Craters of the Moon Camping: An Out of this World Experience

Have you ever wanted to go camping on the moon? Well, that’s a weird thing to want, but no judgment here. If you want a similar experience without having to spend millions on astronaut training, try camping at Craters of the Moon National Monument. Its bizarre landscape is as alien as they come. Long ago lava flow erupted from the earth in this area near Arco, Idaho. The flows folded over themselves as it spread. It’s like mother nature was kneading volcanic pizza dough. The lava would eventually harden, creating the black, charred landscape that looks like an alien world. A Craters of the Moon Camping trip needs to be on your Idaho Bucket List. Here is what you need to know for camping here.

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Boise to Craters of the Moon

Craters is closer to Idaho Falls, but a lot of people head out from Boise. It takes just under three hours to get there from Idaho’s capital city.

There are two routes to get there. I recommend staying on the interstate (I-84) and going through Shoshone and Richfield. Google says its a few minutes longer, but those are easy to shave off. The other option is the quickest but its only single lane road through the hills. Truckers frequently use this route, and you will curse yourself for getting stuck behind one the long uphill sections.  

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Price

Craters of the Moon charges a $20 entrance fee. (A bit steep in my opinion for a National Monument). If you want a Craters of the Moon camping experience, it will cost you an additional $15/night. All campsites are first-come-first-served, there are no reservations available.

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Is Craters of the Moon a National Park?

Technically Craters of the Moon is not a National Park. It is, however, protected by the park system and is designated a National Monument. What’s the difference? Good Question. Outside Online put it best: “National parks are protected due to their scenic, inspirational, education, and recreational value. National monuments have objects of historical, cultural, and/or scientific interest.”

That’s not to say Craters isn’t pretty, it’s just that its historical importance is more critical. For more on the History of Craters of the Moon click here.

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Craters of the Moon Visitor Center

Stop at the Visitor Center if you haven’t toured the area before. There is an educational movie that will explain a bit more about how the landscape was formed. This is also the only place to fill water bottles with chilled water. 

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Craters of the Moon Campground

Lava Flow Campground is the only campground in the park. There are 42 sites available, each with a stone picnic table and charcoal grill. You cannot burn wood here, only charcoal fires are allowed. 

The ground is black, so it’s like standing on asphalt, and there is very little shade, so I recommend you bring your own cover in the form of a popup canopy.

There are real bathrooms here, not just pit toilets. Although they did not build these for tall people, watch your knees when closing the stall door.

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Craters of the Moon Backpacking

If picnic tables and real bathrooms are too cushy for you, Craters of the Moon does have one backpacking trail. Stop by the visitor center for permits.

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Camping under Craters of the Moon’s Night Sky

Craters of the Moons is also a designated International Dark Sky Park. This means the “land possesses an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment ” according to the International Dark-Sky Association. Camping at Craters of the Moon provides an excellent chance to see the Milky Way. When there is a new moon and no clouds, the sky lights up with thousands of stars. 

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Our Opinion

We went to Craters of the Moon on our way to the Grand Tetons. While it made a good stopping point ( I refuse to drive more than 6 hours in a day), the main reason we chose this campground was for the Milky Way. You would think with all the camping I have done I would have seen the Milky Way, but for some reason, it always seems to be cloudy, or I mistime the trip with a full moon.

We arrived in the late afternoon after driving from Boise. I didn’t realize you had to pay for both the entrance to the park and a campsite, I figured paying for a campsite would be contribution enough, but I was wrong. However, seeing as this area was part of the National Parks system, I was happy to contribute.  

We circled the campground looking for a secluded spot to park our truck camper. And as a photo junkie, I was, of course, being picky and wanted a place that would have the right foreground for my nighttime photography. There really isn’t a bad campsite at Lava Flow Campground. They are all well maintained.

We did run into the issue of how to tell if a campsite is already taken. To mark your campsite, you drop your receipt into a little plastic box. Once you drop in your receipt into the box you cannot get it back. This causes an issue when the camp staff doesn’t clear out the box right away. We had to get out of the truck at every potential spot to look at the date of the receipt to see if that person had checked out. There has to be a better way to do this.

We finally settled on a site that was corned in with steep boulder barriers on two sides. The first thing we set up was our canopy because there is zero shade in this park. Then my wife and I popped a beer to relax from the long drive.

Sunlight had already begun to fade so a hike would not be in the cards for us. Instead, we drove around looking for some sweet sunset spots to get some photos. The roads here are all paved, and everything is well signed.

We got back to our campsite as the stars began to come out. Unfortunately, the clouds moved in swiftly and obstructed our views. 

While we may not have gotten our magical moment under the stars, I was impressed with our overall experience at the Craters of the Moon campground.