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We were visiting Flagstaff, Arizona on our cross-country road trip and made plans to visit the Meteor Crater and Barringer Space Museum, which was only 37 miles east of our hotel. It’s one of the best-preserved meteorite impact sites on earth and we wanted to explore the Meteor Crater up close.

As we made our way to the meteor crater landmark, it was a beautiful desert drive with occasional “impact” signs that guided us to the site. The parking was spacious with plenty of parking, so we had no problems finding a spot.

Crystal reserved tickets ahead of time to save $2 on the entrance fee. Normally, the entrance fee is $22 for adults, but if you purchase the tickets online, it’s $20. We bypassed the ticketing booth and went straight in after scanning our tickets on the phone.

Road sign leading to Meteor Crater site — Easy drive to the Meteor Crater site from Flagstaff

In the past, viewing the meteor crater was free. However, there have been substantial upgrades to the site so if you don’t pay the admission you won’t be able to see the meteor crater.

Barringer Space Museum building — Barringer Space Museum

Collision! 4D Theater

We were pleasantly surprised to see that there was an immersive 4D experience room that was included with admission. The wait time for the experience wasn’t too long, so we decided to wait in line. It almost felt like we were waiting for a ride at Disneyland.

Waiting in line at the 4D Theater experience

Before we settled into our seats, there was an interactive top-secret biometric hand scanner that we tested while we waited and it was pretty entertaining. Paul, the super friendly attendant on duty, was also very talkative, so he helped pass the time as well.

Without giving too much away, the 4D experience guided us through an important flight mission to save Earth. There were some pretty neat special effects and since it’s 4D, our seats had motion as well.

Discovery Center & Space Museum

Before we headed outside to view the meteor crater, we thought it would be a good idea to learn the science behind the impact and the history of the crater.

The Discovery Center was interactive and had several hands-on exhibits which we both thoroughly enjoyed. There were several interactive exhibits that made it fun for the kids too.

The most interesting thing we learned was about the man who founded the meteor impact, Daniel Barringer. Sadly, at the time, many did not believe his discovery that there was a meteorite impact here.

Of course, many years later, we now know that he was right and his descendants formed the Barringer Crater Company. To this day, the site is still run by the family.

We also learned about other meteorite impacts around the globe with a recent one in Russia called the Chelyabinsk meteor. This impact occurred on February 15, 2013, and the video of the impact was surreal.

The part of the video that shocked me was the large shock wave that shattered tons of glass and injured about 1,200 people. The impact was stronger than a nuclear explosion and the meteor was so bright that some think it outshone the sun.

Lookout Points

There are a total of four lookout points and and one of them is located inside. The remaining three are outdoors and all three lookouts presented spectacular views of the crater.

Moon Mountain

We started at the Moon Mountain observation area as this was the highest vantage point. Although it was a short distance, it was a bit of a struggle going up since there was a slight incline and the air was a bit thinner.

There were some telescopes here to view different items of interest on the meteor crater. It was also pretty windy and chilly the day we visited, so we didn’t spend too much time on this observation deck.

Observation Deck

This deck is the largest and also had telescopes available for sightseeing the different details. We were able to see the six-foot-tall astronaut located in the middle of the crater and another telescope that pointed to a house-size rock. There were several other telescopes that pointed to drilling sites as well. It’s definitely difficult to see these points of interest with the naked eye.

The Lower Ramada

The Lower Ramada is to the right of the Observation Deck and is accessed by continuing down some steps. There was a lot of information here about Daniel Barringer and his family.

Guided-Rim Tours

They do offer guided tours that are approximately fifty minutes long. It would have been great to walk on the edge of the rim with a guide, but we were limited on time and opted for the self-guided tour instead.

Apollo 11 Space Capsule

There is an area outside where they have an Apollo Training Command Module on display and a statue of an alien. NASA has a history with this Meteor Crater site as it was used in the 1960s to prepare NASA astronauts (Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins) for the first moon landing.

Gift & MIneral Shop

If you have some time, it’s worth walking around the gift shop. It’s pretty large and they sell exclusive souvenirs, toys, and memorabilia. They had some pretty cool retro-looking hats and space-based games about geology and science.

Pet Ramada

If you are traveling with your pet, the center created the Pet Ramada where your pets can wait for you in the outdoor kennel while you explore the site.

This outdoor kennel costs $10 per pet and is located just outside the admissions building. We think it’s wonderful that the site created something like this for the visitors traveling with their pets.

Final Thoughts

To some, it may seem like it’s just a big hole in the ground, but it’s so much more than that. We now have a better understanding and appreciation for this meteor crater and think you will enjoy visiting as well. The drive to the site is beautiful and if you are interested in geology and or astronomy, it is well worth the trip.