Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is unbelievable! I love national parks (you can probably tell from my many National Park Guides) so I was so excited to visit Hawaii Volcanoes while we were on Big Island.
1. Visit the visitor center at Kīlauea. I always start at the visitor center to stamp my national parks passport and learn a little more about the park. The visitor center had lots of fun souvenirs, maps, and information on the Hawaii Volcanoes! I also picked up a poncho, which turned out to be very useful. There are some really cool exhibits including the history of the volcano, jungle plants in the area, and underground magma flows.
2. See the Kīlauea overlook! It was so cool to see an active volcano! I grew up going to Yellowstone a lot, which is quite a difference since it is dormant. It was so barren in the Kīlauea crater. We happen to go in between eruptions, so nothing was closed off. We got to see some smoke coming up, and look at the volcano from a few different points. I loved seeing how different the landscape was to the rest of Hawaii, and learning about the Hawaiian legends of the Goddess Pele who lives in the volcano.
3. Hike the Thurston Lava Tube. This is my favorite activity at the park. It is a 500 year old lava tube that is about a 1.5 mile round trip loop. You'll walk through the lush Hawaii jungle, all the way through the lava tube, and back out through the jungle. It's a very easy hike, and there are some really gorgeous sights along the way. Walking through the lava tube is very surreal, it feels like some sort of man-made tunnel. Super unique experience!
4. See the volcanic steam vents. All around Kīlauea, there are random steam vents in the ground. Hot steam comes up from beneath the ground due to the volcanoes. They can get super hot so be careful looking at them!
5. Drive Crater Rim Road. This is the road that will get you everywhere you need to go: Kīlauea overlook, Thurston Lava Tube, Devastation Trail, steam vents, other overlooks, etc. It has gorgeous overlooks and jungle views! We went all the way up to the highest point above the volcanic crater, and there weren't a lot of people up there. We also hiked a few little trails along the way that were really pretty. It was a gorgeous drive.
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