Black Crater, Tulelake, Ca

Black Crater Trail

This 1.1 mi (1.8 km) trail leads to the site of a Modoc ambush on an Army reconnaissance mission during the Modoc War. Interpretive signs at the beginning and end of the trail explain the battle and its aftermath. The main trail follows the edge of the lava flow from Black Crater. A short side trail just past the trailhead also leads onto Black Crater itself, a large spatter cone. Look for tree molds, made when a living tree was burned away by fresh lava and left the imprint of its bark inside. If you are interested in exploring more geologic features, be sure to stop at pullouts in the Devils Homestead lava flow, just north on the main road.