Amboy Crater

Amboy Crater formed when rising basalt magma reached the surface and blasted out fountains of cinders that piled up into a symmetrical cone. Geologists put its age at somewhere around 79,000 years, which makes it very young as volcanoes go, part of one of the freshest volcanic fields in the United States. The cone stands about 250 feet high and roughly 1,500 feet across.

The most telling feature is the gap in the western wall. During the eruption the lava rose inside the crater and then broke through that side, flooding out over the surrounding desert. The result is a spreading apron of black basalt covering something close to 24 square miles, studded with collapsed lava tubes, sinks, and low spatter cones. Standing on that dark, crunching ground, you get a clear sense of a landscape that was molten within the span of human-like time.

In recognition of all this, the site was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973, and it now sits inside the much larger Mojave Trails National Monument, protected as an open, undeveloped stretch of the desert.

A trail leads from the day-use parking area out across the lava field toward the cone, a few miles round trip over exposed ground. The clever part comes near the end: rather than scrambling straight up the loose outer slope, the route uses that western breach to walk you right in through the gap and into the bowl of the crater itself.

Inside, the walls curve up around you and the desert drops away, and a short climb gets you onto the rim for a long view over the black flows and the pale salt flats beyond. The parking area has shaded picnic tables, restrooms, interpretive signs, and a short accessible path to a covered overlook for anyone not up for the full hike.

Amboy Crater is inseparable from the road it sits beside. This length of the National Trails Highway is old Route 66, the Mother Road that carried Dust Bowl migrants and midcentury travelers across the Mojave, and the crater was a natural curiosity that drew people to pull over long before it was formally protected.

Just up the road, the town of Amboy has faded to a near-ghost, kept alive largely by the restored Roy's Motel and Cafe and its tall googie sign, a beloved Route 66 landmark. To the south, the white expanse of Bristol Dry Lake has long been worked for salt. Together they give the crater a fittingly lonely, end-of-the-map feeling.

The plants and animals here are the tough specialists of the eastern Mojave: creosote and desert shrubs, side-blotched and zebra-tailed lizards, snakes, and the occasional kit fox or jackrabbit moving at dawn and dusk. Little grows on the raw basalt itself, which is part of what makes the flows feel so stark.

This is harsh country. Summer temperatures are brutal and the ground offers almost no shade, so the crater is best from fall through spring, and always with more water than you think you need. The reward for the effort and the remoteness is the sky: far from any city, Amboy delivers some of the darkest, most star-filled nights you will find within a few hours of Los Angeles.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

Amboy Crater is a striking extinct volcanic cinder cone rising from a black lava field in the Mojave Desert near the old Route 66 town of Amboy, California. This nearly symmetrical cone, formed by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago, is surrounded by a vast expanse of dark, rugged lava rock, creating an otherworldly desert landscape. A National Natural Landmark, it draws visitors and hikers who trek across the lava field and up to the crater rim to peer inside and take in sweeping desert views. Amboy Crater offers a fascinating geological wonder and a classic Route 66 desert stop.

Yes, a trail leads from the parking area across the lava field to the crater and up to its rim, a round-trip hike of roughly three miles that lets you walk right up to and around the volcanic cone and look into the crater. The hike crosses open, exposed desert and dark lava that radiates heat, so it is moderately strenuous and best done in cool conditions. Sturdy shoes are recommended for the rocky terrain. The reward is the chance to explore the crater up close and enjoy panoramic desert views from the rim.

The desert heat here is extreme and the dark lava field absorbs and radiates heat, making the exposed hike dangerous in warm weather, so carry plenty of water, wear sun protection, hike only in the cool months or early morning, and avoid the trail entirely during the intense heat of summer, when temperatures can be life-threatening. There is no shade or water on the trail. Watch for rattlesnakes and uneven footing on the lava. Being well-prepared, hydrated, and timing your hike for cool conditions is essential for safety at Amboy Crater.

The cooler months from late fall through early spring are by far the best and safest time to hike to the crater, offering tolerable temperatures on the exposed, heat-radiating lava field, while summer brings brutal, dangerous heat that makes hiking hazardous and best avoided. Early morning is ideal even in the cooler season. Clear days offer the best views from the rim. For a safe and comfortable hike to explore the volcanic crater, plan your visit during the cool season, ideally in the morning, and never attempt the hike in summer heat.

Amboy Crater is in the Mojave Desert near the historic Route 66 town of Amboy, with its iconic Roy's Motel and Cafe sign, along the classic stretch of the Mother Road, within reach of the Mojave National Preserve, the Route 66 corridor toward Barstow and Needles, and the wider Mojave Desert. That makes Amboy Crater a fascinating geological and Route 66 stop to combine with the historic Mother Road, the Mojave National Preserve, and the desert attractions of the Mojave on a Southern California road trip.