Alt Text Park map of El Malpais National Monument in New Mexico. The park is outlined in green and filled in with shades of brown. The surrounding areas are beige. Extended Description El Malpais National Monument is roughly shaped like a chunky capital letter H but with the right leg kicked off at an angle so it stretches toward the top right corner of the map. Most of the park is shaded ash-brown, representing areas of lava flow. The park is located just south of Cibola National Forest. State Route 53 borders the north side of the park, and State Route 117 hugs the eastern border of the park. The El Malpais National Park Service Visitor Center is north of the park off Exit 85 of Interstate 40, tucked into the top right corner of the map below Grants, which is shown in orange. There is a ranger station, self-guiding trail, and picnic area at the visitor center. From there, the body of the park is accessed by State Routes 117 or 53, which flank El Malpais National Conservation Area (Bureau of Land Management) that stretches south from the visitor center. Via State Route 117 State Route 117 connects the visitor center to the eastern border of the park. Sites down the east edge include the El Malpais (BLM) Ranger Station, which is open Thursday through Monday; a spur leading into the park and Sandstone Bluffs Overlook, which has restrooms and a picnic area and is open sunrise to sunset; and Joe Skeen Campground (BLM) with a primitive campsite. Next to the Cebollita Canyon, the Zuni-Acoma Trailhead connects State Route 117 with State Route 53 on the far side of this leg of the park. The Zuni-Acoma Trail measures 7.5 miles (12.1 kilometers). Continuing south along the east border and into a region marked as Cebolla Wilderness are La Ventana Natural Arch (BLM) with restrooms, a picnic area, and self-guiding trail; and Narrows Picnic Area (BLM) with restrooms, a picnic area, and hiking. Unpaved 4-wheel-drive roads with high clearance extend from State Route 117 to cross the North Pasture, Cebolla Canyon, and Sand Canyon in El Malpais National Conservation Area (BLM) outside the park and near the bottom right corner of the map. The final site on this eastern leg is the Lava Falls Trail, which has restrooms, a picnic area, and hiking. At the end of an access road, the trail measures 1.0 miles (1.6 kilometers). State Route 117 continues south and off the bottom edge of the map. Before it does so, County Road 42/Chain of Craters Backcountry Byway, an unpaved 4-wheel-drive road with high clearance, branches north. One of two legs leads to the Hole in the Wall Trailhead in West Malpais Wilderness in El Malpais National Conservation Area, just outside the south leg of the park. The other leg branches off to follow the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail of the left edge of the map. Via State Route 53 State Route 53 connects the Visitor Center and the northern border of the park. The western terminus of Zuni-Acoma Trail, which has restrooms and hiking at the trailhead, is at the top, inside corner of the right leg of the H. State Route 5 curves west to the El Calderon Trailhead, which has restrooms, a picnic area, and hiking. The trail measures 1.3 miles (2.1 kilometers), and it passes Junction Cave and encircles El Calderon Crater, which has an elevation of 7,359 feet (2,243 meters). There is also an unpaved 4-wheel-drive road that starts near the trailhead and winds south onto the Cerritos de Jaspe. Back on State Route 53, the next landmark is the El Malpais (NPS) Fire Operations Center, which is closed to the public. State Route 53 continues west through private land, where access roads lead to the private Bandera Crater Ice Cave. The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail approaches State Route 5 near El Calderon Trailhead and parallels the road across the top of the left leg of the park. County Road 42 branches south from State Route 53 near the Bandera Crater. County Road 42 and the scenic trail wind across the top left corner of this leg, past red text reading “High-clearance vehicles recommended,” and south. The Continental Divide National Trail branches west and extends off the left edge of the map. NPS Road 300 branches off of County Road 42 to lead to Big Tubes Trail, which has restrooms and hiking and measures 2.0 miles (3.2 kilometers) on the west side of the west arm. Legend The legend begins with this note: “The name El Malpais refers to both the national monument managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and the national conservation area managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). As a land feature, the term El Malpais— ‘the Badlands’—is used locally and in other parts of the southwest to refer to lava flows.” The legend then reads as follows: Green outline for National Monument (National Park Service), Sand-brown for National Conservation Area (Bureau of Land Management), Ash-brown for Lava flow, White thick line for Paved road, White thin line encased in black for Unpaved 2-wheel-drive road, White dashed line encased in black for Unpaved 4-wheel-drive road (high-clearance), Green dashed line for Hiking trail, and Orange dotted line for Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. To the right of the legend is a column of five symbols that represent Restrooms, Picnic area, Hiking, Self-guiding trail, and Primitive campsite. Two notes in red text follow. The first reads, “Private lands exist within present boundaries of El Malpais and must be respected. Please leave all gates as you found them and stay on designated roads.” The second note reads, “Do not use this map for backcountry hiking. Obtain additional maps at the visitor center and ranger station.” A scale below measures distances of 1 and 2 kilometers and 1 and 2 miles.