Odessa Crater Trail Loop

Dogs Unknown

Features Birding · Geological Significance · Views · Wildflowers · Wildlife

No water or restrooms available, though Odessa is a short drive to the south.

This 1.45 mile hike will take you past three examples of the baffling basalt ring structures, which were revealed by the Ice Age Floods. Rock Rose crater has the most intact center, while Amphitheater Crater is a wonderful example showing concentric fins of rock on the inside and a well demarcated wall on the outside.

If you opt to hike this in a counter-clockwise fashion, you encounter the only incline at around the 1 mile mark. There were a couple of sturdy metal benches to sit and contemplate these geologic oddities, rated up there with mima mounds for their ability to defy a demarcated definition of formation, though many models have been proposed.