The Meteor Crater Park is one that just about everyone has heard about. It’s a highly publicized and crowded park that really wasn’t that impressive. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a place everyone should see once, but once is more than enough. Also, don’t expect to spend a lot of time here unless you are a meteor buff. It's interesting to note that it is privately owned and not a "national" park, so your park pass won't work here.

The park itself is located just 35 miles east of Flagstaff, Arizona, and it's easy to get to. For those who aren’t familiar with the site, it consists of a fairly large meteor crater and a visitor center. Around 50,000 years ago, a 150-foot (in diameter) meteor hit the desert here. The crater is now 550 feet deep and 4,000 feet across.

Now, all this sounds pretty interesting, but basically it turns out to be a large hole in the ground that you can’t explore. You can only walk around about a fourth of the rim and can’t go down into the crater itself. These are this site's major drawbacks. Just seeing the carter itself and taking a few photos can take no longer than 30 minutes. There are a few telescopes on the viewing platform, but you still don’t get immersed in the experience. It would be an awesome place if they would let you explore the crater itself, but as it is set up now, it’s hard to give it a whole-hearted recommendation. The admission is also very high for what you get - $12 per person. The visitor center is pretty nice, though, and you can expect to spend more time in there than seeing the crater itself.

It’s much more touristy than many comparable parks, but it is still worth seeing. It’s one of those things to go to just to say you have been and then you never have to go back. The crater itself is impressive, but you don’t get to really experience it.

A plus is that it is very easy for the physically challenged and elderly to view. It’s also easy to keep track of your family here. There is a decent gift shop and a Subway sandwich place on the premises, so souvenirs and food are easy to get. I would recommend going there and getting some Subway, then viewing the crater. This should extend your experience a bit and make it seem like a picnic. Just don’t expect to spend all day here.

You can find their website here: Meteor Crater

The museum has displays of actual meteor fragments as well as computer driven interactive displays. You can enter the name your state and it will show you what impact craters have been identified in your area. We are from MO and I didn't think there were any craters near us. I was wrong. They have identified two, one fairly close to us. However, they are both over 100 million years old. There is also an area dedicated to our space program where pictures of all the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo crews are available. In addition, there is one of the space capsules in the courtyard.

But of course the star of the visitor center is the crater itself. The crater is over 4,000 feet across, 2.4 miles in circumference, and 560 feet deep today (the initial depth was closer to 700 ft.). It struck the earth 50,000 year ago at a speed of approx. 40,000 miles per hour with the force of 20 million tons of TNT. The meteorite is estimated to have been about 150 feet across and weighing several hundred thousand tons. Large blocks of limestone, some the size of small houses were thrown onto the rim. This crater is so like the surface of the moon that NASA has designated it an official training site for astronauts. There are 4 nice viewing areas with observation telescopes behind the visitor center. And, there are also daily guided rim tours that leave hourly starting at 9:15am until 2:15pm. The tour goes about 1/3 a mile around the rim and is included in the admission price.

Other things to note about this site: there is an RV park on site. There is also a nice snack bar/deli and a great gift shop with souvenirs, rocks and minerals, jewelry, and fossils. Their restrooms are clean, the entire facility is handicapped accessible and the staff is well informed and friendly. We enjoyed our time there. The site is open year round and the admission is: adults $12, children (4-12) $7.