Visiting The Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano In Grants, NM

One of the reasons Shae and I love New Mexico so much is because it has so many interesting and unique things to see and do.

Ancestral Puebloan ruins including a great house with 600+ rooms? Check.

Hiking to the site of a plane crash where you can still see the wreckage more than 65 years later? Check.

Wandering a wilderness area that feels like you’re on another planet? Check.

Check out the world’s largest pistachio? Check.

Another attraction to add to that list is somewhere that you can visit a year-round ice cave which is on the same site as a volcano which last erupted relatively recently in the Earth’s history – the Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano in Grants, NM.

Ice and lava aren’t two things you normally expect to get in exactly the same place, but that’s what’s on offer at this attraction. You start off by heading inside the Old Time Trading Post, a 1930s building that now serves as the ticket office, gift shop and museum.

The museum part isn’t too extensive, but it has some artifacts from the area that are worth checking out.

After buying our tickets, it was time to check out both the Ice Cave and the Bandera Volcano. You can see them in whichever order you like – there’s a trail that links them, so after seeing one you can walk on to the other.

Ice Cave

We decided to set off for the Ice Cave first, but if you’re visiting on a hot day you might want to walk up to the Bandera Volcano first so that you can cool off in the Ice Cave later.

It was an interesting walk to the Ice Cave as we got our first taste of the Bandera Volcano courtesy of all the dried a’a (pronounced ah-ah) lava along the way.

There were several cave-like sections that were the result of collapsed lava tubes.

It was only a short walk to the Ice Cave, but it took a little longer than expected because we kept stopping along the way, marveling at all the lava and collapsed tubes. When you reach the Ice Cave, there are some sets of steps to get down there, with a couple of platforms along the way in case you want to take a breather on the way down or up.

To the left of the stairs was another collapsed lava tube. This Bandera lava tube is 17.5 miles long and is thought to be the longest one in North America.

It was interesting when walking down the stairs as there was a certain point where the refreshing cool air from the Ice Cave hit us. Only a few steps further and we were at the cave entrance looking at the emerald ice.

The Ice Cave is fascinating because it’s not something you’d expect to find in a fairly hot climate like New Mexico. However, its temperature never goes above 31°F (-0.5°C).

It stays that cool for a couple of reasons. First of all, the ice floor is about 20 feet thick; that, and the fact that the cave is shaped to trap cold air, ensures the temperature never gets high enough to melt the ice.

In case you’re wondering about its unusual green coloring, that’s the result of Arctic algae in the ice.

Bandera Volcano

After visiting the Ice Cave, we headed back up the trail and turned left to walk along the Scenic Loop to the Bandera Volcano.

When getting your tickets, you’re provided with a free leaflet which contains information about the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano. The leaflet’s sections are all numbered and match up with numbered markers along the way so that you know what you’re looking at.

For example, in the photo below you can see a snake-like rock formation. That’s a surface tube which the leaflet described as the following:

Surface tubes are small drained rivulets, or runners of the same highly fluid lava that flows in lava channels. They form on an existing hardened surface. They usually form when vents, channels, or reservoirs of lava overflow.

The trail continued up past another lava field. The appearance of this type of lava field (a’a) is caused by lava that cools on top while the lava below is still flowing.

Something to bear in mind if you decide to take the Scenic Loop up is that it’s uphill most of the way. It’s not too steep though and it’s definitely worth walking along this trail either up or down because it is indeed a more scenic route.

At the end of the trail you reach the Volcano Look Out Point. The Bandera Volcano last erupted 10,000 years ago which, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t all that long ago. The crater is ~1,400 feet wide and ~800 feet deep. It looked like it’d be somewhere fun to go sledding in the winter, but you obviously can’t do that!

Having seen the Bandera Volcano crater, we headed back down and took a different trail back to the gift shop/museum. There were a few other things to see along the way, such as the Spatter Cone in the photo below. Here’s how the leaflet described its formation:

Spatter cones are formed when minor vents form in the molten lava. A surge of hot air rushes through the lava forming surface tubes and minor vents. When the air breaks through the surface, lava will splash out forming the type of cone that you see here.

One of the most interesting numbered items to see was actually just a hole in the ground known as a tree hole. After the Bandera Volcano erupted, its lava flowed around a tree and solidified. The heat from the lava burned the tree, leaving only a hole in the ground.

We spent about 2.5 hours at the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano and were glad we made the trip down there (it’s close to 1.5 hours from where we were staying in Gallup, NM). It was a fascinating place to visit, not only because of the uniqueness of the Ice Cave but because we learned about the Bandera Volcano, lava and more. The leaflet was very useful, plus they have an excellent FAQs section on their website. Some of the FAQs relate to general questions about visiting, but they also have a lot of extensive information about both the Ice Cave and the Bandera Volcano, so it’s worth a read if you’re interested.

How Much Does It Cost To Visit The Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano?

When we visited in September 2021, ticket prices for the Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano were as follows:

• Adults (13+) – $12
• Children (6-12) – $6
• Children (5 & under) – free

Can You Stay At The Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano?

Yes. There are cabins you can book, plus you can camp or bring your RV. Here are the prices as of September 2021:

• Cabins (without plumbing) – $70 per night
• RV parking (without hookups) – $20 per night
• Tent camping – $15 per night

Are The Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano Pet-Friendly?

Yes, they’re incredibly pet-friendly! We brought along our dog Truffles with us and she was allowed everywhere – in the gift shop/museum, along the trails and to both the Ice Cave and Bandera Volcano.

Having said that, be aware that volcanic rock has the potential to be a little rough on your pup’s paws. Towards the end of the visit it seemed like her paws might have been feeling a little sore, so I carried her the rest of the way (although perhaps she was just being dramatic and didn’t feel like walking as it was fairly warm that day!) Still, it’s something to be aware of, especially if you have a larger dog who’d be harder to carry than Truffles who’s only ~10 lbs.

The worst of the volcanic rock is along the Scenic Loop trail though. If you take the trail from the gift shop to the Bandera Volcano and back again, then the trail to the Ice Cave and back again (or vice versa), you’d be bypassing the Scenic Loop Trail which should cut out a lot of the path that could cause sore paws.

Address

Ice Cave & Bandera Volcano, 12000 Ice Caves Rd, Grants, NM 87020