Lava Flow Trail

In the Table Top Wilderness within the Sonoran Desert National Monument, the Lava Flow Trail offers a hiking opportunity of light to moderate difficulty in a varied and dramatic Sonoran Desert landscape.

Three trailheads are linked by a relatively level 7.25-mile trail.

From south to north, the trail meanders through dense forests of saguaro, paloverde, ironwood, and cholla; skirts the jumbled basaltic slopes of Black Mountain; traverses an extensive creosote-bush flat; and crosses several large washes.

Lava Flow Trail provides sweeping views of Vekol Valley and the Sand Tank Mountains to the west, while flat-topped Table Top Mountain — highest point in the Table Top Wilderness — looms to the east.

Only hiking and equestrian use is allowed on the trail in wilderness under the Wilderness Act of 1964. Motorized vehicles and mountain bikes are prohibited in wilderness. Motorized and mechanized vehicles, including bicycles, must remain on existing access routes.

Motorized equipment and equipment used for mechanical transport are generally prohibited on all federal lands designated as wilderness. This includes the use of motor vehicles (including OHVs), motorboats, bicycles, hang gliders, wagons, carts, portage wheels, and the landing of aircraft including helicopters. Contact the agency for more information about regulations.

Road conditions to the wilderness vary with high-clearance and four-wheel-drive vehicle requirements. Roads are primitive and not maintained. Have a full tank of gas, full-size spare tires, a vehicle tool kit, and first aid kit. The main access routes and washes are prone to heavy seasonal rains and flash floods. Do not cross flooding streams or washes!