Sunset Crater

Lava Flow Trail, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Here you walk at the foot of the cone rather than up it. The one-mile Lava Flow Trail loops across the Bonito Lava Flow at the base of Sunset Crater, among jagged lava, cinders and a scatter of smaller volcanic features, with the cone filling the sky above. It suits a mixed group better than almost anything else on this list: the upper quarter-mile loop is paved and accessible, so wheelchairs, strollers and anyone short on time can still get onto volcanic ground. Hiking is permitted only on designated trails and there is no backcountry travel, so this loop and the monument's other marked paths are the way in.