craters of the moon national monument

ChildeRoland

This is definitely a unique place to visit. It's just outside of the town of Arco, which is just outside of anywhere. I visited in the winter and so many of the roads were closed. Hiking through the frozen lava is an amazing experience. It really gives you a different perspective on the entire landscape afterwards.

ChaseN_12

This place was amazing, wonderful, neat, cool, and awesome all rolled into one. Words dont truly express how unique this place is. Think of black sand, volcanic rocks, caves and brilliantly clear and heavily populated starry skies!Is it in the middle of nowhere? yep. Is it a half day drive to get to this desolate area? yep. Is it worth it? yep.Make sure to camp here. Go in all of the caves. Take pictures. This is a good 2 day experience. Ive been to nearly all the National Parks in the lower 48 and this one is very unique. If you are within a couple hundred miles, stop in.

ginger2003_98

We took the drive around the loop and stopped to hike at various points. Make sure you climb the huge black "mountain" - it has great views of the park. Climbing down into the caves was fun as well. Take a flashlight and good hiking shoes.

doa1

We visited the Craters of the Moon while on an extended motorcycle trip. This was a very interesting place. The landscape reminded us of parts of the big island of Hawaii. There are lots of places to explore and hike. We had a picnic at one of the wayside rests on the circle road that goes around the monument.

SharolinLesotho

We enjoyed some lovely hiking and picnicking at Craters of the Moon on Valentine's Day of this year. There were relatively few other people around and we set up our grill in the campground and enjoyed a picnic with a great view! It was great to learn about the history and geology of the area within such a dramatic landscape. The visitor's center was worth spending a bit of time at.

116tylerp

We went in july and was it ever hot out. The nice thing was how cool the caves were. Whenever we started to feel too hot we would just venture down into one of the caves where it feels like a nice AC room. We had a nice visit and would recommend stopping to check it out.

ChristopherW999

Close to Yellowstone & worth the trip to see. Acres & acres of volcanic craters. Is really hot during summer so dress & pack appropriately. Lots of hiking involved to see everything so we were limited by my mobility issues. the area reminds me of the Moon landing Pics..lol

Steven_Thompson_56

Craters of the Moon is located southwest of the current Yellowstone Caldera. It's a natural monument with miles of exposed lava mounds. If the NE path continues, the caldera that created Craters of the Moon and Yellowstone NP could someday end up under the Montana city of Billings...

Ghostbuster911

We've had the chance to visit 8 national parks in the USA. By far, this is my favourite. Arches national park was my second favourite, with the Grand Canyon being my least favourite. Go during October/November when its not too hot, or too busy. The shear size and accessibility of the volcanoes is amazing. When your walking in and through the lava tubes, it blows you away. This park provides plenty of amazing photos for you to shoot. While making you feel small and vulnerable. This shows the raw power that can be delivered by the earth itself.

ChrisMary825

Fields of grain forever ... and then we find this desolate moonscape of broken lava shards and hills for as far as the eye can see. Awesome and unexpected landscape. The visitor center is excellent in explaining the moving hot spot beneath the land and how it has moved and changed the geomorphology along the way. Easy drive into the park with a multitude of short walks among the rust brown shards and interesting small plants. Lava cones, lava tubes, cinder mounds, etc. Well worth the visit. We did not take the long hike to the lava tubes but still felt we saw enough with the drive and short walks.

ballhawg

Great staff at the visitors center---very helpful and friendly. There are some interesting back roads, gravel and mud, but interesting. The snow and the sunsets make for good photo ops.

kellyhF1605EL

If you ever happen to be traversing Idaho, this is a great place to stop! There are a lot of really cool things to see and it definitely helps break up the monotony of the long drive across eastern Idaho. My favorites were the giant mound of volcanic glass and the trails winding through the lava tubes. I made a friend there (another solo traveler like myself) and we explored some of the lava tube caves in the park. Well worth the minor detour! Very neat place and had a lot more to see than I expected. It really does look like the surface of the moon (except black).

rikaman

Craters of the Moon National Monument was never one of those 'go to' places for me. Actually, while on a 'bucket list' motorcycle ride across the USA I 'just happened' upon this marvel. I write today to make others aware of just one more of our countries beauty's. Highway 20 to 'Craters', the staff and the facilities make this a for sure 'go to' place. All of us have issues with how our tax dollars are used...this is not one of those.

lysmekah

Went to Craters of the Moon for a night as a member of our party was Geology degree and was super excited. Lots of interesting volcanic features to check out. The park has a 1 way loop to drive through, that has easy to read signs and parking lots making it easy to stop and wander around. Each of the locations had signs explaining the geology of the area - making it highly educational. Spent 1 night in the campground as well - which was first come first served. Clean washrooms, cheap sites, and pitch black nights with lots of stars. Downside was that the sites were really rocky and unlevel - not ideal for tents. Took us a lot time to find a site that was level enough for tents, and even then our car was parked so tightly to the trees we could barely open the doors. Bigger sites were mostly taken by trailers. The visitor centre was very informative, but had the most rude staff members we had ever encountered in a national park. Not sure why. The rocks are fascinating - you could pick up a boulder right over your head - and the terrain all around looks like that of another world. Worth visiting if you are in the area. 1 is probably enough though.

WhiteCollarNomad44

The name of the park is very appropriate, and it essentially feels like you are on another world. The lava flows and formations which are frozen in time should appeal to kids and adults alike. Be sure to make time to take some of the short hikes in various parts of this small park, so you can truly appreciate the landscape. The elevation was surprisingly a bit higher (if I remember correctly, it was around 6000 ft), so may have an affect on some people with breathing issues.