Craters of the Moon

On our visit to Craters of the Moon we shot for an early arrival to beat any potential congregation, as it is one of Idaho’s largest geographical destinations. With impeccable timing we approached Craters of the Moon just as the sun was rising over the boney structures of the lava rock, which added a stunning ambience to set the stage for our adventure. Once we entered the monument, we had come to notice that not a single other visitor was present at the time, which presented our arrival with a very eerie and decollate perception of the 2,000 plus year old lava remains. As we begun to explore the monument we climbed up and over an astounding pile of debris from the three massive craters, the debris was very fine lava rock that crunched under your feet offering an under-foot sensation of what it may be like to walk on the moon. Being alone in complete silence certainly felt near post-apocalyptic as we made our journey up and around all three of the craters.

The views at the summit were magnificent as the largest of the three craters is the deepest known on earth extending over 800 feet. Looking down from the highest view point of the craters you can see out and over the lava fields pinpointing dried out lava streams where the lava once flowed to cover the 1,117 square miles of lava fields. These lava streams solidified at certain points across the valley creating cavities underneath the surface where the lava continued to flow forming lava tunnels, now empty, that pushed lava over the endless overlook of the uninhabitable landscape. One of these lava cavities is called the Indian Lava Tunnel that stretches over 800 feet long and is over 25 feet deep in some areas. After exploring this particular tunnel, we exited through one of the three lava passages and came to notice what seemed like post volcanic ash, but happened to be a light snow fall that quickly turned into a complete white out. As per usual we happened to experience the drastic and unpredictable weather patterns that Mother Nature offers us here in Idaho, naturally on a day that was forecasted to be sunny with not a cloud in the sky! If you get a chance to make it out to Craters of the Moon, we promise you will not regret the journey!