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| Rattlesnake Crater |
The 1.5-miles round trip Rattlesnake Crater Trail is more of a walkabout than a designated path. The crater is part of Arizona’s massive San Francisco Volcanic Field.
Sprawling across 1.856 million acres, Coconino National Forest is largely centered on Flagstaff. It’s popular with multiple hiking trails, especially north of Flagstaff where it sits between the city and the Grand Canyon. Rattlesnake Canyon marks the national forest’s most interesting feature closest to Petrified Forest National Park.
To reach the trailhead, in Winona, Ariz., from Interstate 40, exit north onto Townsend-Winona Road. Turn left/east onto Angell Road/Coconino County Hwy. 394. The beat-up road parallels the freeway. Next, go left/northeast onto Porter Ranch Road, a dirt road. Go left/north onto County Hwy. 504 then right/southeast onto County Hwy. 785. At a Y in the road, go left/northeast so that you stay on Hwy. 785 (Don't go straight/south onto Hwy. 9127T). When the road dips at about about 0.75 miles from the Hwy. 9127T junction, pull off to the side of the road and park.
Down a volcanic crater
The trail is the dirt road. You'll walk into the shallow crater that is rounded by two short hills. The older, crescent-shaped northern hill is shorter than the southern one.
A maar is a crater formed when rising magma heats the groundwater above it, resulting in explosive blasts of steam. Ejecta from several blasts over time created the two hills.
While volcanic rock and ash can be found on both hillsides, the pinyon and juniper growing there are far more noticeable.
The San Francisco Volcanic Field covers 1800 square miles of northern Arizona. Remnants of more than 600 volcanoes can be found in the field, all formed during the past 6 million years.
When the road ascends out of the crater at a narrow point between the two hills, head back the way you came. While the road continues east, you would just be walking across open desert.
Up a cinder cone
On the walk back, look to the northwest. The San Francisco stratovolcano – topping out at 12,633 feet, is in the far distance. The mountain’s volcanic cone was formed during multiple eruptions between 400,000 and 900,000 years ago. Before the mountain collapsed, the summit reached more than 16,000 feet above sea level. The top 3,500 feet of the mountain flowed eastward as a debris avalanche toward Sunset Crater. Today, the stratovolcano stands as Arizona’s highest point.
You can walk off the road and do a little bushwhacking. One great spot to climb to is the hill on the crater's south side. This hill actually is a cinder (or scoria) cone, essentially a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments that rose around the vent. Among the fragments are volcanic clinkers and volcanic ash.
If you head up the southern hill’s steep east side and then down its west side, you’ll have a great view of the crater and arrive right back at your vehicle. This route comes to about 1.6 miles or a tenth of a mile longer than sticking to the road that heads through the crater.
The entire hike is unshaded, so be sure to don sunscreen, sunglasses and sunhat. Bring plenty of water as well.
AERIAL MAP
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