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1. Nahuku Lava Tube
One of the most fun activities you can do at Hawai’i Volcanoes is to walk through a giant lava tube! Enter this giant cave-like tunnel and enjoy an up-close look at the underground world created by a powerful volcano.
What You Need to Know
This short trail is perfect for adventurers of all ages — it’s an easy 0.3-mile loop. You’ll begin in a beautiful fern forest that leads to the entrance of the lava tube. Dim lights line the walkway through the tube, but it is fun to have your own flashlight to get a closer look at the lava flow on the walls.
Getting Here
Just after entering the park through the Entrance Station, take your first left onto the Crater Rim Drive. Follow this road for approximately 1.5 miles until you reach the Nahuku Lava Tube parking area.
2. Kilauea Iki Crater
It’s not every day that you get the opportunity to walk into the crater of a volcano on a (now hardened) lake of lava! The Kilauea Iki trail is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that takes you into a volcano that was spewing lava as recently as 1959!
What You Need to Know
This hike is a 4-mile loop that gains about 400 feet of elevation. You’ll hike along the rim of the crater before descending into the hardened lava lake. As you travel through the crater, look for steam vents and cracks! Be sure to follow the ahu (stacked rocks) and stay on course—leaving the designated trail can be dangerous.
After making your way across the crater, the trail will then lead you back up to the rim of the crater and through a beautiful forest to the parking area.
Getting Here
The Kilauea Iki trail can be accessed from either the Nahuku Lava Tube parking area or from the designated Kilauea Iki Trailhead parking.
To reach the Kilauea Iki Trailhead parking area, take your first left onto the Crater Rim Drive after entering through the park entrance. Drive for approximately 1.25 miles until you see the parking area on your right.
3. Steaming Bluff
Surround yourself with a giant puff of steam as you walk along the edge of the Kilauea Caldera! This short stroll provides a fun way to experience the heat of a massive volcano.
What You Need to Know
These steam vents occur when rainwater enters cracks in the earth and turns to steam as it touches the hot volcanic rocks. As you walk along the trail from the parking area, you’ll notice the lack of trees in the area — that’s because the ground underneath you is so hot that tree roots can’t survive!
When you reach the edge of the caldera, you’ll be able to experience the steam vents up close and personal as they fill the path with a warm fog of steam.
Getting Here
From the entrance station, drive straight toward the Kilauea Visitor Center. Keep going for 0.8 miles past the visitor center until you see the Steam Vent Parking Area on your left. Park here and follow the pathway to Steaming Bluff.
4. Chain of the Craters Road
Experience a totally different section of Hawai’i Volcanoes from the scenic Chain of the Craters Road. You’ll love seeing the hardened lava rock and how it has taken over the landscape — completely obliterating everything in its path on its way to the beautiful blue ocean!
What You Need to Know
This 18.8 mile (one-way) road takes you down to the sea and has an elevation change of 3700 feet. From here, you can see where the island is growing because of the lava flow! My favorite stops along the way are the Holei Sea Arch and the Pu’u Loa Petroglyphs.
No food, water, or gasoline is available along this road, so plan accordingly. You can find simple vault toilets at the very end of the road near the Holei Sea Arch. Also keep in mind that because of the elevation change, the weather in this area can be dramatically different than it is near the park’s entrance station.
Getting Here
After entering through the park entrance, take your first left onto the Crater Rim Drive. Drive for approximately 2.5 miles (you’ll pass the Kilauea Iki Trailhead and the Nahuku Lava Tube) until you reach the turn-off for the Chain of Craters Road. Turn left here and drive along the road as far as you’d like—but I highly recommend driving all the way to the end!
5. Jaggar Museum Overlook
Take a peek inside one of the world’s most active volcanoes! From the Jaggar Museum, you can enjoy phenomenal views of the Kilauea Caldera (the collapsed mouth of the volcano) — seriously, how cool is that?!
What You Need to Know
The Jaggar Museum is now closed due to the 2018 eruption of Kilauea! The Halema’uma’u Crater collapsed and sunk 1,600 feet, putting the museum in a precarious situation on the crater’s edge.
The lava lake at the bottom of the Halema’uma’u Crater is now completely hardened, but who’s to say that the volcano won’t start to erupt again soon? That’s what makes Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park so exciting — it’s constantly changing!
You can still drive to the Jaggar Museum parking lot and look at the crater from there, but I suggest walking east along the paved Crater Rim Trail (away from the overlook near the museum) for a few minutes. You’ll reach a dirt viewing area with a small structure constructed of rocks. This is the best view of the crater you’ll find in the park!
The nearby Kilauea Overlook is also a great place to stop for dramatic views of the crater.
Getting Here
From the park entrance, continue driving straight toward the Kilauea Visitor Center. After passing the Visitor Center, drive approximately 2.5 miles to the end of the road. Here you will find the Jaggar Museum and Overlook parking area.
Have a spectacular time exploring the unique and powerful landscape of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park!
how many square miles or big is it
523 square miles!