Craters of the Moon National Monument is located in southern Idaho and covers over 53,000 acres of volcanic formations, lava fields, and cinder cones. The monument features volcanic caves and spatter cones created by past volcanic eruptions.
How to get there
Craters of the Moon National Monument is located 18 miles southwest of Arco, Idaho, 86 miles from Idaho Falls, and 178 miles from West Yellowstone, WY.
Entrance fee for the National Monument
The entrance fee is $20 for private cars. If you plan to visit other national parks on your trip, you can buy America the Beautiful national park pass, which costs $80 and has access to all national parks and Monuments, valid for one year.
Top Best things to do
Robert Limbert Visitor Center
Start your visit to the visitor center by picking up a map and exploring the museum exhibits.
Scenic Drive
Drive the scenic 7-mile road to view the unique volcanic formations and landscape.
Hike Devil’s Orchard Trail
This paved 0.5 mil trail explores an area of cinder beds scattered with pieces of North Crater.
Hike up the Inferno Cone
Climb a 0.4-mile but very steep trail to the top of a volcanic cone for awe-inspiring views.
Spatter Cone
The spatter cones are formed when molten lava is expelled from a volcanic vent, and the hot lava fragments, or spatter, fall and accumulate around the vent, building up the cone shape.
Take the paved 0.1-mile trail to reach the top to look down the crater.
Snow Cone Trail
The Snow Cone is next to the Spatter Cones and accessible by another very short trail. This spatter cone gets its name because it’s a small, narrow, deep crater allowing snow to reside in the bottom year-round.
Explore a cave
Craters of the Moon National Monument do have several caves formed by ancient volcanic activity. These caves, also known as lava tubes, are formed when the surface of a lava flow cools and solidifies while the molten lava inside continues to flow, creating a hollow tube-like structure.
You can walk on the paved 1.8-mile Caves trail to see these caves from outside. Few caves are open to visitors, and you can get a free permit from the visitor center to explore them from the inside.
Here is the Indian Tunnel, a large and complex lava tube system accessible to visitors.
Hiking
There are more hiking trails, including North Crater Trail (3.5 miles), Tree Mold Trail (2 miles), and Broken Loop Trail (1.8 miles), which can be included based on your time and interest.
When to visit Craters of the Moon
The best time to visit Craters of the Moon is between late spring and early fall. Some park facilities and the loop road are closed during the winter. Summers are hot due to the black volcanic rocks.
How much time in the Monument
You need 3-4 hours to drive on a 7-mile Loop Road, walk the Devil’s Orchard Trail, hike Inferno Cone, Spatter, and Snow Cone and see the caves. If you want to include all the hiking trails, you need more time.
Our experience
We visited Craters of the Moon National Monument as a day trip from Yellowstone National Park and spent 3-4 hours seeing the highlights.