Idaho has lava fields‽ Find them at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, a collection of more that 60 lava flows that combine to cover 620 square miles of the Snake River Plain in eastern Idaho.
On a recent trip to eastern Idaho, we decided to get away from the freeway and take the "scenic route." One of our primary objectives in doing this was to visit the Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, a collection of more that 60 lava flows that combine to cover 620 square miles of the Snake River Plain.
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Formed during eight major eruptive periods between 15,000 and 2000 years ago, Craters of the Moon is a "vast ocean of lava flows with scattered islands of cinder cones and sagebrush." However, to simply say that Craters of the Moon is an interesting and massive geologic anomaly is to severely diminish both the vastness and the profound other-worldliness of its stark and eerie landscape.
Visitor's Center
We started at the Craters of the Moon Visitors Center, where we learned about the local geology, flora, and fauna of the region.
The 'Valley of the Moon' lies in a region literally combed with underground caves and passages, bewildering in their immensity, mystifying in their variety of strange formations, where there are natural bridges as yet unknown to geographers, where bear tracks hundreds of years old may be traced for miles across cinder flats. Here are craters of dormant volcanoes half a mile wide and seemingly bottomless, huge cups in which the five-story Owyhee hotel might be placed to resemble a lone sugar loaf in a huge bowl. Here are strange ice caves with stalactites and ice-encrusted walls, caves that contain as much ice in the middle of August as they do in the winter.
~ Robert W. Limbert, 1924 (Explorer, Author, Visionary)
The Visitors Center also gave us a glimpse into the human history of the area.
Native Americans
The first archaeological record of humans inhabiting the Snake River Basin date back to the end of the last Ice Age, some 12,000- 14,000 years ago. Archaeological records indicate early members of the Shoshone and Bannock tribes and their ancestors spent considerable time at Craters of the Moon; the park museum collection holds over 5,000 worked stone artifacts from this era, including bifaces, projectile points, manos and metates, and 85 potsherds.
Oregon Trail
Between 1840 and 1870, tens of thousands of emigrants passed through southern Idaho on their way to greener pastures in the fertile west. They endured great hardships in their trek, and some never made it.
The Oregon Trail followed the course of the Snake River, about 100 miles south of what is now the Craters of the Moon Monument. In 1862, an emigrant party asked guide Tim Goodale to lead them west from Fort Hall on a cutoff pioneered by ferryman John Jeffrey in 1852. Goodale succeeded in leading the group of 1,095 people, 338 wagons, and 2,900 head of stock safely from Fort Hall to Boise.
By 1863 and for nearly five decades following, until the railroad and automobiles led to the demise of the wagon route, seven out of every ten wagons en route from Fort Hall to Boise took Goodale's Cutoff instead of the main Oregon Trail.
Visit the Craters of the Moon Visitor’s Center to learn more about the geological and anthropological history of the area.
Tips for Hiking at Craters of the Moon
Although many of the Craters of the Moon trails were still snowed under at the time of our visit in early April, we did get to take two short hikes.
North Crater Flow Trail
A short, easy third-mile introduction to the Craters of the Moon
The North Crater Flow Trail takes you onto the North Crater Flow, a relatively recent flow that formed approximately 2500 years ago.
As we walked the trail, we became more and more amazed at the vastness of the lava fields.
I was fascinated with these rippling "Pahoehoe" lava flows. (Pahoehoe means "ropy" in Hawaiian.) Pahoehoe is the most common type of lava flow found at Craters of the Moon.
The Triple Twisted Tree, pictured here, is one of the iconic symbols of the Craters of the Moon. A core sample showed it to be at least 1,350 years old. In grand scheme of history, that means that is was a seedling about the time that the Great Pyramid of Cheops at Giza was being built.
The North Crater Flow Trail is a very easy walk, and there are benches along the way for resting, taking in the scenery, or strangling hugging your mother.
It is amazing that life can persist in such a desolate world, but it does.
Devil's Orchard Trail
An easy half-mile, wheel-chair accessible hike
This fully-paved trail snakes through an area of cinder beds scattered with pieces of the North Crater wall. Exhibits along the trail describe the challenges the National Park Service faces in trying to protect this fragile volcanic environment.
This area of the preserve was so named when, a hundred years ago, a visiting minister declared "this jumble of rocks, shrubs, and trees to be a garden fit for the devil himself."
And yet sometimes, even in the middle of the Devil's Orchard, if you look hard enough, you just might find a fleeting ray of sunshine and a few signs of life. (←That's a metaphor.) (←That's a baseball bat.)
Because there was so much snow still on the ground, we only got to see a small portion of the Craters of the Moon. We hope to return when everything has thawed out to explore the cave trails, which sound amazing.
How to Get to Craters of the Moon
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve is located in eastern Idaho, about half way between Arco and Carey, on US Highway 20/26/93.
The turnoff to Craters of the Moon is clearly marked and we had absolutely no trouble finding it. However, the Craters of the Moon website cautions would-be visitors: Please do not rely upon GPS digital navigation systems to find your way to Craters of the Moon. Please note that the Visitor Center... is not accessed via any unpaved roads.
The Visitor Center is open daily from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. The physical address for the visitor center is 1266 Craters Loop Road, Arco, Idaho.
For maps and further information, please visit the Craters of the Moon website.
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robin rue says
That place sounds amazing. If I am ever in that area, I definitely want to make it a point to stop there.
Karen says
Likely I wont be in Idaho anytime soon - but if I was closer I would LOVE to try out this Craters of the Moon preserve. Looks like a blast to explore and so much learning going on!
Renée ♥ says
Cleveland is a bit of a hop, Karen, but you never know! It is a pretty cool place to visit.
Kristina says
This is so neat! My oldest son would love this! I've never heard of this nor have I ever been to Idaho but it sounds amazing to experience!
Catherine @ Ten Thousand Hour Mama says
Geology is SO FASCINATING. The very fact that an occurrence 2500 years ago could be described as "recent" puts life in a totally different perspective. My family and I take a lot of road trips and will be doing so more often as the girls get older, and I'd love to work in more off-the-beaten-path side trips like this one. Thanks for sharing!
Janel says
I didn't know this place existed it looks like an interesting place to visit and learn more about. Thank you so much for sharing this with us so that we can go there and visit one day too.
Renée ♥ says
Until one of our daughters told us about it, I didn't know it existed either. Every day is a chance to learn, right?
Allison says
Oh how fun! This looks like an awesome adventure and perfect for the entire family. Great pics, thanks for sharing!
Kait says
This place looks so neat! Plus, I love seeing snow in the photos. We see exactly zero snow ever here in Hawaii, so sometimes I miss it. My husband and I are always on the hunt for "off the beaten path" adventures and this one looks like it does not disappoint!
Renée ♥ says
When I was in college, I had the privilege of being with a group of Hawaiians when they experienced their first snowfall. It is a memory I treasure. I'll have to write about it sometime.
Lauren says
This place seems like something my family and I would enjoy! I didn't know of it before your post, so thanks for sharing! I'll have to make sure we add it to the list of places we want to visit around the United States.
Thesocialbeing721 says
Wow I had no idea. Thanks for teaching me something new. Looks like a fun adventure!
Jeanine says
What gorgeous photos! I would love to do something like this while looking at such beautiful scenery. Looks like a lovely place to explore.
Terri Steffes says
I love places like this. I hadn't ever heard of it so thank you for taking the time to share it with your readers!
Tereza says
This looks absolutely insane - I've never seen anything like this before. The only kind of similar place I've been to is the Volcano at Santorini which was super hot when we walked on it and kinda black like this one! x
Ana De- Jesus says
Wow! It almost looks prehistoric, the craters of the moon is an incredible wonder. You must have been in awe seeing such an important part of history x
Amanda Love says
I've never seen this much of Idaho before. It would be really nice to experience this with the kids! It's a good learning experience for them.
Jessi Joachim says
What a beautiful place! It looks like y'all had so much fun! I love finding places near me to explore and where I can take the kids to learn something new.
Melissa says
I love a good hike and this place looks like a nice stop with great history and land formations to see. If I ever get to Idaho I will keep it as a destination not to miss.
Cindy Ingalls says
I used to visit national parks all the time growing up. I live in Idaho and I really need to go check these trails and parks out.
Dawn McAlexander says
This place sounds interesting. I have never heard of it before, but I would love to check it out. Anything that is volcanic is pretty cool. I would love to see it myself.
Charlotte says
wow I never knew these even existed! What a beautiful place to visit, we will have to add these to our bucket list!
Reesa Lewandowski says
The chances of me seeing this in person is slim to none so I really enjoying this blog post. What a beautiful place! Something I would never think would be in Idaho!!!
Lyd says
This looks like such a great museum! I loved seeing all the pictures. I've never been to Idaho so I love that I was able to experience this museum w/o having to go!
Yasmin Ali says
That's so cool! I never paid attention to Idaho, but definitely now, I might look into it!
Heather says
This looks like such a fun little trip! I have never heard of this place before, but would definitely love to visit - it looks like just the place my kids would love.
Rachel says
This place looks so cool. I can't wait until my kids are a little older and we can do all these trips with them.
CourtneyLynne says
Omg how fun!!!! I just love places like this. Anywhere I can possibly learn something makes me happy!
Tabitha Shakespeare says
I always love finding places like this to explore when we travel! It looks like you had fun!
katriza says
Wow this would be totally cool to check out! I've never heard of this place but i'm definitely adding it to my bucket list!
Brittany Fryman says
I've never been to Idaho before but it looks like fun. I've never seen anything like that Triple Twisted Tree before, it looks almost fake it's so interesting.Thank you for sharing your experience.
Sarah says
What a fun experience! I will have to keep this in mind if we are ever able to travel there. It looks like fun!