Arizona has a volcano and you can visit in in Flagstaff–keep reading for everything you need to know about Sunset Crater National Monument with kids!
Keep reading for how to maximize your time at this incredible piece of natural history that even a teen who is trying to be unimpressed with everything will find fascinating.
If you’re looking for a full budget friendly weekend itinerary in Flagstaff, see our itinerary here. If you’ve only got one night in northern Arizona, here’s a 24 hour turnaround trip itinerary to maximize your time seeing all the must-see attractions from the Grand Canyon to Flagstaff and everything between. For more about the other national monument in Flagstaff, check out our roundup of Walnut Canyon here.
XO,
East Valley Moms
Where is Sunset Crater National Monument?
About 25 minutes from downtown Flagstaff is Arizona’s volcano–it’s legitimately a volcano (the youngest for the San Francisco volcanic field), which erupted around 1050.
It’s an easy drive if you’re staying in Flagstaff, and offers a fun day trip from more typical things to do around Flagstaff.
Is Sunset Crater National Monument good for kids?
For school aged or older kids, Sunset Crater will capture kids with the wow factor of the volcano aftermath–the black ash they can walk through and seeing the actual volcano mountain is seriously cool.
Plus, all the space race history tying all of America’s astronaut trainings (since the 1960s to present day), is pretty neat as well–especially for kids with an interest in that area of study.
This is a toddler-friendly national monument; much of the trails are stroller friendly (and paved), and the hikes aren’t strenuous (some of the trails are still closed from a forest fire years ago).
We spent about two hours here total and had an amazing time, but it isn’t a full day adventure.
Here’s the trails we did:
Lava Flow Trail
Accessible for wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers! Explore the Bonito Lava Flow and numerous volcanic features while walking at the base of Sunset Crater Volcano. Pets are welcome on the paved portion of this trail. There is a pet station with waste bags at the trailhead.
- Distance: 1 mi (1.6 km) loop
- Time: 1 hour
- Difficulty: Easy. The accessible upper 0.25 mi (0.5 km) loop has a paved, concrete surface.
Bonito Vista Trail
Accessible for wheelchairs, walkers, and strollers! Walk across a field of cinders on this paved trail for an expansive view of the Bonito Lava Flow and surrounding volcanoes.
- Distance: 0.3 mi (0.5 km) round-trip
- Time: 20 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy, Accessible
A’a Trail
Observe jagged blocks of rough, basaltic a’a lava, formed as the Bonito Lava Flow cooled.
- Distance: 0.25 mi (0.3 km) round-trip
- Time: 15 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy
There’s a three mile trail we didn’t do, but with older kids, it would be great!
Things to do at Sunset Crater with kids
There’s the visitors center where kids can get the basics about volcanos, the people who lived in this area prior to the volcano eruption, and of course, get their junior ranger badge.
Outdoors, you can walk on black sand ash (which was super cool), and walk the trails to experience the rebuilding after the volcano and see some incredible samples of volcano rocks.
In the summers, this park offers summer night sky events.
Also in the summers, rangers lead guided hikes that will give kids more context and interesting facts about the area, the 2024 schedule hasn’t been released yet, but check back here!
Sunset Crater admission and budget hacks
Admission is $25/car, but there’s a few ways to get in free.
First, the national park free days are days throughout the year that admission is lifted for everyone. See a full list of this year’s free days here.
Or, if you’d like to go on your own schedule, you can use the America the Beautiful annual pass here for free admission. More about how we maximize this pass, and where it’s good across Arizona and the East Valley here.
Where to stay in Flagstaff with kids
If you’re planning a full trip to Flagstaff with kids, consider booking a night at the Americana Motor Lodge hotel in Flagstaff. They offer families amazing amenities that make for a budget friendly stay for families. Plus, it’s only about 25 minutes from Sunset Crater.
Or, if you’re a camping family, there are campsites directly across from the park. More information about those sites here.
