ビュート郡周辺のおすすめファミリーハイキング＆ウォーキング

When flaming hot lava hit the trees in this area, the trees fell and ignited. Even today you can see the relics of the "molten" trees and holes that a standing tree left behind.

The 2-mile (roundtrip) Tree Molds Trail leads you through bushes and pine forests to the edge of the Blue Dragon Flow. Here, numerous trees were knocked over and ignited by molten lava. You can still see the imprints of the charred tree trunks in the lava rock along this trail today. In some places, however, the trees remained standing as the lava flowed around them, leaving vertical imprints in the cooling lava.

The Devils Orchard Nature Trail is a 0.5-mile paved loop showing you an area of cinder beds scattered with pieces of North Crater. There are interesting information boards for the awareness of this fragile environment. The trail is wheelchair-accessible.

You will find several information boards with interesting facts about the changing environment in Craters of the Moon National Monument. So take your time to learn a bit more about this unique place. There are also benches, in case you want to rest.

The Spatter Cones are no classic vents. They were formed when hot chunks of lava were thrown a short distance into the air before falling back to earth at the edge of a central vent. The still molten lumps landed on top of each other, cooled down and formed a kind of mini volcano.

The Caves Trail leads to four different caves that are actually lava tubes: Dewdrop Cave, Indian Tunnel, Boy Scout Cave and Beauty Cave. Some of the caves might be closed to protect bats or for the season and you need to obtain a free permit from the Visitor Center to enter any cave. While walking above the ground, you can discover fascinating formations that were created by the latest lava flow: the Blue Dragon Lava Flow with bluish lava.

The "Indian Tunnel" is the largest and longest of the lava tubes along the Caves Trail that can be accessed. To do so, you need to obtain a free permit at the Visitor Center. You will climb over rocks that can be slippery in places, but it is a unique small adventure. On the ceiling of the tube you can see lava stalactites formed as the river of lava pulled away from the ceiling, and molten material began to drip from the hot ceiling. The exit is about 800 feet further north.

The northern entrance of the "Indian Tunnel" is mostly used as an exit since you enter the lava tube from further south. Once you get out of the lava tube, follow the wooden poles over the lava back to the Caves Trail.