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Aerial view of Big Southern Butte rising above the Snake River Plain, Idaho

Hiking & Nature

Big Southern Butte

Craters of the Moon · South Central Idaho

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
Hiking & Nature
COUNTRY
United States
REGION
Craters of the Moon · South Central Idaho
DURATION
2

ABOUT THIS ATTRACTION

A 700-foot rhyolite island rising sheer out of the sagebrush plain — the eastern landmark of the Snake River Plain, visible for sixty miles. One of the youngest volcanoes of the Craters of the Moon field, it served as terrain training ground for the Apollo astronauts learning to read lava landscapes; a rough dirt road climbs to a summit view from the Tetons to the Lost River Range.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The story behind it

Big Southern Butte is a dome of rhyolite lava that squeezed up through the plain's lava sheets roughly 300,000 years ago — geologically yesterday, and a preview of the hotspot story that built the whole Snake River Plain. To the Shoshone it was a landmark of the eastern desert trails, and wagon-era emigrants on the alternative routes of the Oregon Trail used it as a beacon long before any survey. Its strangest chapter came in the 1960s and early 1970s: NASA geologists, preparing Apollo crews for the lunar maria, used the butte and the Craters of the Moon lava field as classrooms because the cratered terrain was the closest analog on Earth — astronauts including Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell trained on these lavas. Today the butte is administered as part of the Craters of the Moon National Monument extension, still roadless on most sides, with the 4WD track up the north flank open in dry weather.

WHAT TO SEE

What to see here

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

GOOD TO KNOW

Facts & Curiosities

01

Big Southern Butte rises about 700 feet above the Snake River Plain to roughly 6,600 feet, visible for about 60 miles.

02

It is a rhyolite lava dome around 300,000 years old, part of the eastern Craters of the Moon volcanic field.

03

NASA used the butte and the surrounding lava field to train Apollo astronauts in lunar-terrain geology.

04

The summit road is a rough 4WD track off US-20 near Atomic City; climbing the butte is free and unguided.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Before you go

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MAP & LOCATION

Big Southern Butte

Big Southern Butte, Craters of the Moon, South Central Idaho, United States

43.3956, -113.0240

Open in OpenStreetMap

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Big Cinder Butte & the Great Rift backcountry

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Arco, Idaho, beneath the lava-country buttes
Cities & Culture

Arco & the Atomic City

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THINGS TO DO

Things to do nearby

01

The Cave Walk

02

Dark-Sky Night

03

The June Wildflower Bloom

FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

The Lost Taco — Arco’s favorite street-Mexican counter.

02

Bad Boyz Pizza — lava-hot pies and cold beer in Arco.

03

Mountain View RV Park restaurant — southern BBQ plates on the way to the monument.

04

Pick’s Place — burgers, shakes and the town’s lunch counter.

05

Carey’s Antelope Creek Ranch B&B dining — reservation dinners on the road south.

06

Picnic at the monument — shaded tables at the visitor center (pack in, pack out).

Explore destination

HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Craters of the Moon KOA — full-hookup pool-and-cabin resort 19 miles from the visitor center (see camping).

02

Mountain View RV Park — grassy full-hookup sites with BBQ restaurant in Arco (see camping).

03

Craters of the Moon RV Park — 30/50-amp pull-throughs minutes from town (see camping).

04

The monument’s Lava Flow Campground — tent-and-small-RV sites under the cinder hills (see camping).

05

Mackay’s motels and the White Knob RV park 40 minutes north in the Pioneer valley.

06

Carey’s Silver Creek area ranch stays 30 minutes south.

Explore destination

ITINERARIES

Day-by-day routes

US-20: the Peaks-to-Craters Byway — Craters of the Moon2

US-20: the Peaks-to-Craters Byway

US-93/20 runs from Mackay’s 12,000-foot Pioneer peaks down Borah Peak’s fault-block face, across the Lost River valley, and into the black lava — the monument’s loop road branches at the low point. Arco’s Number Hill and the EBR-I reactor site line the way.

View itinerary
The Pioneer Mountains loop — Craters of the Moon2

The Pioneer Mountains loop

Forty minutes north of Arco, the Pioneer Mountains raise Idaho’s tallest peak outside the tetons: Borah (12,662 ft). Drive the Mackay reservoir, hike the Big Lost River valley, and return through the lava at sunset — alpine morning, volcanic evening.

View itinerary

NEARBY DESTINATIONS

Continue the journey

Twin Falls & the Snake River Canyon

Twin Falls & the Snake River Canyon

South Central Idaho

Sun Valley & Ketchum

Sun Valley & Ketchum

Central Idaho

Salmon & Challis

Salmon & Challis

Central Idaho

PART OF

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