Location: Hilo, Hawaii Island Map
Area: 505.36 sq mi (1,308.9 km2)
Official site
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is situated near Hilo on the
largest island of Hawaii in the Hawaii state in United States.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park protects large expanses of land
famous for its active geologic activity and covers an area of
505.36 sq mi (1,308.9 km2). The Hawaii Volcanoes National Park,
established in 1916 on the island of Hawaii, shows the result of
hundreds of thousands of years of volcanic activity, migration and
evolution.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is surrounded by
diverse environments ranging from sea level to the top of the
largest volcano on earth, the Mauna Loa 4170 meters high. Kīlauea,
one of the most active volcanoes in the world, offers scientists a
perspective on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and visitors, views
of the dramatic volcanic landscapes.
More than half of the
park is designated to the wild land and provides opportunities for
unusual hiking and camping. In recognition of its important natural
value, the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been declared a
Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site. Volcanic activity
generated in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park helped create
Kalapana (now covered in lava by recent eruptions) and other dark
sand beaches.
It is said that, if any rock or black sand is
collected from the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (or anywhere in
Hawaii) the person who picked it up will be cursed by the goddess of
Hawaii Pele volcano until it is returned. While it is supposedly an
ancient Hawaiian belief historians have recorded it only from the
middle of the twentieth century, and many people believe that it was
invented by park guards so that visitors do not take stones.
Entrance fees:
Vehicle $25 (good for 7 days)
Admits one single, private, non-commercial vehicle and all of its
passengers. Organized non-profit groups, (service organizations,
scouts, church groups, college/school clubs) are not eligible for
the vehicle permit.
Individual $12 (good for 7 days) Admits one
individual when entering by foot, bicycle, or motorcycle. Ages 15
years old and younger are admitted free.
Hawai`i Tri-park Annual
Pass $50 Allows access for 1 full year from date of first use at
Hawai`i Volcanoes, Haleakala, and Pu`uhonua o Honaunau National
Parks.
There are several passes for groups traveling together in
a private vehicle or individuals on foot or on bike. These passes
provide free entry at national parks and national wildlife refuges,
and also cover standard amenity fees at national forests and
grasslands, and at lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management
and Bureau of Reclamation. These passes are valid at all national
parks including Hawaii Volcanoes National Park:
The $80
Annual Pass (valid for twelve months from date of issue) can be
purchased by anyone. Military personnel can obtain a free annual
pass in person at a federal recreation site by showing a Common
Access Card (CAC) or Military ID.
U.S. citizens or permanent
residents age 62 or over can obtain a Senior Pass (valid for the
life of the holder) in person at a federal recreation site for $80,
or through the mail for $90; applicants must provide documentation
of citizenship and age. This pass also provides a fifty percent
discount on some park amenities. Seniors can also obtain a $20
annual pass.
U.S. citizens or permanent residents with permanent
disabilities can obtain an Access Pass (valid for the life of the
holder) in person at a federal recreation site at no charge, or
through the mail for $10; applicants must provide documentation of
citizenship and permanent disability. This pass also provides a
fifty percent discount on some park amenities.
Individuals who
have volunteered 250 or more hours with federal agencies that
participate in the Interagency Pass Program can receive a free
Volunteer Pass.
4th graders can receive an Annual 4th Grade Pass
that allows free entry for the duration of the 4th grade school year
(September-August) to the bearer and any accompanying passengers in
a private non-commercial vehicle. Registration at the Every Kid in a
Park website is required.
In 2018 the National Park Service will
offer four days on which entry is free for all national parks:
January 15 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), April 21 (1st Day of NPS
Week), September 22 (National Public Lands Day), and November 11
(Veterans Day weekend).
The park was established on August 1, 1916 as Hawaii National Park.
Today it is more than twice that size, although in 1961 Haleakalā
National Park on the island of Maui was separated as a separate entity.
In 1987 it was declared a World Heritage Site.
The Hawaiian
National Park Language Correction Act of 2000 changed the spelling of
the name to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park by the United States Senate.
In 2016, the park's 100th anniversary ("Centennial") was celebrated.
As part of the celebrations, the park offered monthly changing events
such as film screenings, lectures, concerts and workshops.
There are a number of short hiking trails along Crater Rim Drive that
allow you to get a good impression of the park even if you only visit
for a day:
A 0.5 km trail leads from Crater Rim Drive to a lava
tube named after Lorrin A. Thurston. Since the 2018 eruption, the
Thurston Lava Tube has been closed until further notice as it is in
danger of collapsing due to strong earthquakes.
The Kīlauea-Iki
Crater is located on the rim of the Kīlauea Caldera. A hike along the
Kīlauea Iki Trail (3.9 km, currently closed due to earthquake damage)
descends to the surface of a cooled lava lake formed in the 1959
eruption. It also leads past the spot where a lava fountain up to 600
meters high erupted. The effects of the 1959 activity can also be viewed
along the 0.8 km long Devastation Trail.
At the other end of
Crater Rim Drive until mid-2018 was the Jaggar Museum near the rim of
Halemaʻumaʻu Crater. This was so severely damaged by earthquakes in 2018
that it was permanently closed. Many exhibits have since been on display
at the Lava Zone Museum in Pāhoa. In 1924, a violent explosive eruption
also occurred here, caused by groundwater hitting an underground lava
flow. In March 2008 another explosive eruption occurred, which blasted a
hole of about 30 m in the side wall of the crater. Since then, a cloud
of smoke from sulfur dioxide and volcanic rock in the form of ash etc.
has come out of this opening, subsequent explosions gradually enlarged
the opening. The opening contained liquid lava until mid-2018, with the
level constantly changing. In 2015, the lava reached the top of the
opening for the first time. In the second half of 2018, the lava lake
emptied completely and the entire region around the crater sank up to
400 m in depth.
A section of Crater Rim Drive that had been
closed since the 2008 explosion at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater was reopened to
pedestrians and cyclists in 2012.
The road leads down to the coast along a large number of craters and other remnants of volcanic activity. There is a hiking trail (1.6 km each way) from the Mauna Ulu parking lot to Pu'u Huluhulu. From there one has the opportunity to see the Puʻu-ʻŌʻō crater. At the end of the road is a temporary road created in 2018 to serve as an evacuation route for towns to the west should eruptions cut them off from the public road network. The approximately 10 km long route ends in Kalapana and is approved for use on foot or by bicycle.