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Step 1
Check at the Information Center, off State Highway 53, or the Ranger Station, off State Highway 117, for inclement weather, trail and sink conditions. Also check about road conditions of the Chain of Craters Backcountry Byway.
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Step 2
Access the Zuni-Acoma Trail from Highway 53. The trail is relatively level, however, the porous rock may be a challenge to negotiate. The trail leaves the parking area and a pine forest and enters an open lava field.
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Step 3
Stop at the first sink, or lava tube. The sink is within a half mile from the trailhead. Explore the entrance if it’s been determined safe by the park service. At one time a long connected network, many of these caves are merely collapsed remnants.
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Step 4
Continue on the trail and visit several other sinks along the way. The trail eventually connects the southern highway.
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Step 5
Return to the trailhead and drive west to access County Road 42 and the Chain of Craters Byway. Here one can stop and explore several cinder cones along the road. There is a trail that connects all of these cones as well. The terrain is similar to that of the Zuni-Acoma.
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Step 6
Continue on 42 until it meets State Highway 117. Take 117 northeast toward I-40. Stop at Lava Falls. While the Zuni-Acoma crosses a substantial lava field, this descending lava appears to be frozen in time.
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Step 7
Drive on to the Narrows Picnic area and access the Narrows Trailhead. Though short, this is the most strenuous hike at the monument. One can climb up the ridge and see the path of lava as it stopped just short of the sandstone cliffs.
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Step 8
Return to the picnic area and drive toward La Ventana Arch. Supported by cliffs on each side, the almost perfectly shaped arch invites exploration beyond the threshold and into a ravine that continues up the ridge.
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Step 9
Return to the vehicle and continue northwest to the Sandstone Bluffs Overlook. From this vantage point one can look west over the Zuni-Acoma lava field.
