View of the San Francisco Volcanic Field from the top of Lenox Crater, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Length: 1.6 or 1.1-mile loop, depending on the starting point
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆

The Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument is a 1.6-mile loop that leads to the summit of Lenox Crater, a cinder cone volcano in the San Francisco Volcanic Field that formed hundreds of thousands of years before Sunset Crater. The trail does not circle the entire crater rim, but instead heads to the top of the volcano, follows the northeastern section of the rim for about a tenth of a mile, then heads back down.

There are two access points for the Lenox Crater Trail. The western trailhead is at the Lava Flow Trail parking lot. From here you must first hike a quarter mile on a connector before coming to the loop portion of the trail. The western trailhead is across the street from the A’a Trail parking lot, and from here you begin directly on the loop, thus saving the half mile out-and-back walk tacked on to the hike when starting from the eastern trailhead. The actual loop portion of the hike is 1.1 miles. I began at the eastern trailhead, and this report is written from that perspective.

To start the Lenox Crater Trail at the eastern trailhead, you must first hike 100 yards on the paved Bonito Vista Trail. The trail starts off as a rock-lined gravel path. Most of the surface consists of tiny lava rocks and remains the same throughout the entire length of the trail.

Eastern tailhead for the Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

A tenth of a mile into the hike, the trail begins to follow alongside a section of the Bonito Lava Flow. It is one of the most prominent features of Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, stretching 2.5 miles across the San Francisco Volcanic Field.

Bonito Lava Flow alongside the Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

After passing the Bonita Lava Flow, the Lenox Crater Trail enters a forest of ponderosa pines. It is at this point where the loop starts. I took a left and hiked around in the clockwise direction.

Start of loop portion of the Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

The Lenox Crater Trail immediately begins a moderate uphill climb with an average grade of 10% (strenuous hiking is considered to start at 15%). The climb lasts a half mile, and at the top is the summit of Lenox Crater.

Typical terrain on the hike up to the top of Lenox Crater on the Lenox Crater Trail, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Two wayside exhibits at the summit provide information on Lenox Crater and the surrounding San Francisco Volcanic Field. The views from here are looking westward across the field. Every mountain in the vista is a volcano of some sort, with the largest being the San Francisco Peaks.

View of the San Francisco Peaks from the summit of the Lenox Crater, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

The sunken depression filled with pine trees below the waysides is the crater of the Lenox volcano. Notice that many of the trees in the crater—and throughout the forest—appear barren. This resulted from a wildfire in 2022 that spread across the entire Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Known as the Tunnel Fire, it burned almost 20,000 acres in northern Arizona, but due to the park’s volcanic geology, much of the landscape around Sunset Crater remained unchanged.

Crater of the Lenox volcano at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Barren trees along the Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

The trail continues through the forest along the rim for a tenth of a mile before descending back to the bottom. The hike down is also a half mile and has the same 10% average grade as the hike to the top. Some of the loose gravel slid out from beneath my feet, so be careful not to slip and fall as you make your way downhill.

Downhill path of the Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

At the bottom of the hill is the western trailhead for the Lenox Crater Trail. The intersection with the connector back to the Bonita Vista Trail—where the loop starts—is a hundred yards away.

Western trailhead of the Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

Once back at the start of the loop, take a left to return to the eastern trailhead parking lot. You will be heading towards Sunset Crater, and there is a nice view of it from the trail.

View of Sunset Crater from the Lenox Crater Trail at Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument

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