Allow at least 1 hour to stop at the Visitor Center and hike the Lava FLow Trail. If you have additional time, hike the Lenox Crater Trail, or enjoy the view from the Cinder Hills Overlook. Use extreme caution when hiking - lava is sharp, brittle, and unstable; cinders are slippery underfoot.
Lava Flow Trail is a 1-mile (1.6km) loop trail with a .25 mile (.4km) accessible loop. It is a self-guided trail exploring a variety of volcanic formations.
The Lenox Crater Trail provides an opportunity to climb a cinder cone. This steep trail is 1-mile (1.6km) round trip and requires about 30 minutes up and 15 minutes down!
Backcountry hiking is not allowed in order to protect fragile geological and archeolgocial features. Please stay on designated trails.
You can also hike to O'Leary Peak on a 7-mile (11.2km) Forest Service trail.
Pets must be kept on a leash at all times. They are not allowed in buildings or on trails in the national monument.
Visit all 3 Flagstaff Area National Monuments Wupatki and Walnut Canyon National Monuments are both nearby. more...
Flagstaff Festival of Science Sept. 26 - Oct. 5, 2008. A ten-day family event with open houses, lectures, hikes, and excursions. more...
Did You Know?
When Paricutin erupted in Michoacan, Mexico in 1943, scientists flocked to the site. Observations and studies there have helped to explain the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona 900 years earlier.