Find Nearby Peaks

Livingston Douglas added additional route information which can be found down the page. Updated December 2019

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Grassy Cone is Peak #1 of the Craters 10-Pack

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This small, nondescript butte sits just north of US-20 just west of the main entrance to Craters of the Moon National Monument. This small peak shelters an interesting crater on its North Side and is a great place to view the volcanic terrain south of the highway. There is a large pullout on the south side of the highway. An ascent to the summit from this point is a short, but steep, 0.5 mile hike through sagebrush. Please take care of this pristine environment and watch out for rattlesnakes. USGS Inferno Cone

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Southeast Face and South Face Routes by Livingston Douglas

Grassy Cone is hardly grassy. It’s mostly thick sagebrush and is not a pleasant climb from US-20 to the southeast. It has a hidden forest on its north face that is not visible from the highway. The summit appears to be rarely visited. Not even a summit cairn, until I built one on top. The east summit is the high point (6,315 feet). The west summit is 15 feet lower, based on visuals and altimeter measurements.

Southeast Face, Class 2

Access

From the entrance to Craters of the Moon National Monument, drive 0.8 miles west on US-20 to the [higher] second pullout on the south side of the highway. The elevation here is about 6,000 feet.

The Climb

From the large parking pullout along US-20, cross to the north side of the highway and bash your way up a steep hillside of thick sagebrush and prickly bushes to the summit area (east summit). The east summit is a mix of scrub and open areas of lava gravel/talus. There was no summit cairn so I built one. The west summit is completely bare and is a hump of lava gravel. The USGS topo map contours make the west summit appear to be much higher than the [measured] east summit but it’s not. The traverse from the east summit to the west summit is not fun. The terrain is thick with sagebrush and prickly brush. I hope you decided to wear hiking PANTS today. You must drop 45 vertical feet to a minor saddle then climb 30 vertical feet to reach the west summit.

South Face, Class 2

Access

Same as for the southeast face

The Descent

From the west summit of Grassy Cone, descend south down the steep face to reach US-20. The brush/sage here isn’t as bad as on the [steeper] southeast face, but it’s still unpleasant. Once you reach the highway, walk east about 0.2 miles to the parking pullout and your vehicle.