What to bring?
Stroller?
Yes inside the visitors center, but there are some stairs at the viewing platform (we just left the stroller at the door when exiting)
Restrooms?
At visitors center & gift shop
If you ask my husband if Meteor Crater is worth the stop, you would get a resounding yes! If you ask me, not so much. It may have to do with the fact that we arrived in the middle of a storm, affecting our experience quite a bit. Admission is $22 per adult and free for kids under 6. Although it is considered a National Landmark, it is a privately owned attraction so it is not covered by the America the Beautiful Pass. Plan on 1-2 hours for your stop.
Because the building had just experienced a lightning strike, both the theater and the 4D experience were not operating. I’m not sure that our little ones would be up for those anyways, so it didn’t change our experience too much. They still showed the video on a smaller tv. Since the storm was still brewing, we spent quite a bit of our time in the museum, which was really interesting! There were a few hands on things for kids and some simulation type exhibits that our three year old thought was cool.
Once the lightning passed, we were allowed to go out to the viewing deck. The misting rain and incredibly terrible wind, made this portion really quick! We snapped a pic (see below how well that went) and that was about it. The crater itself is pretty impressive though. It’s the largest meteor in North America, measuring nearly a mile across. You can usually take guided tours of the rim of the crater when weather is better.
On our way out, we went through the gift shop and was able to view a portion of the Apollo spacecraft. Our three year old enjoyed taking pictures with the astronaut and alien that were also outside! There’s also a bistro if you want to turn it into a lunch or dinner stop!
Don’t forget on your way through to “stand on the corner in Winslow, Arizona.” And don’t forget to “take it easy” on the rest of your trip!
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