Join us as we dive into an unforgettable adventure, exploring Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and uncovering the awe-inspiring power of its active volcanoes. This park is the best place to see some of the most active volcanoes in the world!
Podcast Episode Overview
Aloha friends! Today’s episode takes us on a journey across the ocean to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park!
This park protects some of the most active volcanoes in the world – Kilauea and Mauna Loa. It’s crazy that you can get this close to these epic volcanoes when you visit this national park! Join us as we explore our favorite spots in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park together.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Where to go if you want to see the lava lake
- Why this park is constantly changing
- Where to stay and what to eat while visiting this national park
- Ash’s favorite shave ice stop on the Big Island
- Can’t miss sights along the Crater Rim Drive
- What is so cool about these volcanoes, specifically
- How you can witness the building process of the Hawaiian Islands
This park isn’t a huge national park, but it is constantly exploding and expanding. We hope you get the chance to experience Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park soon!
Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:
Crater Rim Drive West and Mauna Loa Road
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park starts off with a bang. The main road into the park—Crater Rim Drive—takes you right up to the incredible Kīlauea Crater, the park’s main attraction.
The first time we visited Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, we went to the Jaggar Museum, which was still open at the time. In 2018, a massive volcanic eruption widened the Kīlauea Crater and caused land to fall into the caldera. The Jaggar Museum is closed to the public now as the National Park Service waits to tear it down before more volcanic eruptions or landslides can consume it. The Kīlauea Visitor Center is being built up to compensate for the Jaggar Museum’s loss.
In the caldera, there are Loko o Pele or “lava lakes” where lava meets the surface from the Kīlauea Volcano, revealing its deeper magma system. While this is one of the best places in the National Park System to see volcanic activity, you aren’t guaranteed to see molten lava. We have yet to find the right time to visit to see active lava flows!
At the end of Crater Rim Drive, where Jaggar Museum used to be open, there is the Uēkahuna Overlook and the Kīlauea Overlook. Both overlooks take you to a great spot for the best views of the Kīlauea Crater. The crater you see from the overlooks is the caldera of one of the world’s most active volcanoes – Kīlauea.
The Crater Rim Trail starts by the Uēkahuna Overlook and takes you close to the edge of the caldera, where you can see the aftermath of past eruptions, including the 2018 eruption.
Branching off from Crater Rim Drive, Mauna Loa Road will take you close to the summit of Mauna Loa, the other volcano in the national park and the largest volcano in the world. The road is windy, narrow, and steep in elevation. We were lucky enough to spot a chameleon along this drive! Our kids were looking for chameleons throughout the whole trip, and we’ve never seen one in the wild. It ended up diving down a lava tube!
Kīlauea Visitor Center, Steaming Bluff, Sulphur Banks
Heading back toward the Kīlauea Visitor Center, there are a bunch of other volcanic features to see.
Steaming Bluff (Wahinekapu) is one of the coolest things in the park. It sends steam into the sky through fissures in the rocks called steam vents. If you don’t see the steaming of the lava lake at Kīlauea Crater, this is a great alternative.
Coming to the park, you might imagine that the power of the lava and the magma is far away in the Kīlauea Crater. But when you’re on the Steaming Bluff, the illusion is taken away as you realize all of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park is a place of dynamic volcanism.
Nearby, you can also see Haʻakulamanu (Sulphur Banks), another volcanic activity feature that lives up to its name. If you love the sulfur smells of Yellowstone National Park, you’ll love Sulphur Banks, too.
The Volcano House, Kīlauea Visitor Center, and hazardous volcano fumes are all located just beyond the Sulphur Banks, all popular stops in the park. The Volcano House is the park’s lodge, situated right on the caldera’s edge. You can eat supper and watch steam and lava in the distance.
Volcano is the town located just outside the park entrance. It’s less of a town and more of a place to grab an Airbnb or a bite to eat. We usually stay in Hilo, about 45 minutes from the park, so we have more lodging and food options.
Your first visit to Hawai’i isn’t complete without shave ice – no D! I love to get Lilikoi (Passionfruit) syrup on my shave ice. You have to get ice cream with your shave ice. They will put your ice cream in the center with shave ice and your flavoring of choice around it. Then, it’s drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. I’m not a fan of the Hawaiian tradition of putting black beans on shave ice, but if you’re game, give it a try! We loved Kula Shave Ice in Hilo.
Malasadas are also a must-get food. They’re the Hawaiian version of doughnuts. We drive all the way to TEX Drive-In to get malasadas—that’s how good they are!
Crater Rim Drive East to Chain of Craters Road
Turning east from the park’s entrance, you can take Crater Rim Drive to the Kīlauea Iki Crater. This crater is not the same as the big Kīlauea Caldera. It’s a smaller crater with a hardened lava lake. You can hike on the Kīlauea Iki Trail down into the lava lake to get a sense of how alien it feels to be inside a crater.
The crater floor is hot, both because of the sun beating down and the dried lava absorbing the sun’s heat and radiating it back at you. Bring plenty of water! The hike is four miles, and you lose about 400 feet of elevation when dropping down into the crater, and then you’ve got to hike back out. But it’s totally worth it!
After you finish up the Kīlauea Iki Crater Trail, head over to the Thurston Lava Tube (Nahuku). This is a short trail that takes you right through a lava tube! It feels like a cave, but it’s a reminder of the power of the lava and magma of the big island of Hawai’i.
After the Kīlauea Iki Crater, Crater Rim Drive turns into Chain of Craters Road. Right before the change, you can hike the Devastation Trail, a quieter option to see what a volcano leaves behind when it erupts.
The rest of Chain of Craters Road is worth seeing if you have time to spare. Most people turn around after the crater. But there are plenty of other stops to make along the 19-mile scenic drive. The road follows where the lava flows. You can see where eruptions have happened and worked their way to the ocean.
The Pu‘uloa Petroglyphs offer a unique glimpse into the lives of the people who lived here before Euro-Americans arrived. They’re a great place to stop and learn about the legacy and history of native Hawaiians.
Your final stop will be the Holei Sea Arch at the very end of the Chain of Craters Road. Because this park is constantly shifting and changing, the viewpoint has moved significantly since we last visited. You can’t see the sea arch as well, but it is worth a stop to experience yet another incredible volcanic feature.
Are you excited to see the tallest active volcano and the most active volcano all in one spot? Even if you have less than a full day, you can see so many good places in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. We hope you have a wonderful trip to Hawai’i!
Don’t forget to complete your task for this week! Would you visit Hawai’i Volcanoes during the big eruptions in hopes that you get to see the lava? Or are you more comfortable visiting when things are a little bit quieter? Head over to the Dirt in My Shoes Facebook or Instagram page and let us know!
Links mentioned in this podcast episode:
- Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
- Crater Rim Drive
- Kīlauea Overlook
- Uēkahuna
- Crater Rim Trail
- Lava Lakes and Their Activity
- Mauna Loa Volcano
- Haʻakulamanu (Sulphur Banks)
- Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff)
- Kula Shave Ice
- TEX Drive In
- Kīlauea Iki Crater Hike
- Devastation Trail
- Thurston Lava Tube
- Pu‘uloa Petroglyphs
- Sea Arches in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
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