Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, Arco, Idaho

I’ve always wanted to visit the moon. The craters, rocks, and volcanic plains are fascinating to me. Since I highly doubt I’ll go into space in my lifetime, we found the next best thing!

Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve near Arco, Idaho is a wondrous place! With the most amazing landscape and unique wildflowers, it feels like you left the earth and journeyed to another world.

The moment we entered the park we were transported to another realm. We went to the visitor center where we learned about the animals that call the park home. It was also fascinating to learn about the different types of lava rocks and flows that formed the park.

Our first adventure was to walk the North Crater Flow Trail. This was a relatively easy paved trail. In this area it was amazing to see how the North Crater was formed by gas-charged lava being spewed into the air. As it continued to pile up and cool, it formed a cinder cone. According to the National Park Service sign, “This was followed by a thick outpouring of lava that ripped open the northwest side of the cone.” This flow is about 3 miles long.

You wouldn’t think that anything would be able to live on the inhospitable terrain, but that’s not the case. We saw beautiful wildflowers like Fern Bush, Mountain Buckwheat, Wire Lettuce, Rabbitbrush and some grasshoppers in this rocky wilderness.

Our next hike was the Devil’s Orchard Nature Trail. This half-mile loop was also fully paved and easy to explore. Although I don’t care for the name of the trail, it had some of my favorite wildflowers in the park growing there.

Next we drove to Inferno Cone for a very windy hike. The Inferno Cone trail is 0.2 miles and has an elevation gain of 164 ft. with a typical grade of 14.9%, so it’s pretty steep. The views are absolutely amazing from the top!

Spatter Cones Trail was our next hiking adventure. These spatter cones were formed when molten lava was lobbed into the air during an eruption nearly 2,100 years ago. (Credit to the National Park Service sign at the entrance of the trailhead.) This was a short 274 ft. trail to see inside a spatter cone. It was fascinating to see down inside the mini-volcano from the platform. The spattered volcano reminded me of popcorn, but I’m sure it didn’t taste as good. 😉

Snow Cone Trail was one of our favorite trails. It’s a paved 274 ft. trail that’s not very steep, and a relatively easy hike. What’s so neat about this trail? It takes you to a cone that has snow at the bottom! It was in the summer, with the hot sun beating down on it, but there was still un-melted snow inside. How cool is that?

We walked and drove past the lava cascades, always making sure to stay where you’re allowed to travel. The lava cascades reminded us of the flow stones inside the caverns we’ve explored. The cascades are formed when lava flows like a fiery hot river across the land. It looks so smooth and soft to the touch, and you can see the direction some of it was traveling. It must have been incredible to see when the lava cascade was rolling across the earth here.

Now for our favorite part of Craters of the Moon – the lava caves! We took the Caves Area Trail (0.8 mile one-way) which was an easy paved trail. Just an FYI, you are required to get a permit to enter the caves. So if you’re interested in going down under, make sure you take care of that at the Visitor Center. Along the way, we saw collapsed lava tubes, amazing patterns in the lava, and a landscape that felt like we were walking on the moon.

We hiked to Dewdrop Cave and climbed inside to explore the cave. This is where it gets super interesting to see! Climbing over the rocks and down into the dark abyss was incredible! Is it an easy climb? No, not really. There are unstable rocks you will be climbing on and over, and it’s really dark inside unless you have a light. Was it worth it? Absolutely!!!

After we climbed around for a while, we took the path to Indian Tunnel. The cave entrance led us down a flight of stairs to a trail leading in two directions. To the right was a short path, but to the left was the long trek throughout the cave tunnel to the exit. We took the more difficult and longer trail to the left… (Because of course we did, lol.)

If we thought Dewdrop Cave was a bit hard to climb, that was easy compared to this. Was it impossible? Of course not. However, it was definitely more challenging–especially while holding a phone and camera. We joke that Juliana climbs like a mountain goat, and she amazed me with her dexterity! Luke was also a powerhouse and loved climbing the rocks to see where the path would lead.

After we climbed through the boulders from a previous tunnel collapse, the path was much easier to traverse. There were small caves inside to explore, different patterns in the lava that we enjoyed seeing, and the inside was cool and relaxing. There is a big temperature difference from on land to below ground in the cave tunnels. I was glad I had my jacket with me!

We reached the end of the tunnel, and climbed back up to the surface where we walked over the surface of the lava. (On the approved path.) When we got back to the entrance of the cave, we went back down to take the path on the right this time.

This is one of our family’s all-time favorite National Parks, and we highly recommend a trip! Here are some tips you may find helpful if you decide to visit:

Stay on the marked paths and trails. The tubes are hollow, and some may collapse. Be safe 😊
Bring water! The trails can get hot, especially in the summer months, and there aren’t water stations available.
If you plan on exploring the caves, make sure you get your permit first. You can find the instructions here: https://www.nps.gov/crmo/planyourvisit/white-nose-syndrome-and-cave-permitting.htm
Also make sure to bring a jacket if you plan on exploring the caves. Not everyone would need one, but it can definitely be cold underground and the jackets make it more comfortable.
Bring a light source if you plan on exploring Dewdrop Cave. It’s very dark!
Wear proper footwear. Sandals, flip-flops, and slides are not safe to wear while climbing over rocks. We wore tennis shoes and hiking shoes with good grips on the bottom and these worked well for our family.
If you have a child in the Fourth Grade, check out the free National Park Pass program here: https://www.everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm

If you would like to see our full YouTube vlog, including videos of The Trapps vs. the boulders and inside the lava tubes, please either click the photo below or the link here: We Hiked Through a 2,000-Year-Old Lava Tube!

We hope you enjoyed traveling along with us!

If you’d like to keep exploring, you can find more family travel adventures here:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TravelingwiththeTrapps
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@travelingwiththetrapps

We’ve also shared videos on our YouTube channel to complement this post and bring the experience to life.

Thanks so much for traveling with us, and stay tuned for more adventures with Traveling with the Trapps.

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