To Arco

PIONEER MOUNTAINS
20 26 93
Sunset Cone 6410ft 1954m

Wilderness area

Point of interest

Trail

Campground

HI G FL HW OW AY
Grassy Cone 6315ft 1925m

Visitor Center
DR
2

FLO
AG

WS

ON
FL

North Crater Flow Trail

E RE

N
Devils Orchard Nature Trail

OW

SE

RR

TE

North Crater Trail

North Crater 6244ft 1903m Paisley Cone 6107ft 1861m

Silent Cone 6357ft 1938m

BIG CRATERS

CRATERS OF THE MOON NATIONAL MONUMENT 7

Dewdrop Cave Beauty Cave Boy Scout Cave Indian Tunnel

4
Inferno Cone 6181ft 1884m

5
Snow Cone Spatter Cones

To Carey

RE

AT
BIG SINK

LAVA CASCADES

BL

UE

WS

IF

FLO

T
Broken Top 6058ft 1846m

BROK

EN

DR

TO

AG

GON

FL
Half Cone 6055ft 1846m

W
FL

ZO

DRA

North

BLU

Big Cinder Butte 6515ft 1986m

0 0

0.5 0.5

1 Kilometer 1 Mile

TREE MOLDS AREA

TRENCH MORTAR FLAT To Echo Crater

Crescent Butte 5989ft 1825m

Exploring Craters of the Moon by the Loop Road

what is being done to protect it today. This barriWhat at first appears monotonous is really a er-free trail is designed to be accessible to all landscape full of detail and surprises. This brief people. guide to selected features helps you see the park at your own pace, schedule, and interests. The 4 Inferno Cone Viewpoint A volcanic landscape larger story unfolds as you tour the park by the loop road. Stop first at the visitor center, a good of cinder cones spreads before you to the distant point for beginning your explorations. mountain ranges. Cool moist north slopes of the cones have noticeably more vegetation than the 1 Visitor Center Here you will find information drier south slopes. From the summit of Inferno Conea short, steep walkyou can recognize and publications about the park. Exhibits and a the chain of cinder cones along the Great Rift. short video describe the parks lava phenomena and the Earth processes that created them. Check for schedules of conducted walks and evening Big Cinder Butte towers above the lava plain in programs. Rangers can answer questions about the distance. This is one of the largest purely the park and help you plan your explorations. basaltic cinder cones in the world. The seven-mile loop road takes you deeper into the parks scenic attractions. Side trips lead to points two through seven. Most of the drive is one way. Several spur roads and trailheads help you explore Craters of the Moon even further. The trails invite foot travel. You can make the drive, including several short walks, in about two hours.

The Limbert Trek

Martin P.O. See detail map above Old Arco-Carey Road

Visitor Center

North Crater Flow Big Craters

20 26 93

Big Cinder Butte

Echo Crater

Bridge of Tears

Li m be rt s Ro ut
Sheep Trail Butte Vermillion Chasm

5 Big Craters and Spatter Cones Area

Spatter cones formed along the Great Rift fissure where clots of pasty lava stuck together when they fell. The material and forces of these eruptions originated at depths of nearly 37 miles within the Earth. To protect these fragile volcanic features, you are required to stay on trails in this area. A spur road just beyond Inferno Cone takes you to trails that lead to the Tree Molds Area, Trench Mortar Flat, and the Craters of the Moon Wilderness. Tree molds formed where molten lava flows encased trees and then hardened. The cylindrical molds that remained after the wood rotted away range from a few inches to just under three feet in diameter. Note: All backcountry camping requires a permit available at the visitor center.

Two Point Butte

From Minidoka

6 Trails to Tree Molds and Wilderness 2 North Crater Flow

At this stop a short trail crosses the flow to a group of monoliths or crater wall fragments transported by lava flows. This flow is one of the youngest and here the Triple Twist Tree suggests, because of its 1,350 growth rings, that these eruptions ceased only 2,000 years ago. You see fine examples of both ropy pahoehoe lava and aa lava flows on North Crater Flow. Up the road is the North Crater Trail. Take this longer, steep trail to peer into a volcano vent. On the east side, after the road skirts Paisley Cone, is Devils Orchard . This group of lava fragments stands like islands in a sea of cinders. A short spur road leads to a selfguiding trail through these weird features. As you walk this 12-mile trail, you will see how people have had an impact on this lava landscape and

7 Cave Area 3 Devils Orchard

At this last stop on the loop road take a 12-mile walk to the lava tubes and see Dewdrop, Boy Scout, Beauty, and the Indian Tunnel. You need to carry artificial light in all caves but Indian Tunnel.