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Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is the site of two of the world's most spectacularly active volcanoes. In Mauna Loa's rugged high altitude wilderness area, visitors can inspect cinder cones, gaping chasms and barren lava wrought into fantastic shapes.
On Kilauea's more accessible slopes patches of vegetation thrive amid lava deposits. Here a forest can be observed in all of its formative stages, from early re-growth lichens and ferns to dense groves of mature trees.
Activities to consider while here are but not limited to: backpacking, camping, interpretive talks, nature walks, star gazing, slide shows and exhibits on volcanoes, hiking, and backcountry fishing. Rangers provide an array of scheduled walks and talks to interpret the park's natural and cultural resources. Educational programs for school groups are provided throughout the year on a reservation basis.
After Dark in the Park is a series of evening presentations generally offered two or three times per month. The free educational programs on biological and geological subjects and Hawai'ian cultural and historical topics are held in the Kilauea Visitor Center Auditorium. The annual cultural festival celebrates Hawai'i's native cultural heritage by encouraging visitor hands-on participation in traditional arts and crafts, music and games.
Before taking off in your car, please protect yourself by heeding the warning signs and help the park protect endangered nene.
VOLCANIC FUMES
Heed warning signs. Fumes are hazardous to your health. Visitors with heart or breathing problems and infants, young children, and pregnant women are especially at risk and should avoid Halema`uma`u Crater, Sulfur Banks and other areas where volcanic fumes are present.
POLLUTION ALERT
Every day, the volcano spews more than 2,500 tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, enough noxious gas to fill 100 Goodyear blimps. USGS scientists at the Hawai'ian Volcano Observatory figure Kilauea's emissions are twice as bad as EPA's worst stationary point source polluter. Respirators with canisters designed to filter out hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, and airborne glass particles are standard park ranger issue.
NENE PROTECTION
Nene (the Hawai'ian goose) is an endangered species that needs your protection. Watch for nene on roads. Cars are the leading cause of adult nene deaths in the park. DO NOT FEED the nene. Nene that are fed by visitors learn to beg for food and approach moving cars.
| Drive | Length | Description |
| Crater Rim | 11.0 miles | This drive circles Kilauea's summit caldera and craters. It passes through rain forest and desert and provides access to well-marked scenic stops and short walks. Highlights include Sulphur Banks, Steam Vents, Jaggar Museum, Halema'uma'u Crater, Devastation Trail, Kilauea Ili Crater and Thurston Lava Tube. |
| Chain of Craters Road | 40.0 miles round trip | This drive intersects with Crater Rim and descends 3,700 feet to the coast, and dead ends at lava flow across the road. Points of interest include Lua Manu and Pauahi craters, Mauna Ulu Lava Shield, Kealakomo Overlook and Holei. |
| Sulfur Bank | 0.3 mi from Visitor Center | Upon leaving the Kilauea Visitor Center, turn right. The first stop, Sulfur Bank, is located on a short side road to your right .3 mile from the Visitor Center. At Sulfur Bank volcanic gases seep out along with groundwater steam. These gases are rich in carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, the one that smells like rotten eggs. Some sulfur gases deposit pure crystals at Sulfur Bank. Other sulfur gases form sulfuric acid which breaks down the lava to clay. This is stained red and brown with iron oxide. If anyone in your party has breathing or heart problems or is pregnant, or if your party includes infants or young children, by pass this stop. |
| Steaming Bluff | 0.5 mi from Sulfer Bank | After you leave the Sulfur Bank, .5 mile ahead on the left is Steaming Bluff. This is a treeless plain between the inner and outer cliffs of Kilauea Caldera. The ground just a few feet down is so hot that tree roots can not survive. But shallow-rooted grasses and plants grow here. Ground water seeps down to the hot volcanic rocks and returns to surface as steam, especially near the caldera rim. |
| Kilauea Overlook | 0.7mi from Steaming Bluffs | The Kilauea Overlook is located on your left approximated .7 miles from Steaming Bluffs. The road sign indicates that this a picnic area. Which it is, but it is also a splendid Overlook of the Kilauea Caldera and Halema'uma'u Crater. The view here is similar to that found at the Jaggar Museum, but is usually much less crowded. And it is a nice place for a picnic. |
| Jaggar Museum | 1.7mi from Kilauea Overlook | On the left, 1.7 miles after leaving Kilauea Overlook, you arrive at the Jaggar Museum, one of the busiest locations in the park. Inside the Museum you will find videos of volcanic activity, geologic displays and lots of working seismographs. There is also a splendid overlook into Kilauea Caldera and Halema'uma'u Crater. The Museum has large windows which afford a sheltered view when the weather is inclement. |
| Southwest Rift Zone | 1.8 mi from Jaggar Museum | This area is directly downwind from Halema'uma'u Crater and if anyone in your party has breathing or heart problems or is pregnant, or if your party includes infants or young children, by pass this stop. Roll up your car windows and continue driving until you reach the Keanakako'i Overlook. Rift zones are regions of weakness along a volcano's flanks. The southwest rift zone starts at Kilauea's summit and continues to the seacoast and beyond. One mile away is the Halema'uma'u Overlook. As you drive notice the reddish brown flows from the 1919 and 1921 eruptions and the black flows from the 1971 and 1974 eruptions. The color difference is due to weathering; the iron in the older flows has oxidized into rust. Notice, also, the lack of vegetation. This area is showered with naturally occurring acid rain. The Halema'uma'u Crater spews forth about 300 tons of sulfur dioxide daily. This is oxidized in the air and when moisture is present the sulfur dioxide returns as sulfuric acid. This area receives 30 to 40 inches of rain per year, an amount that would support a diverse ecosystem were it not for the effects of acid rain. |
| Halema'uma'u Crater | 1 mi | If anyone in your party has breathing or heart problems or is pregnant, or if your party includes infants or young children, by pass this stop. Roll up your car windows and continue driving until you reach the Keanakako'i Overlook. Excellent views of Halema'uma'u can be found at Kilauea Overlook and the Jaggar Museum. So, you will not miss anything.Halema'uma'u is home to Pele, Goddess of Hawai'ian Volcanoes. The ancient traditions are honored and practiced here by native Hawai'ians. Please respect this area. The Halema'uma'u Crater Overlook is a 10 minute walk from the parking area. From the overlook you look down directly into Pele's home. The crater is about 3,000 feet across and nearly 300 feet deep. Halema'uma'u changed greatly during the 20th century. In 1924, it was only 1,500 feet in diameter but was filled by a lake of molten lava that bubbled and boiled at 2,100 degrees Fahrenheit. Look carefully into the crater. You might see a large long-tailed white bird flying gracefully about. This is the white-tailed tropic bird, known locally as Koa'e or crater bird. It feeds at sea, but nests in the crater wall. |
| Keanakako'i Crater | 1.2 mi from Halema'uma'u Crater | About one half mile from Halema'uma'u Crater you will find evidence of a brief eruption that occurred in September 1982 covering several hundred feet of roadway. This is pahoehoe lava and has a smooth surface. The chunky lava is called a'a. These Hawai'ian words are used by geologists world wide to describe these distinct types of lava. This road was rebuilt within 6 weeks of the eruption. Keanakako'i, meaning "cave of the adzes" is beside the road on your right. This pit crater lays on the boundary fault that encircles Kilauea's summit. Until its floor was buried in 1877, Keanakako'i was the source for superior stone used in tool-making by the Hawai'ians. The floor was covered with an additional 20 feet of rock during the 1974 eruption. Carefully crossing the road, you can walk to the overlook and view the fissures with their still smoking fumaroles from the 1974 eruption. On a clear day this is an excellent vantage point for viewing Mauna Loa's 13,677 foot summit and Mauna Kea's 13,796 foot summit adorned with some of the world's largest astronomical observatories. |
| Devastation Trail Pu'u Pua'i Overlook |
1 mi from the Keanakako'i Overlook | The Devastation Trail parking area is on your left. You can park your car here and take a 30 minute walk through the cinder outfall of the 1959 eruption of Kilauea Iki. This 1/2 mile (each way) paved trail is wheel chair and stroller accessible. You can have the driver of your car drive on to the Pu'u Pua'i Overlook 1/2 mile ahead and meet your group. Another option is to walk out (.6 mile each way) to the Byron Ledge trail across the cinders being reclaimed by a variety of native and alien species. One half mile from the Devastation Trail parking area is the turn off to the Pu'u Pua'i Overlook. On most days, the strong trade winds make it easy to see how the cone was built during the high lava fountaining in 1959. Notice parts of the old road are buried under Pu'u Pua'i. Close to Kilauea Iki's fountaining, the lava pumice cinders were hot enough to weld themselves together into a spatter cone, Pu'u Pua'i.(Pu'u Pua'i means gushing hill.) Further downwind, the falling cinders had cooled sufficiently to form a blanket of cinders. The Pu'u Pua'i Overlook provides a fine look into the Kilauea Iki Crater. The gray line you see on the Crater floor is the Kilauea Iki Trail. |
| Thurston Lava Tube | 1.3 mi | A 20 minute 1/3 mile walk though a tree fern forest and lighted prehistoric cavelike lava tube awaits you. This is an excellent place to stop and listen to the birds. Watch carefully and you may see the red apapane feeding among the equally red ohi'a blossoms. This lava tube was discovered in 1913 by Lorrin Thurston, a local newspaper publisher. At that time the roof of the tube was covered with lava stalactites, but those soon disappeared to souvenir collectors. As you walk through the tube consider that several hundred years ago a river of red lava rushed through. And that lava currently travels from Pu'u O'o to the ocean in a labyrinth of lava tubes much like the tube you are walking through. Watch your head in the tube - there are some spots with a low ceiling. |
| Kilauea Iki Overlook | 0.4 mi | Kilauea Iki looks fairly tranquil these days. But, in 1959 it was a seething lava lake, with lava fountains up to 1,900 feet. From up here it is difficult to comprehend the scale of Kilauea Iki. It is a mile long, 3,000 feet across and 400 feet below the overlook. This is the trailhead for the 4 mile loop hike around Kilauea Iki. You are less than 1.5 miles from where you started at the Visitor Center. |
Hiking in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park can be a fun and rewarding experience as in other national parks. It is a great way to both see and experience the park.
The character of the park is best discovered on foot. There are over 150 miles of trails in the park. Hike the park trails to experience the park's essence and to gain an understanding of the natural and cultural history of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. Day hikes as well as backcountry trips of several days duration are available. If you only have a single day, explore Kilauea's summit trails. Highly recommended is the Kilauea Iki trail, a four mile, two hour hike, descending 400 feet through native rainforest into a crater, and across lava flows still steaming from the 1959 eruption.
| Trail | Length | Description |
| Kilauea Iki | 4.0 mile loop | This hike would be considered challenging. Two to three hour hike descending 400 feet through rainforest, across the crater floor, pass Pu'u Pua'i cinder cone, and return via the crater's rim. Of interest: Rain forest, birds, insects, 1959 lava lake, steam vents, cinder and spatter cone. Bring water; expect wet and windy weather and some steep and rocky terrain. |
| Mauna Loa Summit | 19.1 miles | For an unforgettable backcountry trip (3 or 4 days), hike to the summit of Mauna Loa (nearly 14,000 feet). Be forewarned: hikers must be in good physical condition and properly equipped for winter mountaineering. |
For information on other hikes, see the Hiking Page.
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