The Craters of the Moon lava field is a harsh and uninviting place. Summers are scorching and little rain falls. In winter the wind whips across the landscape, piling snow into huge drifts. Travel on foot across the rough, uneven rock is difficult in some places and nearly impossible in others. The land has little practical value.
Plant growth is sparse and game is limited.
The lava does not lend itself well to grazing, hunting, farming, or mining. Therefore, early travelers avoided this area and only passed through it on their way somewhere else. The Indians skirted the lava fields during their yearly migration in search of food. Emigrants on the Oregon Trail followed the edge of the lava flows as they traveled westward looking for farmland or gold. Not until a few individuals explored Craters of the Moon in the early 1900's did anyone venture onto the lava for pleasure.