About this place
This is nearly 21,000 acres of old lava with wind-blown soil laid over the top. The crater in the middle formed in seconds. Magma rose, hit groundwater, and the water flashed to steam. One blast. That hole has been sitting there ever since.
You'll climb from 4,250 feet at the southern boundary to 4,974 at the top of Sand Butte. That sounds like harder work than it is. The ground is so wide that the whole rise spreads out under you, and you hardly notice you are climbing at all. It's a long gentle pull. Nothing about it is a scramble. It is sagebrush country the whole way, with grasses and low flowering plants filling in between the bushes.
The facts
- Cost
- Camping fee not confirmed
- Type
- Open area. Camp anywhere within it
- Managed by
- Bureau of Land Management
Getting there
The area is in Lincoln County, 35 miles northeast of Shoshone.
Coordinates 43.11, -113.89
Open in Google Maps Agency page
What is near here
A few more of our own spots are within reach of this one, along with some better-known places.
- Shale Butte Wilderness Study Area Directions
- Raven's Eye Wilderness Study Area Directions
- Wilson Butte Cave Directions
- Little Deer Wilderness Study Area Directions
- Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Directions
Every distance on this page is the driving distance. A short distance can still take a long time. The road may be closed for the season, covered in snow, or washed out. Many of these roads are dirt. Plan your route before you leave home. Out here there is often no phone signal to look it up on the way.
Nearest town and supplies
- Richfield, ID Directions
- Shoshone, ID Directions
Shoshone is big enough that you’d normally expect fuel and somewhere to buy food. Nobody from here has been to check, so don’t count on it if you’re running low.
Have you been here?
Fees and access change, and the records do not always keep up. If you have been, tell us what you found.
Thank you, that is recorded. It helps the next person.
Add road notes for this site
The thing we cannot get from any government record is what the drive in is actually like. If you have done it, this is the most useful thing you can leave behind. We read everything before it appears, and we print a first name with it if you give one.
Thank you. A person will read it before it goes on the page.
Where this information comes from
The description on this page is ours. The facts in it, and the fee and facility details below it, come from the Bureau of Land Management’s own records, read in August 2026.