Crater Rings, Mountain Home, Idaho
Crater rings is one of the most unique and under visited natural features in the state of Idaho. Located 45 minutes outside of Boise near the town of Mountain Home, this geological oddity makes for the perfect adventure destination. Located inside Birds of Prey Conservation Area, these rings provide excellent viewing for hawks, eagles, and owls. There are also cattle, pronghorn antelope, horned toads, coyotes, and even rattlesnakes that call this area home.
I first came across Crater Rings when I flew over the area in a small plane at about 2,000′ above the ground. They resembled impact craters and my first thought was that they were created from meteorites. As cool as that would be, the most common hypothesis is that the craters were formed by lakes of lava from about 2million years ago. The best way to visualize their creation is to think about the current Hawaiian volcanoes and their lava pool features.
At 300 feet deep and about 3,000 feet wide, these twin craters are now a National Natural Landmark. But don’t worry, you can still interact with them and even camp inside if you wanted to! Cattle still graze this region and you can get as hands on with the craters as you want.
Crater Rings shows off impressive views of the foothills and the vast expanse of the Owyhee Desert highlight how impressive this feature is. The vertical rock walls provide shelter for the numerous birds of prey that call this region home.
Getting To Crater Rings
Access to Crater Rings is best from the east. DO NOT use Google Maps directions because it will route you through the desert where the road does not exist anymore. Get as close to Crater Rings as you can using Cinder Butte Road, only follow the most maintained roads and you will be able to make it with a regular sedan.
I’ve visited these crater rings often by 4-wheeler in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I lived at the base of Cinder Cone Butte. At that time, the grasses in the craters were higher than my head while seated, and my brothers and I would ride around making tracks in the grass.
The grazing cattle made trails down into the bottoms, and you will find cow pies there. Badgers and rattlesnakes are prevalent in the area, so always bring a companion, and think twice about sleeping under the stars there.
The larger crater is approximately a mile in circumference, and the sides of both are treacherous enough, that you’ll need to practice caution getting down into them with “desert toys”. But the trek is well-worth the effort to experience this wink from Mother Nature.
Isn’t Idaho fabulous?! —Cheryl