CRATERS of the MOON National Monument & Preserve

Using the Wilderness

Most visitors to Craters of the Moon see the monument from their car and the short hiking trails along the Loop Drive. Doing so acquaints them with only 15% of the monument. The remaining 43,243 acres are seldom visited, yet there are few places in America where wilderness is so easily accessible.

The Wilderness Act of 1964 defined wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain." The Act recognized that wilderness provides outstanding opportunities for solitude and a primitive type of recreation. Craters of the Moon contains wilderness in the truest sense of this definition. It is a vast plain of lava flows dotted with spatter cones, fissures, lava tubes, and cinder cones. You will have the sense of being truly alone as you explore the seemingly endless volcanic terrain along the Great Rift.

Along the Trail

The wilderness trail leads four miles from the Tree Molds parking lot to the Sentinel. The Lava Trees and Echo Crater both make good day hike destinations. Most backpackers spend the night at Echo Crater, three miles from the trailhead, but there are also camping opportunities at the Sentinel and beyond.

Begin at the Tree Molds parking lot. Walk back along the road approximately 75 yards to a trail on the right. You will hike over Broken Top cinder cone, passing through stands of antelope bitterbrush and rubber rabbitbrush. The trail then enters the cool shade of a limber pine grove before descending onto the most recent lava flow in the monument.

At this point you may detour cross-country to Buffalo Caves. Approximately 50 yards beyond where the trail hits the lava flow at the base of Broken Top, watch for a large pile of rocks (cairn) on the right of the trail. Follow the cairns along the base of Broken Top for 100 yards to reach the cave entrance. In the cave wear a helmet or hat to protect your head and carry a flashlight. It is not wise to enter caves alone. Backtrack to return to the wilderness trail.

The trail continues past Big Cinder Butte, which rises 800 feet above you. A half mile beyond Big Cinder, look for a series of lava trees and fissures West of the trail. The trail winds between Coyote and Crescent Buttes to Echo Crater. Be sure to climb to the rim for a spectacular view of the row of cinder cones that mark the Great Rift. From the top, it is an easy walk down the south side of the cone. You can go into the crater and find protection from the sun and wind under the limber pines.

The hiking trail becomes less distinct beyond Echo Crater, but can be followed as far as the Sentinel, where it disappears altogether. You can travel cross-country beyond that point; however, dense shrubs and uneven lava make the going slow and sometimes unpleasant. Wear long pants for bush whacking or your legs will get shredded!