North Crater Trail is a 3.5 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Arco, Idaho that features a cave and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, and nature trips and is best used from May until September.
Craters of the Moon National Monument charges a fee to enter. Fees are $20 per vehicle or $15 per motorcycle. If you are entering on foot or bike the fee is $10 per person. You can also purchase a park-specific annual pass for $35. This one-way trail is especially interesting for its variety. The trail traverses North Crater and drops into the crater mouth, the vent for the North Crater flow. Notice that the northwest flank of North Crater is missing. An eruption tore the wall apart, and a series of flows rafted the fragments away. The trail continues to the rim of Big Craters before descending to the Spatter Cones. No off-trail travel is permitted in the Big Craters area in order to protect fragile lava formations.
March 25, 2021Unfortunately, Loop Road wasn’t open to vehicles yet so I had to hike from the visitor center. I got a really late start at 5:30pm but that left the entire park to myself! I walked Loop Road all the way to Inferno, Snow, and Spatter Cones because the North Flow Trail at the northern end had 1-2 feet of snow and I had no snowshoes. As an amateur geologist, I can’t tell you how exciting it was to have the chance to hike into actual volcanoes! The landscape of this area, backdropped by the Pioneer Mountains, produced magnificent views. I started running low on daylight so I had to head back. Yet I noticed the southern end of North Flow Trail was free of snow, a shorter hike than Loop Road, and would take me by Big Craters. I decided to try it, and was I ever rewarded! Hiking along the rim of Big Craters has been one of the most favorite hikes of my life. It was so cool to hike along the rim and look down into those massive craters and then see the Pioneer Mountains to my left. I spent so much time there that I actually had to finish my hike with my headlamp and in the deep snow at the north end, which made it near impossible to know where the trail was. But I made it back to Loop Toad and finished the hike to my car under moonlight - how appropriate for this park! I thought I had never heard of this park but then discovered from my dad that our family actually went through this park when I was seven. It must have been overshadowed by all the other parks we visited on that trip for the first time, like the Grand Canyon, haha!
December 29, 2020Made it just before sunset, lucked out with a clear day. Some parts of trail were closed but still able to do about half of it. Short and scenic.
November 7, 2020Pretty cool trail! At Big Craters, there is a sign that says do not enter. I highly recommend entering that part and circling around the rim of the crater. That was the most breathtaking part of this journey by far. also, if you don't feel like walking back the same path, you can follow the road around instead for the return journey.
October 22, 2020This is THE trail in craters! It’s lovely and out of this world! Lots of up and down and lava rock everywhere. Just truly fantastic.
October 6, 2020Good variety of volcanic landscapes. Took under two hours even with taking lots of pictures. Wasn't crowded at all in October. Some slippery gravel portions.
October 3, 2020October 3, 2020September 27, 2020September 27, 2020Very neat trail with a lot of great views giving you a good perspective of how unique the place really is. It is consistent decent elevation gain on the out and more loss on the way back. Did it in about 1hr45m which accounts for stopping to take pictures etc.
September 26, 2020Trail was just ok. I’d call this a low moderate difficulty. I would have liked it more had there been some additional informational signage to talk about how the craters formed and all that.
September 17, 2020September 15, 2020September 11, 2020September 9, 2020Beautiful..
September 8, 2020September 8, 2020September 8, 2020September - Late Summer This is one of the more popular hikes for walking over this alien landscape, and it’s pretty cool! You get to walk across the cinder craters, lava flows, and it takes you right up to the spatter cones at the end. It’s all very interesting to see the landscape and at times it does feel like you are walking on a different planet. My only complaint is that it is out and back. This trail is definitely worth it, but it gets a little boring having to walk back through everything you’ve already seen.
September 5, 2020August 29, 2020August 26, 2020August 20, 2020August 16, 2020July 30, 2020Great crater views. Interesting rocks to look at along the way. Nice part over a lava flow. Up and down will raise your heart rate. Not a difficult trail though.
July 23, 2020Hiked this on 7/13/2020. Very scenic and variable, really interesting. Started at 9 am and with a strong wind we stayed cool the whole time.
July 12, 2020I found this to be a fun little trail. A variety of views for different craters, climbs and descents, and a technical path over lava tubes. No shade, but easy enough to go out and back. If that's too much and you've got two cars, you can park one at each end of the trailheads and make it a one way hike.
July 11, 2020You’ll have some service on this trail, so no need to download the map. No shade - bring water. The hike is moderately strenuous as you are consistently hiking up, down, and back up again, but take it slow and pause for breaks and you’ll be fine. It was a bit slippery with all the loose rocks/sand. I loved the views and thought the hike was worth it — my hiking buddy would not agree. Haha — she was not a fan of this hike due to slipping a couple times.
July 3, 2020
