Jornada Lava Field

Roughly 760,000 years ago, a 170-square-mile shield volcano spread basalt across the Jornada del Muerto desert, producing about twice the volume of the younger and better-known Carrizozo flow at Valley of Fires. The Jornada lava field is older, more remote, and almost entirely unimproved, making it a great place to experience New Mexico’s lava country without trails, signs, or a visitor center.

What to Do

The field sits inside the BLM’s Jornada del Muerto Wilderness Study Area, a raised platform of inflated pahoehoe basalt topped by a small cinder cone at its northern end. There’s no built trail, so visiting involves walking over broken rock, collapsed sinkholes, and pressure ridges that push up in low domes and troughs. About a mile south of the main vent, a set of partially collapsed tubes forms a trough that holds a bat colony. Beyond that, there is little to guide you, in this stretch of the Jornada del Muerto few travelers ever see.

How Much Time to Spend

This isn’t a quick stop. Between the drive in and the walk once you’re there, budget at least half a day. An hour or two on the lava itself is enough to see the main features. Going deeper into the flow’s interior takes real route-finding and more time.

Getting There

From San Antonio, take US 380 east about 7 miles, then turn south on County Road 153/Fite Ranch Road. The road zigzags southeast and southwest for roughly 23 miles before reaching the lava field’s northern edge, and it is unpaved and unmaintained the whole way. A high-clearance vehicle is strongly recommended, and there’s no cell service, water, or shade once you’re out there.

If you want an easy lava field, Valley of Fires is 90 minutes east on paved trails. If you want to stand on a flow that almost nobody stops for, and don’t mind a rough drive to get there, the Jornada will be perfect.