Review of Sunset Crater National Monument: The most recent volcanic eruption in Arizona and a place to still see lava flows!

 

Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona 

On our drive to Page (Arizona) from Meteor Crater National Landmark on December 24th, 2022, my wife and I happened to pass through Arizona state road #89.  It was during that drive north that we saw Sunset Crater National Monument.

At first, I didn’t think much of it, until I had an ‘eureka’ moment.  I had remembered that the place is featured as one of many scenic walking/running routes of the Borgata gym’s treadmills!  My wife and I had been using those treadmills which display popular hiking/running routes in many national parks and monuments like Grand Canyon, Zion, Grand Staircase-Escalante, etc.

We always found those scenic routes totally enjoyable and made it much less boring when using them, sometimes an hour at a time.  Buried within one of those running routes was Sunset Crater National Monument, which I found fascinating.

Even on a small display screen of not more than 10 inches, the fascinating and extraordinary landscape covered with millennia-old lava flows popped out at me.  It reminded me of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park which we visited ages ago, with its unforgettable black lava flows frozen in time, covering roads, houses, and little towns that existed at one time.

As we were passing Sunset Crater National Monument, we promised ourselves we’d visit it one of these days.  That “one of these days” happened much quicker than we anticipated, when we decided to stop at Flagstaff (Arizona) for two nights, on our way back home to North Carolina, by then, already over 2 months long trip.

On the afternoon of January 31st, we left Walnut Canyon National Monument (our previous stop) towards Sunset Crater National Monument.  Sunset Crater National Monument is located in Flagstaff, approximately 17 miles north of Walnut Canyon National Monument.

Arizona’s most recent volcanic eruption occurred 1,000 years ago (Year 1085), changing the lives of the people who lived there.  The numerous earthquakes that preceded the eruption gave way to a ground fissure about 6 miles long, and lava erupted out of it to heights of 850 feet or more.  The eruption and formation of Sunset Crater Volcano incinerated approximately 900 square miles of the surrounding landscape. 

Sunset Crater’s eruption is considered a “curtain of fire” type of eruption, similar to the more well-known Hawaiian volcanoes.  Although less frequent than volcanic eruptions on the islands of Hawaii, northern Arizona has seen its share of volcanic activities for hundreds of thousands of years.  

We arrived at the visitor center within about 20 minutes after leaving Walnut Canyon National Monument, and went inside to use the restroom.  On our way out, we chatted with a very friendly and knowledgeable park ranger about the park.

Visitor center, Sunset Crater National Monument, AZ

After speaking with him, we found out several things:

1. Loop Road was closed beyond Cinder Hills Overlook which takes you to Wupatki National Monument, due to heavy snowfall the past few days *park staff was clearing the road around the clock, but it may or may not be cleared that day
2. Present day location that is Wupatki National Monument was where inhabitants who were displaced by the eruption moved to, in order to farm and survive
3. The most popular trail at the park, Lava Flow Trail, was open
4. We talked about several deaths at national parks the past month, especially those who died while taking selfies, and we all shook our heads…

We thanked him for all his great information, then headed out towards Lava Flow Trail, about a 5 minute drive from the visitor center.  Lava Flow Trail is one of the best places to see the Bonito Lava Flow, and the parking lot is much bigger than the Lenox Crater Trail, another trail close to Bonito Lava Flow.  

Our car was the only other vehicle parked at the trailhead at that time of the day, but we certainly didn’t mind.  We had recently been to busier national parks in Utah where popular trailhead parking lots were usually close to full.  It was refreshing to pick the best spot right near the trailhead for a change!

We got out to survey the serene landscape covered with freshly fallen snow, reminding of us ski resorts in Vermont and upstate New York.  When you think of Arizona, the last thing you think of is snow.  Yet, near Flagstaff, where the elevation is close to 7,000 feet above sea level, snow is rather common during the winter months.  

We could see snow covered mountains everywhere, ones distant and those close enough to touch.  It was good to see some snow after traveling through the desert landscape for the past month or so.

We started the hike of Lava Flow Trail, which is about a mile in distance.  We could feel the occasional biting wind and hear the melancholic howling winds as we started to hike.  We had almost forgotten it was still the month of January in Flagstaff!

As we walked further, our bodies started to warm up.  We tilted our heads up to take in the scenery and to breathe in the crisp, alpine air.  It sure was refreshing!

Views along Lava Flow Trail, Sunset Crater National Monument 

Because everything was covered with snow, it was hard to discern the black lava flows frozen in time.  We did, however, see them under and near a short bridge along the trail.  The unmistakable lava flow, now hardened by the environment was something of a treat, as we haven’t seen them since Hawaii, some twenty plus years ago…

Each gentle curving of the trail revealed new vistas and points of interest.  We were trying to remember the running routes of Borgata’s treadmills as we walked the exact same trail, minus the snow.  Very cool!

Near the bridge/better view of lava flows frozen in time

The walk took us about 30 minutes to complete thanks to us walking gingerly to avoid falling down, and of course, to take in the scenery.  We were finally there and it was one place to check off on our ever growing bucket list of places to visit!

We got back in the car, to check out the Cinder Hills Overlook, heading east.  We followed a smallish sign for the Cinder Hills Overlook (very easy to miss if you blink), then turned right to climb the hill.

Like at Lava Flow Trail parking lot, the place was completely empty.  We parked right up by the overlook, then got out to check out the view.

Cinder Hills Overlook, Sunset Crater National Monument 

Even on a cloudy day, we could still see fairly well, out into the distance.  It really felt like we were sitting on top of a mountain from there, as if we were on the East Coast of US, like Vermont’s Green Mountains.

It was much colder thanks to constant wind out there on the exposed overlook.  It really hit us that it was still the middle of winter and when elevation is at play, there’s no getting around or escaping the wrath of Mother Nature!  We quickly made it back inside the much more comfortable climate controlled confines of our car, and was really grateful we can enjoy a modern convenience of a warm and toasty car on a cold day…

In conclusion:

Arizona is full of incredible places to visit, and we really took full advantage of many of them.  Places like Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, Glen Canyon, come to mind, but there are just so many other stunning number of sights to explore.

Whether it’s the northern Arizona, southern Arizona, or elsewhere in the state, we were amazed by the variety, beauty, and world-class attractions of the state.  We could spend a month exploring the state and not have enough time doing so…

Sunset Crater National Monument may have introduced itself to us on a treadmill running route, but we’re glad we got to walk the route we had ran/walked many times.  There’s just no substitute for actually experiencing something first hand vs seeing something on a digitally processed screen…

One more place checked off of our bucket list!  We still have so many places we want to visit, and so many more places we aren’t even aware of yet, but we’ll hopefully get to visit them in our future!  That’s the beauty of early retirement.  We have plenty of time to plan, and plenty of time to execute that plan…

Thank you for reading and happy trails!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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