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Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is home to one of the world's most active volcanos. It is a place to get up close and personal to the awesome forces that shape our planet.

The Big Island, Hawaii

2018

About The Park

Back in December, 2017 we made arrangements to go to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. By the time May rolled around we had long since finalized all our hotel reservations, airline flights, including a trip to American Samoa to go to the National Park of American Samoa, and rental cars. Then in May the Kilauea Volcano decided to get very busy and we watched the news on a daily basis wondering if it would calm down in time for our trip. We were scheduled to leave June 11 with Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park scheduled for June 22. Day by day it only seemed to get worse. The park and the Volcano House Lodge, where we had our reservations, were closed and, according to their websites, were supposed to open before we were scheduled to arrive on June 22. Those dates kept getting pushed back and it became clear that the nature of our trip to Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park wasn’t going to be what we expected.

I wasn’t even sure that we should go since these were to be our 58th and 59th National Parks and the whole purpose of the trip was to see Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park (and the National Park of American Samoa). Ultimately it became clear that Highway 11, which passes right through the National Park, was open and we would be able to drive through some of the park to the other side of the island. And by taking a helicopter we could get a good view of fissure #8 which was spewing all of the lava that was on the news every night and which was wreaking havoc on the towns to the southeast of the park. The helicopter was also going to take us over Kapoho Bay where the river of 2000 degree lava was spectacularly entering the sea creating billowing clouds of steam. In fact Kapoho Bay hardly exists anymore having been filled with lava.

With that in mind we decided that, while we wouldn’t be staying on the edge of the Kilauea caldera and be able to see all the sites in the National Park that we were planning on seeing, we would make the best of the situation and see all that we could.

It really is strange how the fires of hell that you would see on the nightly news, molten lava spewing 100 feet into the air and consuming some 700 houses at last count, didn’t really square with what was actually happening on the Big Island of Hawaii. Some people questioned why we would even go there. In fact a friend of ours who lives on Maui, and who we visited while we were there, couldn’t understand why we were going to the Big Island with all that was going on. It was like we were going to a disaster area! And the volcanic erruption that took place in Guatemala certainly didn’t help matters. That volcano is of a different type that does blow its top periodically unlike the volcanoes on the Big Island, which are known as shield volcanoes because they resemble a warrior’s shield placed on the ground. This type of volcano created the Big Island, and the other Hawaiian Islands, and Kilauea has been erupting continuously since 1984. It’s just became somewhat more active for a while and the lava field that has consumed so many houses and darkened the surrounding area with black lava is no different from what you see all over the island. There are numerous huge fields of dark lava from past eruptions that you can see and walk out on. Some of them are made of large jagged rocks and others are fairly smooth indicative of a different kind of lava flow.

If you look at a map of the Big Island, all of this volcanic activity was down in the southeast corner of the island, affecting about 5% of the island’s land area and, for most of the rest of the island, it was practically a non-issue. This is not to minimize what a catastrophe this is to the people who owned those 700 houses and to those people whose houses are currently spared but are virtually marooned by the lava that surrounds them. Many people that we spoke to there were practically oblivious to the current state of the volcanic activity on their island. From what we heard tourism on the island was down around 50%. I moved my reservations several times, due to VOG warnings, but you wouldn’t know it by the price of hotel rooms. One would think there would be some bargains but I never felt like I was getting one.

VOG, which is short for volcanic smog, is the volcanic gases given off by the eruption which the winds tend to sweep around the southern part of the island and up toward the city of Kona. It can contain hydrogen sulfide which smells like rotten eggs and can be dangerous and there also can be significant amounts of ash in the air which also is quite unpleasant and dangerous. As a result I again moved my reservation from Kona to Hapuna Beach which was further north and diagonally opposite from the end of the island from where Kilauea was erupting. I was focused on getting as far away from the VOG as possible. For the time that we were there this really turned out to be unnecessary but I was getting daily alerts on my cell phone as a result of my signing up for the civil defense (CD) alerts via the island’s website. These warnings were hard to ignore. Before leaving for Hawaii I signed up both my cell phone number and my wife’s for text alerts. She had me remove her because they were annoying as well as making her uncomfortable.

Despite all the fearsome images coming across the television and warnings about VOG, the plane that was taking us from Honolulu to Hilo, about 20 miles from the eruption, had 50 people on standby for a plane that only held 125 people. I’ve never heard of 50 people on standby even for a jumbo jet!

I also bought gas masks, having seen people wearing them near the eruption site, and shipped two extra gas canisters to the hotel in Hilo for fear of the TSA removing them from my checked baggage. This way I had a backup in case one pair didn’t make it. That turned out to not be necessary and also an added expense. However, having them in the car while I was in the area, and while driving on Highway 11 through the park, did give me a measure of comfort. Highway 11 was open because it’s the only east-west route for people who are commuting to and from work in the Hilo area. There also were big signs telling people that there was no stopping allowed for 12 miles through the park. Naturally people did occasionally stop as did I to take some pictures and there were times that I could smell the rotten egg odor indicative of sulfur dioxide gas. It was faint but noticeable and, depending on which way the wind was blowing and how much volcanic activity was taking place, one could see it as a potential problem in higher concentrations. There were also warnings about fissures opening up on the roadway.

It was unfortunate that the main part of the park on the edge of the Kilauea caldera and the lava lake (Halema`uma`u crater) was closed. The CD alerts that I was getting indicated steam explosions at the crater about every day or two. These were typically registering earthquakes of about a five on the Richter Scale. Sometimes these explosions are accompanied by a column of ash that can rise up two miles. I would’ve loved to have seen that but it didn’t happen on the days that I was on the Big Island. It might have been for the best as a miles-high column of ash can be swept around the island and up the west coast causing smog and poor air quality. That would be the VOG that one would want to avoid.

I was also hoping to experience an earthquake and as luck would have it I did. We had stopped in the aptly named town of Volcano, Hawaii, which is probably less than a mile from the Kilauea caldera. There was a market and restaurant and we went into the market to get a cup of coffee. We asked the lady at the counter if they’ve experienced any earthquakes and she said they did. She even pointed out how the shelves with bottles on them had string across the shelf to keep bottles from falling on the floor if the building started shaking. We took our coffee outside and sat down at a table and within minutes the ground started shaking. It probably lasted less than 20 seconds but it really was a thrill and the lady in the market came running out to the front asking us “did you feel it, did you feel it?”. A short while later a CD text alert came across my cell phone that mentioned another steam explosion registering a 4.8 on the Richter Scale - which was the tremor that we felt. That was an unexpected thrill. Timing is everything.

I should point out that there have literally been thousands of earthquakes related to this eruption of Kilauea. While there have been two, I believe, that have been up to a 6.4 magnitude, most of them are the kind of small tremors that we experienced. A day or so later we specifically made it a point to come back to Volcano, Hawaii in the hope of experiencing another one. We missed that by about half an hour. It was a 5.4 magnitude. That really was a big disappointment. Again, timing is everything.

It is also interesting that for the town of Volcano, Hawaii it is business as usual for a town located on the side of a shield volcano that is next to a national park that is closed due to the volcanic activity. For them the main issue is the fall off of tourist dollars being spent in their restaurants, lodges and markets resulting in staff reductions in a place where jobs are not plentiful. They experience tremors but the spewing lava flowing out of fissures is taking place further down the mountain and flowing down to the sea. From the lava fields that are visible all over the island it is not hard to imagine that a fissure could open above the town some day but they are not worried about it.

With Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park the volcanic activity, while ongoing since 1984, has always been a hit or miss proposition for tourists. Some people go to the park and would see the beautiful, fiery red lava bubbling down in the crater while at other times all that people would see would be a red glow at night. Sometimes people would be able to see the molten lava flowing down and exploding into the sea while at other times there wouldn’t be this flow. For three months now there has been a fast flowing river of lava coming out of fissure #8 that’s been filling Kapoho Bay. As I understand it the bay has been replaced with about a square mile of new land. Our flight with Blue Hawaiian Helicopters flew over to where the lava was flowing into the sea and it was quite a sight. Big clouds of steam rising up out of the water. In July, 2018 a soccer ball sized rock was blown into the air and hit a tour boat injuring 20 people. As a result the perimeter around this area for boats has been increased. I suppose if a rock could be ejected far enough to hit a boat it probably could have hit a helicopter depending upon how high up the helicopter was and how close. I suspect the helicopters are probably staying a little bit further away these days too.

The main part of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park was closed when I was there but began reopening in September 2019. The famous Jagger Museum, at the edge of the Halema`uma`u crater, is completely structurally compromised and possibly might one day fall into the crater. It’s not that far away from the expanding edge. The exhibits that were in the museum have been removed. The lava lake at the crater, which was about 150 feet below the rim, is now on the order of 1000 feet below the rim. Possibly it has drained out of fissure #8. Steam explosions are a regular occurrence and with each one more of the rim of the crater crumbles into this gaping hole. Some of the roads and hiking trails, that we had hoped to hike on, that were in the vicinity of the crater, are gone. The Thurston lava lube is closed.

There is another unit of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, the Kahuku Unit, in the southwestern part of the Big Island around mile 70 on highway 11. It consists of about a 5 mile out and back drive that really doesn’t pass through anything that is remotely as interesting as the area around the Kilauea caldera where the main part of the National Park is. However, that is all that there was when we were there.

The Kilauea Visitor Center for Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has been reopened.

While Hawaii Volcanoes National Park occupies a piece of the south east corner of the Big Island and a smaller piece, the Kahuku Unit, in the southern part of the island, the entire Big Island is very similar to the National Park. The island is dominated by two large shield volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, both of which have areas with huge lava fields from past eruptions. Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain on earth at approximately 33,000 feet but most of it is under water. It is considered dormant and hasn’t erupted in approximately 4000 years.

Mauna Loa is considered to be the largest and one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. The Kilauea caldera appears as a bulge on its southeastern flank but scientists have determined that the two volcanoes have two separate magma chambers and are thus distinct.

In any event there are interesting features found elsewhere on the Big Island that are similar to features found in the National Park itself.

In the National Park we expected to see the Thurston lava tube but it’s in the closed area. However right on Highway 19 a few miles north of Kona there is a lava tube that you can walk through under a lava field for about 300 feet. The lava field above the tube is very smooth and easy to walk on and you can follow the tube from the top looking down at the collapsed areas. Walking through the lava tube is more difficult as there are often boulders to navigate over and around and jagged rocks for which sturdy hiking boots are recommended.

In retrospect all of the dangers that I was worried about really weren’t serious enough to worry about. I’m sure the Kilauea Lodge felt all the earthquakes that I might ever want to feel. I also would have made it a point to drive into Pahoa, Hawaii which, along with the Leilani Estates, has borne the brunt of the eruption in terms of the number of houses which have been destroyed. I passed the Pahoa turnoff multiple times but expected that I, not being a resident of the area, would be turned back by the National Guard securing the area from thrill seekers and looters.

At the end of the trip there was a commercial on the local radio station imploring people to come to Pahoa for dinner to help support a devastated local economy. And from Pahoa after dark one would see the glow coming from lava spewing out of fissure #8. I’m sorry I missed that – I wish I’d have heard that commercial sooner. I did drive almost 300 miles one day and made it a point to stay for dinner in Volcano, Hawaii. I only stayed two days in Hilo, having cut off a day to spend four days a Hapuna Beach. I wound up coming back to the Kilauea area twice putting on upwards of 300 miles each day. While Hapuna Beach is a beautiful area, I’m not a beach person and was only staying there to be as far away from the VOG, which I never experienced, as possible. I loved the Big Island and found it more interesting than Maui, Oahu and even Kauai. I would love to go back and do things differently but 5,000 miles is a long way to travel and I don’t see myself doing that anytime soon.

Wildlife

The wildlife consists mainly of birds, reptiles and small mammals. Snakes, while not native to Hawaii, have been brought there (illegally) or possibly hitched a ride on a boat.

Lodging

Volcano House Lodge

The Volcano House Lodge has reopened after last springs eruption. It is on the edge of the crater. This is the place that you want to stay but rooms are limited.

Kilauea Lodge

There is also the Kilauea Lodge, which I didn’t know about before I left. It is just outside the park and looks very nice. In Hilo, about 22 miles away, there are numerous hotels.

Hiking

Due to the Kilauea eruption all of the hiking in the main national park unit was closed when I was there. It is now open but not all trails have been reopened and some, which came close to the crater, have sections that are not open or have fallen into the crater. The link at the bottom of the page to the NPS website for the park is the best source of information as to what is open in the park.

In the Kahuku Unit of the park, right near the entrance, there is a nice loop hike combining two hikes (Palm Trail and Pu’u o Lokuana) that will take you up a grassy cinder cone and across the road and into a lava field. The two hikes cover about 2 miles or so with no significant elevation gain. There are other hikes, some of them ranger guided, that you can do.

Other Points of Interest

Mauna Kea

You can also drive to the top of Mauna Kea. Route 200, called the Saddle Road, connects the East and West parts of the Big Island and runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Those two mountains create the saddle. It’s an excellent road and along the way there is a turnoff for the Mauna Kea Observatory. At around the 9300 foot level there is a visitor center with explanations of the road and hikes. You can also take the road up to the top which at 13,780 feet takes you above the clouds. All the warnings say four-wheel-drive is needed but I found that it wasn’t necessary. I hadn’t planned to take it to the top, because of the warnings, but I saw minivan come down with four people older than us. I asked about the drive and they said about a mile up the road becomes a good graded road for about 4 miles and then becomes paved again up to the top. I drove it without any problem in my rented SUV. So long as you go slow any stock street vehicle wouldn’t have a problem. You pass through lava fields and up at the top there is an observatory with some of the largest telescopes on Earth (which are not generally open to the public). At the top you look out onto a stark volcanic terrain of cinder cones and reddish earth. It was cold and windy up there but other-worldly beautiful.

South Point

Not far from the Kahuku Unit is a road to a place called South Point. This is the southernmost point in the United States. It is further south than Key West. The road to South Point forks with the west fork going to South Point and the east fork heading to Papakolea Beach which is known as the green sand beach.

Papakolea Beach

This is a big tourist attraction and the locals take tourists to the green sand beach on open trucks with bars around the top to hold onto. And believe me you need to hold on! They charge $10 each way ($20 round-trip) and the road is one that you should never take a rented vehicle on. If you don’t get stuck, and have to spend $2,000 getting towed out of there, you will do serious damage to the vehicle. Since rental vehicles these days are satellite tracked, telling the rental car agency that the damage happened in a WalMart parking lot won’t fly once they get the satellite track. Possibly if you’ve rented a full-fledged jeep, and have some good experience with off-road driving, you might be able to do it without damaging your vehicle. I wouldn’t risk it for $20 a person.

We just wanted to go out and see the beach and come back as quickly as possible. The next truck going out was taking a group that wanted to go for a swim and expected to stay out there for an hour which wasn’t our plan. A lady connected to the ‘truck’ people said ‘well if all that you want to do is go out and back I’ll take you in my car’. We said okay and followed her seeing a truck ahead behind an old SUV. She stopped at this old ramshackle SUV with a cracked windshield, a glove box that was wired shut and the door had to be opened by reaching inside the passenger side window. The tires were practically bald but we were too embarrassed to say no. So we got in and took the most harrowing ride that I have ever taken. The windshield was dusty and dirty as well as cracked and I was too scared to take out my camera and hold my arm out the window to take videos of what we were going over and the speed that we traveling at. I was afraid of the SUV rolling over onto my outstretched arm.

I’ve done quite a lot of off-road driving. I’ve driven on switchbacks going up the sides of mesa’s out west that were barely wider than the vehicle I was driving; I drove Hell’s Revenge for 4 hours outside of Moab, Utah on ledges and sandstone fins but nothing compared with this. I’m sure part of it had to do with the speed that she was taking these hills and jagged rocks but the net effect was I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I asked her to go slower and, when she started slipping up a hill, she said she had to take it faster. She backed up and accelerated, banged into the side, backed up again and drove over it. How her tires didn’t blow is still a mystery to me. I’ve seen YouTube videos of this drive and none compared to what we experienced. I am totally bummed out that I didn’t get any videos because I was, I hate to admit it, quite frankly terrified!

The drive ended up above a cove looking down on this green sand beach between the water and the rocks. The green sand was an olive green and, in truth, not all that impressive. The beach was probably no more than about 20 feet wide in a small cove. You could make your way down a not too difficult trail to the water and look at it up close or take a swim in the cove. I walked about a third of the way down, took some pictures and didn’t see any need to go all the way to the bottom. My wife was not even interested in doing that. All she wanted to do when she got out of that car was to sit down. I took my pictures and we got back in for the ride back. I guess the ride in the trucks wasn’t much better. On the trip back we took a woman who preferred to get into this ramshackle sport-utility vehicle as opposed to standing on a truck bed and holding on for dear life. We asked our driver if there was an easier way back and she said she could try to hug a fence line which she did and which was much better. I can only speculate that she, and the trucks, don’t take that to keep it from getting rutted and beaten up so that there is an easier way out for partly disabled vehicles or emergency vehicles.

Alternatively, you can walk from the parking area to the green sand beach. The round-trip is about 3 miles. Once you’ve been driven out there by those cowboys, you might just elect to walk the mile-and-a-half back.

Hawai’i Volcanos National Park Photo Gallery

Other National Parks Within a Day’s Journey

If you are visiting Hawaii, especially if you are particularly interested in visiting National Parks, these next two are accessible from Hawaii.

Haleakala National Park is on the Island of Maui It is about a 40 minute flight from the Big Island’s airport in Hilo to Maui. From there it is another 2 hours to get to the summit of Haleakala.

National Park of American Samoa This park is not convenient to any National Park. It is about a 5-hour, 2,600 mile flight from Honolulu to the airport in Pago Pago. If you are one of those people who, like myself, want to visit all of the National Parks, then this is the only viable way to get there from the U.S.
*N*P*Z*

Picture of the infamous fissure #8 seen daily on the nightly news

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