Welcome to Travel Tuesday! If you happen to be in Flagstaff and are looking for a place that’s “off the beaten path,” you should definitely check out the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument! One of the first hikes we did there was the Lenox Crater Trail.
Lenox Crater Trail
Distance: 1.6 mile (loop)
Elevation: 278 ft
Difficulty: Easy
Duration: ~1 hour (they recommend to allow for 1.5 hours though)
Trailhead Address: 35.36373, -111.52310
Parking: Free with entry ($25, but free if you have the annual park pass!)
This trail leads you through a ponderosa pine forest where you can get views of the Sunset Crater Volcano as well as the Bonito Lava Flow + views of the San Francisco Peaks.
Hikes at this altitude (almost 7000 ft) may be more difficult, so please keep that in mind! Some areas have loose cinders as well so make sure you wear sturdy footwear.
There’s plenty of shade throughout (except at the top) so if you’re looking to escape the heat, this is a great trail to check out.
Please note that this is a fragile and recovering landscape, so stay on the designated trails and don’t go blazing your own path!
- Have you ever been to Flagstaff, Arizona?
- Have you done any hikes around any volcanos?
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Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for your support! <3
This is definitely off the beaten path because I had never heard of it and didn’t know that Arizona ever had any volcanic activity. Shows how much I know! Thanks for enlightening me!
I didn’t either! It was fun to learn about and they have lots of great little hikes over there! :]!
I’ve never been to Flagstaff, but when I do visit I’ll definitely do this hike. I love that it’s a little off the beaten path, so it’s a little less crowded!
Uncrowded trails are my favorite! I hope you get to go sometime! :]
Looks like a nice easy hike! Cool scenery too!
It’s definitely different from all the hikes I’ve done before! :]
I’ve never been to this trail although Arizona is one of my favorite destinations. Love that it’s an activity where you can escape the heat and take advantage of some shade too. Thanks for sharing!
It’s definitely one of my favorite destinations too! Avoiding the heat was a big plus too! :]
Cool hike! I’ve never been that high above sea level unless I was in a plane!
Aww, it’s definitely different, but a fun change in scenery! :]
Wow looks like a great trail! Sounds a bit hard, but I feel like I could do it!
The elevation does make a kinda noticeable difference but it’s definitely doable! :]
I love learning about protecting our parks because of you. Before reading your posts, I hate to admit, but I had no idea that going off trail could be a bad thing. I definitely will never do that again! Not that I did lots of that before. Most my time is spent on my couch.😉😅 I wish I could blaze a new path in my apartment by cleaning it up so I don’t have to trip over my mess!
Thanks as always for sharing your beautiful hikes!
Aw, thank you! Honestly I never knew that either until I started hiking more and saw signs saying not to go off-roading + read up more on why not to do so! I feel ya on the cleaning though, haha. I prefer to call my life an “organized chaos.” :D…
Farrah recently posted…1.5 Mile Resthouse via Bright Angel Trail
It’s really interesting to see this kind of volcanic trail. Did you visit when there were wildfires? The skies in your photos remind me of the eerie days when the sun shines through the smoke-filled skies. I guess that is pretty similar to sunset views, just in the middle of the day.
Josy A recently posted…Cavell Meadows trail – Jasper
Good eye! There unfortunately were some wildfires going through at the time (thankfully not super close to us, but it did definitely affect the sky)!