Elevation: 5,401 ft
Prominence: 131
This peak is not in the book. Published November 2023
Big Blowout Butte is located in Laidlaw Park in the remote southwest section of Craters of the Moon National Monument. This natural feature is hardly a butte. It is a CRATER. Its highpoint is on the northeast rim. It is NOT the lower point (also cairned) on the west rim. USGS North Laidlaw Butte
Big Blowout Butte as viewed from the northeast. Livingston Douglas Photo
Access
From US-20 east of Carey, turn right/south onto [signed] North Laidlaw Road. This junction is 0.2 miles west of Fish Creek Road, which is well-signed. Drive south on North Laidlaw Road for 1.2 miles to an unsigned “T” junction. This is Laidlaw Park Road. It can also be approached directly from farther west on US-20 and the road quality should be fine. Turn left/southeast onto Laidlaw Park Road and drive 13.6 miles to reach a signed 4-way junction (5,078 feet on the USGS map).
From this junction, turn left/north and drive just over 0.1 miles to cross a cattle guard. Just past the cattle guard, the road forks. Ant Butte is to the left. Go right/northeast here to stay on the main road. Continue driving northeast then north on the road for 2.7 miles. Big Blowout Butte is to the left. Park here (5,300 feet; 43⁰17’49”N, 113⁰35’54”W).
South Ridge, Class 2
The Climb
From the roadside pullout, bushwhack northwest to the crater rim in thick-ish sagebrush. Drop 10 feet along the rim to a minor saddle then continue north to the cairned summit. The summit is on the east side (northeast corner) of the crater rim. Ignore the cairned west summit which is lower in elevation. Cattle seems to like grazing in the crater itself.
The BLM sign for Big Blowout Butte. The butte is directly behind the sign in the distance. Livingston Douglas Photo
The summit cairn atop Big Blowout Butte. Notice the cows grazing in the crater. Livingston Douglas Photo
Additional Resources