Things to do in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park( home to one of the most active volcanoes)

Want to know about the National Park’s greatest hits, so my fellow travelers continue reading/knowing about our experience during our visit to the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Driving from Hilo to the National Park was amazing because we had this curiosity to see something unique and some lava actions which were on the hindsight(fingers crossed). We did make a stop at the National Park sign which was near the Park’s Entrance.

Well, the very first thing we did inside the park was go to the visitor center Kilauea Visitor Center and inquired about the everchanging situation and conditions in the park because we were in some of the newest lands on earth. So, it’s important to get a heads-up and luckily we got to know about the lava glow situation from the visitor center. One of the Rangers even informed the visitors about the QR code which was on display to know about/ track the current lava flow/glow situation via a webcam.

After that, we started our hike/walk from the visitor center towards the Sulfur Banks and later went further to watch Steam Vents. We did Halema’uma’u Steam Bluff and Sulfur Banks which is an easy walk all paved and marked so to say and more than a mile long. Highly recommended to stay on the trail because it can be dangerous to go on those vents and gases. It definitely kind of smells weird like rotten eggs but looks spectacular. But please be mindful of the gases if you are prone to any of them (there are boards that give information about the risks). The trail takes to the steam vents and finally the Kīlauea Crater in front, the views are just epic from the viewpoint.

After the hike, we headed to Kilauea Overlook, though the overlook is closed after the 2018 eruption, there is a marked area up to which you can walk and take in the view of the caldera. You can even see steam/fumes coming out of the crater. It was our first-time experiencing such a unique creation of nature. You can indeed spend a good amount of time staring at the crater.

After driving some miles through the Crater Rim Drive, we reached Kīlauea Iki Trailhead and we had already planned on walking on the crater and took Kilauea Iki Trail and Crater Rim Trail to go all the way down to the crater. It’s one of the most beautiful hikes we have ever done. It is mostly covered on the way down but once you reach Kīlauea Iki Crater and start walking on the hardened lava rocks/ lava beds there is no shade at all, so highly recommended to carry water. Since we wanted to cover other places in the National Park we returned back after spending some time in the crater itself. We even took a snack break and finally made our way back the same path.

Once we hiked back, we crossed the road to visit Nahuku – Thurston Lava Tube, it’s well paved and marked to reach the lava tube. Lava tubes are formed when the outer surface of the lava flow cools down and the inside is still flowing, after a while, all the lava flushes out creating a tube-like structure. They are very cool to watch even you can go inside, it’s very well maintained. This was again one of the extraordinary things we saw that day. It was lunchtime already and with so much walking and hiking we decided to try out one of the restaurants in the Volcano House, It was pretty good. So, after lunch we did roam around the Volcano House went to gift shops and even they do have great viewpoints of the Kilauea crater. Finally, we took the Chain of Craters Road and I must say the views are beyond amazing. There are many stops that are well marked to take a break from driving and take in those views, I’m pretty sure it won’t be ever sufficient and you don’t feel like going. There was one random stop we took whose location I will put here was literally unbelievable and surreal. The Chain of Craters road turns around at Chain of Craters Road Turnaround where you can park your vehicle and walk up to the lookout of Hōlei Sea Arch to catch the sunset. It’s totally a flat easy walk to the overlook but please be mindful and stay in the designated area for your own safety.

Walking on the Devastation Trail was the last thing on our itinerary for the day. The scenery is entirely different and beautiful. We didn’t have much time because it was already sunset so walked around 0.3 miles approximately and returned back to the parking lot. We did check on the website about the lava glow situation around evening time but were not having luck. So, we returned back to our stay at Hilo and that’s how the long day comes to a rest.

One thing I would like to mention is that if you are a bird enthusiast or a bird lover, be ready to watch numerous amazing birds during your time on the Island. One more genuine suggestion to try out gypsy guide, we had a very positive experience with the app.

Now comes the most important highlight of our visit to the National Park, we were totally hopeful we would see lava glow but it wasn’t visible the day we visited so the next day we returned back to the dry side of the Big Island. But we were constantly looking at the website especially during the evenings and nights to know the current situation of the lava glow, luckily it was visible and the lava was surfacing on the last night of our stay on the Island, which we could not miss. So, we drove all the way from Kona to the National Park and it was all worth it. The photos were not very clear but the experience was clear and unbelievable. It was such a surreal moment, saw something we have never seen before which is going to be in our minds forever.

That is all about our time in the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Hope documenting our experience helped you in some way.