Crater Rim Trail Report - Ideal - Jul 7, 2026

The only way I would do this trail by bike is counterclockwise. You will regret it clockwise. You will see why either way you choose lol. I chose to take the gravel road up to the peak and then back track to hop on the trail. This is a 1500' grind out of the gate with no relief until the peak. You can see on the map I made a wrong left turn by the dome and headed downhill at the sign instead of heading right. Having the route on my Garmin saved me at a couple intersections. Counterclockwise gives back a nice 1200' descent back to the parking lot. Trail was clear of blowdown. Mix of roots, rocks, deeper loose gravel and smooth packed sand. Some deep ruts on climbs that didn't have erosion control. I rode a hardtail with 130mm fork. I was on Continental X-king 2.2s.