Menan Buttes★5.0

Northwest > Idaho > Menan Buttes

Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted

Two of the world's largest volcanic tuff cones, with four smaller associated cones, that rise about 800 feet (250 m) above the surrounding Snake River plain

General Information

Hours:
24/7
Fees:
No fees
Pet Policy:
Pets allowed
Closest cities with hotels:
Rigby, 12 miles
Rexburg, 12 miles
Idaho Falls, 23 miles
Seasons:
Open all year though fully accessible for only four months during summer, owing to the very heavy winter snowfall
Menan, ID Weather Forecast

How to Get There

From Salt Lake City, UT (237 miles): Get on I-15 N. Follow I-15 N to W 145 N in Bonneville County. Take exit 128 from I-15 N. Take N 3400 E to N 3600 E in Jefferson County.

Overview

The Menan Buttes near Rexburg and Idaho Falls are two of the world's largest volcanic tuff cones, rising about 800 feet above the Snake River Plain (summit elevation 5,619 feet). They formed when basaltic magma met a shallow aquifer or river, causing explosive steam eruptions that built the cones from glassy tachylite ash. North Menan Butte is slightly larger, with a crater about 3,000 feet across. South Menan Butte has a hiking trail to the rim with wide views, while North Butte is mostly private.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Menan Buttes", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0

Featured Locations and Trails

Going-to-the-Sun Road

★ 5.0

3.4 miles round-trip, 964 feet

Crater Lake Wizard Island South View
Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted
Matt Lavin from Bozeman, Montana, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Image Size Adjusted