Capulin Volcano National Monument
National Monument · Capulin, New Mexico
Capulin is a cinder cone that erupted about 55,000 years ago on the high plains of northeastern New Mexico and then stopped, leaving a textbook example of its type: symmetrical, 1,300 feet above the plain, with a crater 415 feet deep in the top. What makes it a monument rather than a hill is the road. A two-mile spiral was cut around the outside of the cone in the 1920s and 1930s and it takes you to a car park on the rim itself, which means anyone who can drive can stand on the edge of a volcano. From there a one-mile paved trail runs right around the rim, climbing to 8,182 feet at the high point, and a shorter path drops into the crater bottom. On a clear day you can see into four states. It is also an International Dark Sky Park, and the rim after dark is remarkable. The rim road closes for snow, ice and high wind and carries vehicle length and weight limits, which is the one thing to check before driving out, and the rim itself is windy and cold in every season regardless of what the plains below are doing.
44 Volcano Road, Capulin, New Mexico, 88414, United States
Visitor center open 8 AM - 4 PM. Volcano Road open 8 AM - 4 PM (weather permitting).
Capulin Volcano National Monument on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos