WT-shared) Gorilla Jones at wts wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a United States national monument in the Snake River Plain of Central Idaho. The park was created to protect a vast landscape of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush. Starting 15,000 years ago, the landscape was created by molten lava flows. While the park's landscape varies tremendously from the celestial body after which it was named, it was nevertheless visited in 1969 by Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, Joe Engle and Eugene Cernan who explored the lava landscape in order to learn the basics of volcanic geology in preparation for future trips to the moon.
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This lava flow is the youngest in the park. A short ¼-mile (0.4-km) trail leads past lava monoliths. A longer 3.5-mile (5.6 km) trail leads to the North Crater, source of this flow. This trail eventually connects to the Spatter cones stop on the driving tour.
Fragments of rock rise out of a field of black cinder like flowers, giving rise to the name of this area. A ½-mile (0.8-km) accessible trail leads through the bizarre landscape.
A steep ½-mile (0.8-km) trail leads to the top of this cinder cone which provides a panoramic view of the lava fields, including one of world's largest cinder cones, Big Cinder Butte.
A short accessible trail leads through the spatter cones, miniature vents that create tiny volcanic cones.
This stop is a trailhead for multiple trails. The 2-mile (3-km) Tree Molds Trail leads past imprints of trees in the lava. The 1.8-mile (2.9-km) Broken-Top Trail circles a cinder cone. The longer, 4-mile (6.4-km) Wilderness Trail visits lava trees, upright molds of trees destroyed by lava flow.
A 1.75-mile (3-km) trail leads to lava tube caves. The caves are open to explore with a permit from the visitor center but you will need to bring a light source.
51 sites. Lava Flow Campground is accessible by automobile from May through November. Facilities: water, restrooms, charcoal grills, picnic tables. No RV hookups or showers. From November through May, water and other services are limited or unavailable.
Nestled behind Sunset Cinder Cone about 0.75 miles up a gravel road on the north side of U.S. Highway 20/26/93. Check-in at the Visitor Center in order to gain access to this gated area. Open May through October (closure dates may vary depending upon snow conditions). Facilities: picnic tables, drinking water, fire grate, vault restroom.
in the Visitor Center
By air
The closest commercial airport is Idaho Falls Regional Airport (IDA) is just northwest of Idaho Falls.
The Monument and Preserve remains open all year, although winter snows prevent automobile access around the Loop Drive from mid-November through mid-April. During the open period the road remains open at all hours.
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Hailey · Regional · SUN
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