Bat Cave and Xenolith Cave

Bat Cave and Xenolith Cave are parts of a lava tube system created by lava flows from nearby El Calderon Cinder Cone in El Malpais National Monument. Bat Cave is an important habitat for bats, and during the summer, thousands of bats can be seen flying out of bat cave at dusk to feed on insects.

• The entrance to Bat Cave is visible from the trail down a rocky boulder pile leading down about 30 feet into the cave. The entrance to Xenolith Cave is not visible from the trailhead, and the cave goes under the trail. The entire opening to access both lava tubes is over 100 ft across.

Big Skylight Cave

As one of the largest lava tube caves within El Malpais National Monument, Big Skylight Cave is sure to impress anyone who comes across it's massive passageway.

• Rough volcanic landscape surrounds you as it suddenly drops down into a volcanic trench. The trench leads to a huge circular entrance to a cave, lined with massive boulders.

Big Tubes Area Trailhead

Begin your journey into a volcanic landscape at the Big Tubes Trailhead. Be prepared to encounter rough basaltic terrain and witness massive lava tube features.

• A gravel road turn around surrounded by pine trees. Past a three-sided sign, a cairn-led trail wanders into volcanic rocks and trees. Behind are several picnic tables and a short path to the restroom.

Double Sinks

The collapsed lava tubes of Double Sinks are up to 80 feet deep and are home to a variety of desert wildlife.

• Two deep pits lie on either side of a section of the trail. The pits are lined with volcanic rock and are up to 80 feet deep. Sparse plant life is visible clinging to the edge of the pit walls.

El Calderon Area Trailhead

The start of the El Calderon Trail, bringing you through the oldest volcanism of El Malpais National Monument.

• A gravel parking area, surrounded by pine trees and grass fields. A three-sided sign marks the beginning of a gravel trail that leads over a nearby hill. To the left of the trailhead is a small building and trashcans. To the left of the building are several picnic tables.

El Calderon Lava Trench

Lava trenches, like this trench along the El Calderon Trail at El Malpais National Monument, form when lava tubes collapse during or shortly after eruption.

• A deep trench filled with dark, volcanic rubble slashes through the pinon and juniper dominated forest landscape of the surrounding area.

El Malpais National Monument Visitor Center

Start your journey through El Malpais at the El Malpais National Monument Visitor Center. Here you'll find information, rangers, a bookstore, and restroom, all to get you a head start on your adventure.

• A concrete path leads to a tan, black, and red building with a large "El Malpais Visitor Center" sign on the front. To the left are picnic tables and a southern view of the cliffs and mountains on the horizon. Behind is a paved parking lot.

Fire Ecology

Wildfire is a naturally occurring and necessary process that historically occurred in the forests of El Malpais every eight to ten years. After decades of fire suppression practices, the park now strives to replicate the natural wildfire cycle by conducting prescribed burns to burn excess fuel and reset the natural forest ecology.

Four Windows Cave

While smaller than Big Skylight, Four Windows showcases many skylights and another example of lava tube cave formations.

• Rough lava floor begins to break away, leading to a pile of boulders and rocks. Beyond this rubble is the entrance to a large cave. Pine trees surround you on all sides.

Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano

Explore the Bandera Crater and Ice Cave at this privately owned site within El Malpais National Monument. An entrance fee is required to visit this incredible lava landscape.

• A dirt road brings you to a large turn-around. several building and a small water tower border the parking area. Large pine trees surround the buildings, and in the distance the Bandera volcano rises above the trees.

Junction Cave

Junction Cave is a lava tube created by the lava flows from nearby El Calderon Cinder Cone. At 115,000 years old, this is one of the oldest lava tubes in El Malpais National Monument.

• The entrance to Junction Cave sits just off a spur of the El Calderon Trail. A jumbled pile of boulders leads down about 20 feet into the opening of the cave.

La Ventana Natural Arch

La Ventana Natural Arch within El Malpais National Conservation Area (Bureau of Land Management) is a spectacular natural sandstone arch just off of Highway 117 adjacent to El Malpais National Monument.

• The parking area is located in a pull-off along the highway. A natural amphitheater-like canyon of 200 foot high sandstone walls surrounds the parking area. On one side of this canyon is a large sandstone arch stretching between sides of the canyon walls.

Lava Falls Trail Stop #1

Stop #1 of 9 stops

• A narrow dirt path leads to a rounded edge of a black lava flow behind a large informational sign. Stout, bushy trees grow along the edge of the black rock. The lava flow meanders into the distance on both the left and right. Tufts of grass grow in the cracks of the lava flow. A clear area between two trees becomes the hiking trail.

Lava Falls Trail Stop #2

• A small wooden post with a painted number two, spindly bushes, and rounded trees dot the cracks between slabs of black, cracked lava rock.

Lava Falls Trail Stop #3

Lava Falls Trail Stop #4

Lava Falls Trail Stop 4 of 9

• A sharp depression in the lava rock is mostly hidden in shadow. A flat ceiling ledge attaches its two walls together. At the far left, a lava feature roughly four feet tall connects this ceiling with the lava flow below. The feature's shape reflects how the lava dripped from top to bottom, built itself up, and connected the two. More rough and rounded lava features cover the landscape to the left. A nearby, reddish-brown lava ridge fills the landscape immediately to your right.

Lava Falls Trail Stop #5

• Huge, rounded ridges of reddish-black and black lava rock surround a flat area of cracked slabs of black lava, creating a Greek-style amphitheater. Sparse bushes fill the cracks between the slabs. Fewer bushes and trees grow on top of the lava ridges. Some ridges are smooth slabs, similar to the amphitheater floor, while others are more built of jagged lava rubble.

Lava Falls Trail Stop #6

• Few trees grow through the cracks in the lava, all of them taking different shapes. None grow straight up. Some grow stout and close to the ground, some with few but twisted branches, others very thin with spindly branches. Patches of grass and bushes dot the otherwise empty area of black lava rock.

Lava Falls Trail Stop #7

Lava Falls Trail Stop #8

• Wide slabs of reddish-black rock stretch into the distance. Low-growing trees twist upwards from wider cracks, and spindly bushes grow no more than knee-high. In the distance and off the lava flows, bushy juniper trees cover a yellow grassland. A farther, flat-topped ridge separates the landscape from the empty blue sky.

Lava Falls Trail Stop #9

• Spindly shrubs grow on top of bluish-black lava rock. A grassy area filled with round, bushy trees stretches beyond the edge of the lava. A flat-topped ridge covered with trees fills the horizon farther away.

Lava Falls Trailhead

Start your hike across the youngest lava flow at El Malpais National Monument at the Lava Falls Trailhead. This trailhead features a vault toilet, picnic tables, and interpretive signage to utilize before heading out on the one-mile Lava Falls Trail loop.

• Parking area fitting approximately 10 average-sized vehicles with 2 picnic tables at the south end and a vault toilet at the west end. A three-sided kiosk with interpretive information marks the start of the trail. The end of the trail can be seen meeting the parking area near the vault toilet.

Life on the Edge

Sandstone Bluffs Overlook

At Sandstone Bluffs, every direction you turn gives you a different view with a new feature to focus on. Below the bluffs are the lava flows of El Malpais. To the north is a dramatic view of Mount Taylor. Below your feet is Dakota Sandstone that contrasts with the dark lava flows farther below where you stand. If you enjoy sweeping vistas, Sandstone Bluffs is the place to be for a sunset or a cloudless afternoon.

• Craggy, pale yellow sandstone bluffs end abruptly with a sheer drop of over 100 feet overlooking a dark valley of black basalt lava dotted with small trees and bushes. In the distance, the Zuni Mountains dominate the western horizon, while to the south several individual conical hills called the Chain of Craters are visible.

Summit of El Calderon

El Calderon is a 115,000 year old cinder cone in El Malpais National Monument. From the El Calderon Summit, take a short 0.8 mile hike around the rim of El Calderon and look down into the eroded core of an ancient volcano.

• The summit overlook of El Calderon looks down into a large bowl approximately 1/4 mile wide. The steep slopes of the volcanic crater are red interspersed with black layers. Pine trees and large shrubs cover much of the summit and crater.

WNPA Store

• Several large windows look onto bookshelves stacked with a variety of items for purchase. The patio overlooks the southern horizon, giving a view of the mesas and mountains that border El Malpais National Monument.

Zuni-Acoma Trailhead

The west-side start of the Zuni-Acoma Trail. If you want to take on the challenge of one of the most difficult trails in the area, this is one of two places where you can get started.

• a metal bridge crosses a deep crack in black volcanic rock, leading you to a waysign that describes the trail ahead. A dirt trail leads away from the black rock outcropping and towards the forested area beyond. Behind in a paved parking area and toilet facility.

El Malpais Visitor Center

• El Malpais Visitor Center
• Located on exit 85 off I-40 in Grants, NM, the El Malpais Visitor Center is staffed by park rangers from the National Park Service. Stop in for maps, information, orientation, cave permits, a Western National Parks Association bookstore, museum exhibits, and park movies.

• See a Bat Outflight at Bat Cave
• On warm summer evenings, Mexican free-tailed bats burst from a lava tube known as Bat Cave for a night of hunting insects over the lava flows of El Malpais National Monument. Witness this phenomenon for yourself along the El Calderon Trail off Highway 53.

• Hike the El Calderon Trail
• El Calderon Area at El Malpais National Monument offers easy to moderate difficulty hiking past lava tube caves, over ancient lava flows, and around the top of an extinct cinder cone. This trail can be hiked as a 3 mile or 5 mile route.

• Traverse the Lava Falls Trail
• Take a hike on the youngest lava flow in El Malpais National Monument and in New Mexico. You will encounter numerous unique volcanic features on this one- mile cairned route.

• El Malpais Night Skies
• Explore the Milky Way, countless stars, and planets any time of year! You don’t have to travel far into El Malpais to look deep into space!

• Explore Sandstone Bluffs Overlook
• Gaze across one of the youngest lava flows in the continental U.S. from the vantage of a high sandstone bluff created during the time of the dinosaurs. Explore the cliffs for different views, including a glimpse of New Mexico's second highest mountain!

• Visit La Ventana Natural Arch
• La Ventana Natural Arch is a beautiful natural arch formation located just off Highway 117 in El Malpais National Conservation Area.

• Hike the Narrows Rim Trail
• Spectacular panoramic views of the lava flows at El Malpais and surrounding landscape are the main attraction of this hike. You may also encounter ravens and other birds of prey enjoying the thermal uplifts here.

• Follow Ancient Footpaths on the Zuni-Acoma Trail
• Hike across a historic trail that connects the pueblos of Acoma and Zuni. This strenuous 7.5 mile hike is an El Malpais classic hike.

El Calderon Self Guided Hike

Enjoy this approximately 3 mile long self guided tour along the El Calderon Trail in El Malpais National Monument. This moderately difficult trail follows a gravel and dirt path up to the top of a cinder cone volcano (approximately 200 feet elevation gain). Enjoy views of lava tube caves and trenches, cinder cone volcanoes, and mixed ponderosa forests.

Lava Falls Self Guided Hike

Explore a one-mile loop on the youngest lava flow in the region with nine interpretive stops along the way.