Hawaii Volcanoes

September 2016

It was o-dark-thirty! The boat left the dock at dawn. A cup of some Kona coffee kept me awake. From a distance, I saw the fiery landscape as the lava flowed into the sea. Jack Johnson was playing over the loudspeaker, and made me want some banana pancakes! Sitting, waiting, wishing! Bubbly toes! The heat rose as the boat inched closer. The waves crashed into the cliffs, rocking the boat from side to side. Hot air bubbles collided with the boat from below. It was an amazing experience!

I first visited Hawaii Volcanoes in November 2013. I landed in Kona and drove the long way along the coast and stopped at the Kīlauea Visitor Center on my way to Hilo. There was no visible lava at the time. I saw steam vents, did a lava tube tour, and saw the glow coming from Hale Ma'uma'u Volcano Crater. Otherwise, it wasn't very memorable. 

I kept an eye on the lava flow forecast. Living in San Jose, it was just a puddle jump to the Big Island (well, a 5-hour flight). When I had an opportunity to see a lava flow in 2016, I went for it. I booked a tour with Lava Ocean Tours. At that time, it was one of a few operators with a permit to navigate close to the lava flow. The company offers a lava sightseeing boat tour throughout the day, but the dawn tour provides the most beautiful views of the …

Hawaii is a vacation destination of choice for many on the US west coast, and for a while, I felt like one of the only people in California that liked to travel that had not been to Hawaii (not even once!). Hawaii, being that it is beautiful, tropical, and unique, is also very expensive and will make your wallet cry for help. Compared to the prices for other domestic trips, Hawaii takes the cake for most expensive.

But honestly, it was so worth the temporary bankruptcy! I had this idea in my head that because so many people visit Hawaii that it wouldn't be as cool to visit as people say it is because it would be too crowded or something. But now I understand why so many people go there in the first place! It is truly a unique and special place. And where else to see the unique volcanic quality and beautiful plants of the islands then in the Hawaii Volcanoes WHS?

Although the volcano was not erupting on my visit to the park, there is still plenty to see and experience that makes the park a joy to visit when the volcano is quiet. The park is located inside a beautiful rainforest with a nice collection of ferns and orchids. You can hike down into the volcanic area and walk over the crunchy lava. While I was hiking down there, some fog rolled in and made the caldera so mysterious. You can see the park …

For all visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, the visitor center is a smart first stop to get information about current eruptions. During our exploration of the park, there were eruptions occurring, but the distance was significant. My camera captured the dramatic scene, but I regretted not bringing my binoculars. We spent 1.5 days in the park and there was certainly still more to see. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was reminiscent to me of both Yellowstone National Park (Steam Vents and Sulphur Banks) and Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes (Thurston Lava Tube).

Kilauea Iki Trail (3 miles loop) - If there is a must-do hike at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, this would be it.

Thurston Lava Tube - An interesting, albeit brief stop (30 minute parking). Not anywhere near as exceptional as the Geomunoreum lava tube system in Jeju Island, but worth your time.

Chain of Craters Road - make sure to stop at the Pauahi Crater (last eruption 1979), which only takes 5-10 minutes. The Holei Sea Arch gets most the attention and is a good photo opportunity, but the drive itself is the highlight.

The Kahuku Unit was added to the National Park in 2004 and is currently not part of the inscribed boundaries, but may meet criteria for a minor boundary modification. Text related to this portion of the park was added to the UNESCO description as adding further to the parks conservation (almost an informal buffer zone), but the world …

We went to Hawaii in November 2021 and had to of course visit the Volcanoes National Park. There is plenty of competition for time on the Big Island, but this is well worth the visit. There had been eruptions ongoing for the past month inside the Kilauea Crater, so many people are at the viewing area but it was not too bad for crowds when we were there. We also went to the top of Mauna Kea with it's fourteen telescopes, a dormant volcano that at 13,800 feet is the highest point of the Hawaii Islands and second highest island peak in the World. 

Late Autumn 2019 my friends unexpectedly canceled our group’s anticipated road trip from Halifax to Ottawa, Canada and changed to Hawaii instead with dubious reason that they wanted surf, sun and sea instead of ocean of fossil and autumn foliage. At first, I was not happy since I planned to see those uninspired Eastern Canadian UNESCO sites, but Hawaii was indeed hard to resist. To accommodate me, Volcanoes National Park was one of the must stop of this trip. Before I visited Hawaii, I already noted that after great eruption in 2018, almost all volcanic activities that made this national park well known were no more. As of late 2019 no lava flow, no eruption, no fume, no smoke and we were wondered that with no volcanic activities, our visit will be worthwhile of not?

When we reached the visitor center of the national park, there was a big sign informed us that almost half of the national park was still closed and no lava to be seen, a lot of visitors seem to be disappointed and complained with park rangers for misinformation in many guidebooks and tourist brochures. Our group decided to do some tracking to see Sulphur bank and volcano crater. The tracking trail was nice, but the Sulphur bank was underwhelmed, since all of us already visited Yellowstone National Park, the trail and the sulfuric smell in Hawaii were nothing special. The crater on the other hand was really impressive for its size, but again …

On my list of world heritage sites, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is listed as my very first site. When I began traveling full time in 2007, my first stop was in Hawaii, and my first stop in Hawaii was the Big Island. 

I had previously visited here in 2006 on a geology field trip, so I guess that would actually be my first visit to the park. 

This is probably the best place on Earth to see lava and volcanism, however, your ability to see really good lava flows is going to be dependent on luck and when you happen to be there. Unfortunately, I never saw flowing lava during any of my trips. 

This is one site where to have the best experience, you should pay attention to the news and show up when there is activity going on. 

Visit in May 2018.

It had been a surprisingly long, and often frustrating, ten years since I last had the opportunity to visit a new WHS in person. Only a few recent inscriptions of places I had visited in the past were added to my total during that time. Then, in 2018, a hastily-arranged trip, which was part personal business and part pleasure, would allow me the opportunity to see seven sites that I had not previously visited. Chronologically, the last of those was Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

I have lived on the West Coast of the mainland USA for about 25 years, and during all that time I had a strong desire to go to Hawaii, primarily to see the ongoing eruption of the Kilauea volcano. However, as often happens, circumstances conspired to prevent any trip to the islands, and I consoled myself with the idea that if had indeed found the time to make a visit there, the over-thirty-year-long eruption of the volcano would probably have ceased days, or weeks, before my arrival, and there would have been little to see. I had never considered the possibility that the opposite situation would be closer to reality.

As I was on the homeward bound segment of my recent trip, 10 days before I was scheduled to reach Hawaii, I was resting one evening in Malaysia, and decided to check in on some of the international news broadcasts, which was something I had not done for several weeks. The first …

It isn't guaranteed you'll be able to see an active lava flow at (or outside) Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but if one is active and accessible while you are visiting, it is an unforgettable sight. I was fortunate to see lava flows at night both times I visited in 2010 and 2011, and they were incredible. The Pu'u O'o eruption on the eastern side of Kilauea volcano has been flowing intermittently for over thirty years, crossing park boundaries, destroying housing developments, and nearing the town of Pahoa in 2014. Just west of the town of Pahoa are guides offering night-time hikes to the Pu'u O'o lava flows outside the park, and in 2010 I was able to watch lava flowing into the ocean on one of the tours. Officially the park warns about the dangers of walking out to the lava flows with a guided tour, so it is up to visitors as to whether they want to take the risk. Inside the park you can see the glow of a lava lake active within Kilauea crater, as well as trails traversing former eruptions. The lava lake rose high enough to be visible in April 2015, but has since subsided. Whether or not lava flows are active when you visit, it is pretty awe-inspiring to witness some of the youngest landscapes on earth.

Logistics: The airport in Hilo is the closer airport on Hawaii's Big Island, and the park is a short drive away. Pahoa and the Pu'u O'o flows …

During a recent visit to the 'Big Island' of Hawaii we traversed the islands Saddle Road between Waikoloa and Hilo, and gained dramatic views of extinct Mauna Kea and active Mauna Loa.

We also drove up to the Kilauea Caldera in the Vocanoes National Park and hiked part of the way around the perimeter. Steam and fumes were rising from the Halema'uma'u Crater within the caldera.

Later we travelled the Chain of Craters Road which led past several vents, across lava fields, down an escarpment and ended at the lava cliffs where the flow ended in the sea.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park requires at least two visits: One by land and another by air. On my trip there it was raining (It does that a lot) but that did little to sour the experience. I drove on the crater rim drive which was absolutly spectacular. Then as it got darker I headed down to the sea (with the rest of Hawaii it seemed) to see the latest lava show. It was truely one of the most amazing moments in my life; the lave glowed a brillient orange and the seemingly tranquil hillside was streaked with fire. Then, on a later day I explored the lava and Mauna Loa from the air in a small little plane. Despite having already seen mcuh of the park, the plane ride gave a whole new perspective. This is one of the most beautiful and awe enspiring places in the world.

Within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lies the volcano of Kilauea – one of the world’s most active and accessible volcanoes. If you want to see molten magma etc this is the place to go. Except of course that it isn’t always erupting and the eruption isn’t always convenient or safe to see. Unfortunately, when we were there, the only visible “red spot” required a helicopter ride – and we were left with the remains of a previous magma flow crossing (and blocking!) a road (photo). Luckily we saw our “red spot” on a later trip to Etna albeit not as impressively as we would have liked.

There are web sites (eg http://www.volcanogallery.com/Volcano_news.htm) which provide you with up to the day information during an eruption if you are able to drop everything and take in the sights at their optimum time (However I understand that there are a lot of volcano watchers in the world and that transport can get pretty full at these “best” times). The IUCN review dated 1987 states that the volcano has had “more than 50 recorded eruptions in the last 33 years up to 1985”. There does not appear to be an eruption as of the date of this review (Jan 2006)!

If, like ours in summer 1987, your visit to the park doesn’t coincide with a major volcanic event, the Park still offers plenty to see both in terms of the main crater and magma flows and also in terms of fine mountain scenery (Mauna …

We visited Volcanoes National Park and would say it was one of the top 5 places we have ever visited. When we visited we were able to hike approx 3 miles and were able to get very close to the flowing lava. In fact, there were tourists roasting hot dogs over the lava and having picnics. The glow of the lava as the sun went down was beautiful.

We stayed that night in July at a room at the Volcano House within the park. This building overlooks a steaming caldera. It was very inexpensive - around $60 for two. Don't miss this! We are taking our children this April so they may experience it.