Big Tubes
A rough but fairly level hike to and around two collapsed lava
tubes. This trail takes you through an open forest containing a
variety of trees such as aspen, ponderosa pine, piñon and juniper.
The lava tubes to which you hike are large and long (one of the
longest in North America). They are unlike anything else you will
see while hiking.
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Hike data:
| Controlling agency: | El Malpais National Monument | ||||||||
| Location in the state: | West-central; El Malpais National Monument | ||||||||
| Trailhead waypoint(s): | BIGTUB | ||||||||
| Elevation: |
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| Elevation gain/loss: | 39 ft; 12 m | ||||||||
| Length: | 1.49 mi; 2.40 km. | ||||||||
| How long it took us (HH:MM): | 03:30. | ||||||||
| Cleanliness: | 10/10 | ||||||||
| Trail usage: | 0.00 people/hour. No people/hour data. Usage is medium in the summer, light in other seasons. | ||||||||
| Trail Condition: | Rough, but easy to follow. | ||||||||
| Fee: | $0.00. | ||||||||
| When we hiked it: | 2000-09-16. | ||||||||
| Trailhead facilities: | Toilets, picnic area. | ||||||||
| Special features of the hike: | Scenery, geology. | ||||||||
| When to hike: | All year. Start early in the summer to avoid the heat. Winter accessibility depends on the amount of snow on county road 42; call the range station for information. | ||||||||
| General comments: | Boots with good ankle support are important, as the lava is uneven. The lava is also sharp, so a fall could lead to an unpleasant injury; bring a first-aid kit. One time, Diana cut her knee through a kneepad and three other layers of clothing. |
Maps:
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Getting to the trailhead:
| Take exit 81 from I-40 and head south for a total of 23.9 miles. This is the El Malpais visitor center. It is a good idea to stop in here and inquire about getting to the trailhead. If it has rained recently, the road can be impassible. Also, check the forecast to see if rain is likely. |
| Continue from the visitor center 3.6 miles to the junction with County road 42. Turn left onto 42. A sign indicating that this road takes you past the Chain of craters will help you know you have found the right road. |
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| Drive about 4.1 miles down 42. You will see a sign indicating a left turn to get to the Big Tubes area. Go left (this may be indicated as NPS road 300). After about 2.6 miles a sign indicates the Big Tubes parking area to your left. |
The hike:
 | The trail takes off from the east side of the parking lot This trail is a cairn trail. It is easy to follow, as the cairns are large and there are plenty of them. You start out walking in amongst Aspen and Ponderosa pine. The aspen end not long after you start, replaced by piñon and juniper. |
Some of the trail is across aa lava. This lava is rough, sharp,
and often clinks as you walk on it. Often, aa is formed of
varying-sized, loose pieces of rock. It is easy to twist an ankle, so
watch your step.
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 | The other predominant form of lava out here is pahoehoe. It is smoother,
sometimes ropy in appearance. You appreciate these differences in lava
after hiking on both of them. The pahoehoe is much easier to walk on.
This photo was taken by Diana Northup. |
After a little more than a quarter mile (about 0.5km), you come to a
sign indicating various choices you can make (GPS: BTSIGN). For this hike turn left,
heading towards Caterpillar collapse. You will return from the right.
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 | Off on your right is one of the large lava tubes with portions
collapsed. You walk past the climb-down into Big Skylight Cave (this
cave is open to the public. Please read these
words about caving if you want to enter the cave. Note that most of
the caves on the monument are closed to public entry to protect them).
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The trail follows this trench for a while. Besides getting different
views of the trench, you get a chance to see some of the plant diversity
out here. For example, the trail goes past some wild grapes (pictured
to the left).
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 | You cross the trench at caterpillar collapse (GPS: CTRPLR), and then follow the
other side of it down until you reach Four Windows Cave (GPS: 4WINDO). Four
Windows is open to the public; please read these
words about caving if you want to enter the cave.
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You leave Four windows and cross a bridge across the trench, where you will find a sign and a cairn. You can return to Big Skylight cave by following the cairn trail which takes off behind you as you look at the sign. However, doing so would prevent you from seeing Seven Bridges. Therefore, follow the cairn trail which leads to the right of the sign. A view up the trench showing one of the bridges is to the right. From here, follow the cairn trail up the trench and back to Big Skylight Cave, where you find the trail back to the parking lot. |  |
Plants we saw along the trail:
Animals we saw along the trail:
Reader comments about this hike:
On Mon Jun 19 10:54:30 2006 Ron Fernandez from Albuquerque,NM said:Add your comments about the Big Tubes hike.
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