Only about an hour and some change from Ridgemont HQ sits one of the strangest landscapes in America. No airports, no shuttle buses, no “epic expedition” required. Just point the truck west, grab some snacks from the gas station, and before long you’re standing in what feels like another planet. Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is best known for its massive volcanic landscape made up of lava flows, cinder cones, caves, and miles of black rock that genuinely makes you question whether you’re still on Earth. Which, apparently, is why NASA astronauts used to train there before the Apollo missions. Honestly… makes sense.
What makes Craters so wild is how different it feels from the Idaho people usually picture. Most think rivers, pine trees, and mountain towns. Instead, you get endless black lava fields, sharp volcanic rock, strange textures, and rolling terrain that looks more like Iceland or another planet than southern Idaho. But somehow life still pushes through it all. Twisted trees grow out of hardened lava, patches of green cut through the dark terrain, and in the spring you’ll even catch wildflowers popping up where they seemingly shouldn’t survive at all. The contrast is unreal.
This latest shoot reminded us why we love places like this. Ridgemont has never really been about becoming “outdoor people.” We just like going places. Sometimes that means airports. Sometimes dirt roads. Sometimes climbing around volcanic rock carrying camera gear under direct sun in shoes that don’t make you look like your entire personality is a through-hike. The terrain out there is no joke either — loose lava rock, steep climbs, sharp edges, and miles of wandering around with no shade. Exactly the kind of place that reminds you the difference between shoes that only look capable and shoes that actually are.
Also, somewhere in one of these ridge photos is Tyler. We’re not saying it’s easy to spot him, but if you find him, congratulations — your eyesight is probably better than ours after hiking around lava fields all afternoon.
At the end of the day, that’s really what Detour is about. Not perfectly curated adventure culture or bucket-list travel. Just places worth pulling over for. Places close enough to hit in a day, but strange enough to stick with you long after you leave. And Craters of the Moon definitely earns a spot on that list.
