Torweap - Lava Falls Trail

Sunday, November 13th we camped at Toroweap. What a spectacular place and we had the entire place to ourselves! There were 4 in our group, Bo, Steve, Linda and myself. We set up camp quickly and Steve and Linda stayed and cooked a big dinner while Bo and myself went off to explore the easier hikes offered at Toroweap. The days are short this time of year and we drove slowly over the 61 mile dirt backcountry road since last trip I had made out here we rushed it and got a flat tire at 1am. The weather lately however would make people wonder if we were in a drought at all since we have had weeks of rain. The rain had smoothed the usually horrible washboard road and it was a rather delightful drive this time.

The trailhead is on the left side of the road as you are driving toward the rim. Look for a small pull-out since the sign is not really too visible until you are right next to it. This is the Saddle Horse Canyon Trail found 5.7 miles south of the ranger station. Follow the level, easy trail east along the rim to the saddle, then north to Saddle Horse Canyon. The official trail is 1.6 miles roundtrip, but you can follow the rim and explore around the rocks, which we did.

The other easy trail at Toroweap is the Esplanade Loop Trail. This one is a 2.9 mile round trip that starts at the campground over by the rounded rocks, not the rim campground. The turnoff to the campground is 5.4 miles south of the ranger station.

That leaves Vulcan's Throne and Lava Falls which are both found on the Dry Toroweap Lake Road. Follow this 4WD road to the end and sign in at the trailhead. The hike to the top of the volcano is an uphill hike (there is not trail) that is about 1.5 miles round trip. It is not easy, but it is nothing like the 1.5 mile (one way) Lava Falls Route. Vulcan's Throne is 600 ft high and is one of the youngest of the areas volcanoes.

It was getting dark so we made out way to camp and had dinner, roasted marshmallows and talked for a while. It started to get really chilly as the sunset and we all headed off to bed early. The others had a tent, but I slept in the rover which seemed much warmer and more comfortable than a tent. The next morning we got a late start because it was so chilly.

We made it to the trailhead for Lava Falls about 9am. If you can stay up on two feet without falling this trail would not take so long to go down, but not wanting to fall or hurt my knees I was on all fours a good deal of the time and it took about four hours. Bo stayed with me while the others went ahead. I would guess it would have taken Bo less than half the time if he were alone.

After Bo got to the falls he was unimpressed, thinking they were going to be wild. We had a good view of Prospect Canyon that deposited the debris causing the rapids. The rapids at Lava Falls are suppose to be some of the best in the Colorado. None the less, Bo was not impressed. It took so long to get down that now we were pressed for time to make it up to the top before it got dark. Now about 2pm, we had 4 hours before dark.

Linda and Steve had started up a while ago and reported they made it to the top in 2 hours. The first two hours were slow over the loose rock and steep incline. The last push to the top we detoured toward the volcano and hiked up that section. That seemed to be the easier way up since moments later we were at the top with lots of daylight to spare. We headed down the road, but I think we drove a little faster on the way out.

I am not sure I would recommend this hike to anyone, but it is one of those that you might want to do at least once. I am glad I did and really enjoyed the company.

Thanks Bo and Friends :)