• VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

The districts of Puna and Ka‘u are volcano country, and everyone lives with a history of eruptions in their backyards. Volcano Village and Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park are only a 40-minute drive on Highway 11 from Hilo’s airport.

Unparalleled in its geologic grandeur, Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is a beautiful natural wonder that really should not be missed. The park’s numerous facilities, informative displays and miles of hiking trails allow visitors to learn about and actually get fairly close to this active volcano.

Kilauea Caldera, at the park’s heart, is steeped in legend and lore. Kilauea is the home of the Hawaiian goddess Madame Pele, one of the most revered, and feared, gods in the Hawaiian pantheon. Hawaiians have worshipped here for centuries in an attempt to appease Madame Pele and her fiery wrath. To this day, in fact, Hawaiians regularly make offerings at the crater’s edge.

Within the park, the Volcano House–Hawai‘i’s oldest hotel–offers hotel-style living with a lobby and a restaurant looking over an active crater two miles wide and 400 feet deep. Camping sites and cabins are in the park, and food stores and eateries are nearby in Volcano Village. This National Park deserves days to explore its nature trails and museum displays and to take interpretive walks to calderas, firepits and lava tubes.

Kilauea Volcano’s lava has covered a stunning 16,000 plus acres of land and tropical forests and has been doing so for the past 16 years. It’s first eruption began on January 3, 1983 and has provided the world and researchers alike with spectacular displays of molten lava and valuable information.

While you can always find a steaming volcanic vent, on some days you can view lava flowing across roads and forests by taking the Chain of Craters Road toward the sea, where the lower visitor center was destroyed in 1990.

An active volcano, Kilauea is all but explosive. It’s really just a set of leaky pipes with lava oozing and bubbling from its weak seams all over the Puna and Ka‘u districts. Though moving slowly with plenty of time for people to get out of the way, lava took out the town of Kalapana in recent years, destroying sections of the Chain of Craters Road in the park before reaching the ocean.

To find out which roads and hiking trails are open, check in with Kilauea Visitor Center, where you can see films on the geology of Hawai‘i and recent eruptions. Also, be sure to talk to the rangers about the best places to view wildlife. There are many endangered species living in the park.

Uwekahuna Bluff has an excellent view of Kilauea Caldera, which last erupted in 1982. Along this bluff is Hawai‘i Volcano Observatory, where you can see seismic recorders that are ready to pick up movement in the earth. You can view these instruments from a window next door in the Jaggar Museum where you can learn about the different kinds of lava: the ‘a‘a, which moves slowly in rough chunks, and the pahoehoe, which runs more quickly, giving it a smooth surface. The museum also has displays on the many legends of the volcano, starring Madame Pele, the famous Volcano goddess who, according to Hawaiian myth and legend, tricks and kills unwary men.

Down the road is a parking area from where it is a short walk to view Halemaumau Crater–a stroll not only spectacular for its scenery but also for its odor. The strong scent of sulfur wafts from volcanic vents. If you suffer from asthma or other respiratory or heart problems, you should keep away.

Skirting the bottom of Crater Rim Drive, you’ll pass many old lava flows. A left turn at the Chain of Craters Road intersection leads to the half-mile boardwalk through a forest of skeletons, the remains of ohia trees, on Devastation Trail. The trail offers a fascinating glimpse into what happens when a forest is overrun by a volcanic eruption and how nature heals itself over time. Signs along the trail offer information and point out wildlife and other things to watch for along the way. Have someone pick you up at the end of Devastation Trail or continue on to Kilauea Iki Trail and its lookout that features outstanding views into Kilauea Iki Crater.

Another short trail takes you into the 450-foot long Thurston Lava Tube which you can easily hike through as there are lights to guide you, but it’s better to have a flashlight. Nearby, an easy quarter-mile walk takes you through a beautiful fern forest. The walk features interpretive signs identifying plant life and other features

Longer trails can put you right in the middle of snoring craters that hiss and smoke–a kind of living moonscape unmatched in its accessibility anywhere else on Earth. A series of these takes you past lava flows from 1954, 1971 and 1974, and through Kilauea Iki crater.

Closer to the Volcano House is Waldron Ledge with its extensive views. This area is called Earthquake Walk. The trail from Volcano House back along Kilauea's rim toward Kilauea Iki is about a mile and follows the old Crater Rim Highway. Portions of this road fell into the caldera during two earthquakes, one in 1975, the other in 1983. The cracking and tilting of the road and rubble from land slides are graphic examples of what happened

Next door to the National Park Headquarters and Visitor Center is the restored Volcano Hotel. Built in 1877, it replaced a series of thatched huts next to the rim of Kilauea where visitors used to stay. It is now the Volcano Art Center, a non-profit organization created to promote and perpetuate the artistic and cultural heritage of Hawai‘i’s people, call (808) 967-8222 for information.

Other areas near Volcano House offer excellent nature walks. To the west is Kipuka Pu'uaulu, just off Mauna Loa Road with a picnic area called Bird Park nearby. A mile-long trail winds through 100 acres of Kipuka Preserve for native birds, many of them on the federal endangered species list. A kipuka is an island of life surrounded by lava and cut off from other forested land.

For a panoramic view of the volcano on a clear day, take Mauna Loa Road, ten twisting miles uphill. A foot trail heads skyward for 19 miles to Moku‘aweoweo Crater, but this three-day hike is recommended only for the hardy with proper supplies and equipment.

A stark and scenic drive is Chain of Craters Road, down the east rim of Kilauea Crater toward the Puna Coast. The road passes craters created when the earth caved in after eruptions along the rift zone. More recently the rift has erupted within the craters forming new floors. A turnoff to Mauna Ulu takes you to a mile-long trail to an old cinder cone called Pu‘u Huluhulu. Chain of Craters Road goes to the sea but has been cut off by lava flows at various points. At a higher elevation is Hilina Pali Road, where you may see the Nene Goose, the state bird.