About the tours

land and eventually opened Meteor Crater as a tourist attraction as well as a destination for scientists and researchers furthering the study of meteorite impacts.

Exit the back of the visitor center for a dramatic reveal of the crater, the whole of which spreads before every vista.

The 30-minute tours start to the right, choreographed in such a way that the arriving and departing groups pass each other on the trail. The asphalt path is accessible to visitors with mobility difficulties, although it’s a bumpy ride in a wheelchair.

Guides offer lessons in history and geology, but little information beyond what is in the visitor center. Those who prefer to explore on their own will want to head left where multilevel viewing platforms await.

Even after 50,000 years, the crater maintains its graceful symmetry. Cliffs drop sharply before curving gently to the bottom, the ground flattening toward the center. Wind and rain have shaved about 150 feet off the rim, yet the arid climate has done its share to preserve the crater’s original look.

Several telescopes yield close-up views of the rim and floor. A 12-foot-high steam boiler near the mine shaft offers perspective on the crater’s size. Transporting equipment was an arduous task, made more difficult when Barringer began drilling into the rim itself, thinking the meteorite must have landed at a steep angle and buried itself into the side of the crater.

Decades would pass before it was clear there was no vast iron deposit, just random chunks of meteorite that survived impact.

Bits and pieces of the space rock remain scattered throughout the crater, which has for years been restricted solely to researchers.

Given the nearly 600-foot descent and subsequent climb, few complain, especially if they’re saving their hiking energy for the Grand Canyon.