The Great American Road Trip Challenge~4.5 years · 48 states · one loop
The Northern Rockies

Stop 3 · Days 522–523

Craters of the Moon

Craters of the Moon, ID

A vast, otherworldly sea of black lava, cinder cones, and caves — so alien that Apollo astronauts trained here.

Where to stay

  • An Arco motel (or campground)

    Tiny gateway town by the monument.

    Open in Maps

You gotta eat this

  • A small-town diner meal

    Arco was the first town lit by atomic power.

The days here

Each day opens its own hour-by-hour page

  1. 522Day 522 — The Lava FieldsFull day · 4h planned
  2. 523Day 523 — North to Sun ValleyDrive day · 1h 30m drive

What this stop is made of

  • National Parks & Forests