10.9 miles west, near Menan of Rexburg
Rattle Rock / The Gauntlet
- Lava rock, caves, tunnels
- Spring through fall
- Free to play
Out in the lava fields west of Menan there's a collapsed lava tube about a hundred yards long, with black rock walls roughly 20 feet high on both sides. Locals call it Rattle Rock, or The Gauntlet. Both names fit.
Over the years players have built it into a proper field. At one point there were more than 40 stacked-rock walls inside the tube, plus caves and short tunnels dug back into the rock. A couple of the high points have been walled in as lookout towers.
How it plays
The tube runs north and south, so the obvious game is end to end down the middle. The better game uses the walls. Whoever holds the high ground can see a lot of the floor, and whoever is on the floor has a lot of rock to hide behind. Expect people to climb.
A wildfire in 2013 burned off the big sagebrush, but the rock never went anywhere, and the grass and brush have come back. If your group likes scrambling, half the day will be bouldering between games.
Before you play
Rattlesnakes live in these rocks. Walk the field before the first game and look into the caves before anyone crawls in.
There's a target-shooting spot down the road to the southeast, and sometimes people there shoot in this direction. Check that nobody is set up before you start, and consider leaving a sign by the shooting spot so they know you're out there.
Photos
Photos: FreeArenas.com
Getting there
Drive out to the fork in the road and park there. Walk up the hill to the east and you'll drop into the lava tube. From there it runs about a hundred yards to the north.
GPS: 43.81549, -112.01110
When to go
Spring through fall. Snakes get more active as it warms up.
Leave it like you found it
Pack out your trash, pods and CO2 cartridges included. Don't shoot signs, fences or anything else that's built here, and don't drag in junk for cover. Watch what's behind your target and leave the wildlife alone.
