Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Part 1 - Around the Rim

01. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Part 1 - Around the Rim

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a large park (230,000 acres) that receives about 2.5 million visitors per year. It is a hard park to visit in one day, although that's what most people try to do. It can be done in one day, but not well or easily.

The main attractions are

Visitor's Center

Volcano House

Steam Vents

Sulphur Bank

Jaggar Museum

Kilauea Iki

Thurston Lava Tube

Halemaumau

Devastation Trail

Hilina Pali

Lava Flow

Footprints Trail

Namakani Paio Campgrounds

Tree Molds

Various Rift Zones

Today, I'll talk about the ones situated around Crater Rim Drive, and next week ... I'll talk about the rest.

The Park sits on the side of volcanic Mauna Loa and encompasses many facets of Mauna Loa's and Kilauea Volcano's past and present eruptions. The National Park personell are involved in many other ecological aspects of the big island, such as preserving the home of the Nene (hawaiian goose), hawaiian archeological sites, and endangered honu (turtle) nests on beaches.

The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park entrance is near the 28 mile marker on Highway 11. This is a 30 minute, direct drive from Hilo, and about an hour and a half, direct drive from Kailua-Kona. The park entrance is fairly easy to find, with large signs on both sides. As you pull in, you'll be stopped at the entrance station to pay your $10.00 admission fee per carload (good for 7 days).

After you pay, your first stop should be the Visitor's Center. There you'll find bathrooms, volcano paraphernalia (videos and books for sale, artifacts), a video introduction, maps of the park and the lava flow, and volunteers to answer your questions.

Behind the visitor's center is a small art gallery where you can purchase souveneirs or art. Directly across the street is the Volcano House. The Volcano House is a small hotel, with an excellent view of Kilauea Caldera. It's worth a look, and you can even eat lunch there.

As you pull out of the visitor center parking lot, you'll be on Crater Rim Drive, aptly named as it goes around the crater of the Kilauea Caldera in a circle. If you turn right, your next stop will be the Sulphur Banks, just a short way in on the right. Don't plan on staying long here, it smells awful - but the large green mounds of sulphur are interesting to look at once.

Next stop is the steam vents, The vents are all around you on both sides, so if it is cold while you are driving up there the puffs of steam rising from the ground on both sides of you might make you feel like you are in the middle of a dinosaur movie. The steam vents that are easily accessible are on your left. There will be a small parking area, pull in there and get out of your car. If there is a tour bus there I would suggest waiting till those people are gone ... don't worry, they don't stay long. What you will see is two holes in the ground with hot steam emanating up from them. This is the same geothermic activity that heats the ponds in Kapoho. If you want, you can now walk the paths directly behind the vents to the edge of the caldera. (this is the area where the guy went over the cliff earlier this week) It's a pretty spectacular view but if you don't feel like walking don't worry, you'll see the view from the opposite end if you go to the Jagger museum.

After the steam vents, about 200 feet up the road on your right will be Kilauea Military Camp, you will know it by the large front lawn with the flag pole. If you are military you may want to stop in and look around, buy something at the PX (very small), or stop in at the Front desk to check out the stained glass window, the guestbook signed by President Eisenhower, or the letters and rocks returned by visitors who have learned of "pele's curse".

Past KMC you will go around a curve and up a hill. On your left will be the Jagger museum - this is a definite stop. The Jagger museum not only has a great view of the caldera floor and the Halema'uma'u crater (with wisps of steam coming up) but it also has tons of great Kilauea Volcano and volcanology information and history. There are large murals and depictions of the ancient Hawaiians dealings with the volcano, pictures of volcanologists gathering lava samples, maps of the climates of the Big Island and a lot more.

When you leave Jaggar Museum, continue the same way around Crater Rim Dr., you will see many smaller sights you can stop to see on this drive around the crater, like the rift zones, Halema'uma'u crater up close, and Keanakako'i Crater.

This drive from Jagger Museum to this point has been nothing but hot black lava that looks like the barren surface of Mars but when you pass Keanakako'i Overlook you will enter a lush tropical rainforest that is the exact opposite of that wasteland. Chain of Craters Road (the road that leads to the ocean and the lava flow) will come up on your right. If you instead take a left to the Devastation Trail parking area you could take some short hikes. You could do the Devastation Trail (a trail that takes you past a cinder cone, burnt trees and old lava, it is very interesting), go to the Pu'u Pua'i Overlook or Byrons Ledge to look at various old eruption evidence and local flora and fauna.

After that, or if you skip that head on to the Thurston Lava Tube .. this is a must-stop! It will be on your right about a mile up and parking is on your left. You will enter the trail and follow it to your right up a small hill and down some stairs through a lush fern forest to the small bridge and the entrance to the lava tube. This is a large tube that hot lava used to flow through on its way to the ocean. It is big enough to walk through - very much like a cave. Kids enjoy this one.

After the lava tube is the entrance to the Kilauea Iki hike, along the crater floor. I've never done it, and it looks pretty desolate and hot from above - but you may like it.

Next week - everything else!

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