Located in present-day South Central Idaho on the Snake River Plain and Columbia Plateau, The Great Rift Dirt Tour circumnavigates the Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve. Within this protected landscape lies The Great Rift, a fissure in the earth's crust spanning 62 miles north and south, and known to be the most extensive, recent, and deepest volcanic rift system in the continental United States. This unique, overland bikepacking adventure around a volcanic rift zone passes by cinder cones, expansive and diverse lava flows, caves, chasms, blowouts, and buttes. When immersed in this desolate and ominous landscape, however, the presence of bountiful life is breathtaking. This bikepacking route in Idaho is truly a remote, soul-searching odyssey!

“The area now known as Craters of the Moon is important to the Shoshone-Bannock because it represents both a place of sacred power and an ancestral ground crossed during seasonal migrations. The lava rock was heated in our sweat lodges and it was the rock that sent our prayers up to the creator. In the landscape of the lava flows, harmony was found.”
– Laverne Broncho, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Member

Route Itinerary

• King's Bowl provides nice dispersed camping before and after the trip, and nearby attractions to explore. There are no toilets and no water. Leave no trace. Pack in, pack out. Starting here splits up long, remote sections of no water and allows for well-spaced resupplies in Carey and Arco. High clearance vehicle required.

• Day One: Right from the start, the feeling of remoteness sets in as you ride amongst tall sagebrush and lava formations. Check out the Bear Trap Cave along the way. Make camp inside the Sand Butte for added shelter from the wind. Want to keep going? Ride to the dispersed camping areas along the Little Wood River (13 - 14 miles beyond Sand Butte) or the Silver Creek BLM free campground (18.5 miles beyond Sand Butte). Both of these places have access to stream water.

• Day Two: More primitive doubletrack slowly merges into a maintained gravel road. Between miles 68 & 69 you ride alongside the Little Wood River. This is your first reliable water and a great spot to cast a line if you brought a fly rod. After a mix of maintained gravel roads and pavement, you arrive in Carey where there is a convenience store, and a place to get fresh, locally grown produce. After a bit more gravel and pavement, you enter the Craters of the Moon Preserve once again, crossing lava flows and kipukas. The high point of the loop sits looking into Snowdrift Crater and out across the CRMO Preserve, making for a great camping spot if the wind is calm (no water here). The South Park Trapper Cabin offers a very rustic, dilapidated shelter from the wind.

• Day Three: Fill up at the South Park Well, which appears to be the only reliable water source within the interior loop. If you start your day at the Snowdrift Crater, enjoy the 20-mile descent, losing 1,300 feet as you traverse along the Bear Den Butte Lava Flow. Take this opportunity to do a little exploring on foot. Four downhill miles after the South Park Well, watch for this easy-to-miss right turn onto a primitive doubletrack, followed by a second right turn at a convoluted 4-way junction of doubletrack roads. Take a refreshing dip at Wild Rose Hotsprings, just a mile off the route along the highway. Paralleling the highway are several doubletrack roads, dipping off the pavement into the lava flows and then back onto the highway until you reach Craters of the Moon Monument.

  • Craters of the Moon Monument: Here you can camp at the Lava Flow Campground (where there is water on site), or you can obtain a free backcountry permit (you must still pay or have a pass to enter the Park). Ride the four miles of a beautifully paved road to the Tree Molds Trailhead, where there is a bike rack, then hike into the Echo Crater for an epic campsite.

• Day Four: This is an excellent day for an off-day. Perhaps you hiked into Echo Crater last night, so you may begin the day by hiking out, swapping gear on your bike, and descending the rolling pavement back to the Visitor Center. Grab a campsite at the Lava Flow Campground, relax, then head off to explore the many sights and wonders this unique landscape has to offer.

• Day Five: Ride into Arco. Grab some delicious Mexican food at Las Fiestas, resupply trail snacks at the local A & A Market, and explore some of the sights around this interesting town. Feel like calling it a day? Roll into Honey's Park for free camping, a place just as interesting as the town. Most of the land outside of Arco is BLM and open to dispersed camping, but is also open range to cattle. Find an undisturbed spot to sleep under the stars and moon, and in view of the Big Southern Butte.

• Day Six: If you didn't camp at Honey's Park, you're likely starting somewhere along the Arco-Minidoka road. Enjoy the slight downhill as you parallel the Great Rift volcanic zone. The final miles don't come easy. Turns onto primitive doubletrack off of more established gravel roads can be easy to miss. One particular confusing junction towards the end of the ride is notable. Trust the route, follow the cues closely and know that the path does become more defined and easier to follow.

  If you didn't take the time to explore King's Bowl and aren't ending at this point, do check out this incredible geological feature before continuing back to where you started.

Highlights

• Unique camping inside craters, buttes and in an area designated an International Dark Sky Park.
• Exploring sights of the Craters of the Moon National Monument.
• The hundreds of miles of doubletrack that no one knows about or takes the time to explore.
• Seeing herds of pronghorn, and rare reptiles and birds.
• The blooming sagebrush, wildflowers, and abundant lush grasses in the spring.

Must Know

• Late April to mid-June is the recommended time to ride this route
• 87% of this route is unpaved, 55% percent is primitive double-track
• Surface is impassible after heavy or consistent rainfall
• Terrain requires a tire of at least 2.25" or wider. Fat bikes may be overkill for the long mileage. This is not a gravel bike route.
• For a self-supported ride, one would need to plan for carrying 6.5 to 8 liters of water per day.
• There are no bicycle shops along this route and very few services. Carey and Arco are the only places for food supplies along this route. The Robert Limbert Visitor Center has a vending machine with a few snacks.
• Below are known water sources:
  • Silver Creek / Little Wood River (Mile 68.9) is the first water source, which the route parallels for 1 mile.
  • The convienence store in Carey
  • South Park Well & Trapper Cabin (Mile 134.5)
    • full on June 14, 2022
    • empty on May 1, 2023
  • Lava Lake (Mile 170) - a scenic spot off U.S. Highway 20/93
  • Lava Flow Campground & Visitor Center inside CRMO Monument
  • Bottolfsen Park in Arco
• Possible water sources: Apollo Well (off route at mile 14.5) showed signs of water, but no easy access. Coxs Well (off route at mile 248.5) was confirmed to have water by a neighboring rancher.

Trail Tips

• Do not rely on road signs or cue sheets for navigation.
• Have multiple forms of navigation, various offline maps and devices.
• Get used to unmarked intersections and junctions.
• Turn-by-turn directions are useful for unmarked junctions.
• Even current maps show roads that don't exist.

• This route is generally ridden in 5 days. The optimal number of days is between 4-6. More days should be considered if side trips, off-route exploring or a zero day is desired.
• Spring and early summer (Late April through Mid-June) offer pleasant temperatures and water seemed plentiful. Fall (September & October) could also be pleasant, but possibly less water.
• Some wells, such as the South Park Well, may be dry in April or early May when cattle aren't in the area yet.
• Summer months will have unfavorable temperatures and intense sun exposure.
• This route is possible to complete without water caches if ridden during cooler temperatures in the spring and with a water capacity of 5 liters or more per person is strongly recommended.
• Starting at King's Bowl splits up long, remote sections and allows for well-spaced resupplies in Carey and Arco.

• A free backcountry permit is required for camping off the Wilderness Trail.
• When planning your trip, contact businesses and the CRMO Headquarters to double-check operating hours.
• Two good roads to access multiple parts of the Preserve along the route are the Arco-Minidoka Road and Carey Kimama Road. Good tires and high clearance are recommended.

• Elevation profile may not be accurate—a Wahoo Bolt logged over 18,000ft of gain during the inaugural ride, while the route is around 10,000 feet in elevation gain when plotted & uploaded.

Getting There

While it might be tempting to save a few miles by taking backroads, it's highly recommended to access these directions from American Falls.

Driving Directions from the American Falls Dam to Kings Bowl

1. Head North on Highway 39 (paved) to N Pleasant Valley Road (approx 5.5 miles)
2. Turn LEFT on N Pleasant Valley Road (gravel)
   • (this comes up quickly and is at an odd angle on a right-hand curve)
3. Continue WEST on N Pleasant Valley Road to Winters Road (approx 11 miles)
4. Turn RIGHT on Winters Road (gravel) heading NORTH to the Y intersection of Crystal Ice Cave Road (approx 4 miles)
5. Turn LEFT onto Crystal Ice Cave Road (wide two-track) to BLM border where the route begins (approx 1 mile)
   • (vehicles without high clearance are recommended to park here)
6. From here the road is rutted, narrow, and must be attempted slowly. DO NOT ATTEMPT IF WET.
7. Continue down narrow two-track to Kings Bowl and keep left at the Y (approx 5.5 miles)
   • (high clearance vehicles such as a Subaru Outback or Forester are capable of making this drive slow and steady. Could take about 40 minutes or more on this stretch).

Tip: Before leaving, study the route Google or Apple Maps sends you on to the start of the Great Rift Dirt Tour or Kings Bowl, and make sure it doesn’t include any rural two-track roads between farm fields.

Informational Sources

• Bikepacking Roots - Great Rift Dirt Tour Route Guide
• Laidlaw Park: Sagebrush Oasis - A Guided Tour of the Largest Kipuka at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho
• The BLM Craters of the Moon map for this area is very helpful (available as a Georeferenced PDF and paper map)
• Interactive recreation map of the BLM's Craters of the Moon National Monument
• USGS Craters of the Moon Volcanic Field
• Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
• Newenee: The Shoshonean Peoples of Southern Idaho
• Leave No Trace Principles
• Lava Lake Institute

Questions & Updates

Contact aaron@destinationreroute.com with questions, or any updates and findings on the route.