Kīlauea is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, and when lava erupts in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater, the after dark sights are the single reason most people come. The park protects two volcanoes, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, and stays open 24 hours a day, year round. Even with no active lava, you get steaming vents, a lava tube, a walkable crater floor, and a road that drops 3,700 feet to the coast.
This works for a half-day stop or several days of hiking, depending on how deep you go. The unmissable day-trip lineup: the Kīlauea Iki crater hike, Thurston Lava Tube, Chain of Craters Road, and the Halemaʻumaʻu overlooks. Parking at Nāhuku and the Kīlauea Iki Overlook fills early, so arrive before 9am or after 4pm.
Table of contents
- A short introduction on the Kīlauea volcano
- 12 great things to do in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (with video)
- Where to stay: camping and the Volcano House
- Directions & opening hours
Table of Contents
- A short introduction on the Kīlauea volcano
- 12 great things to do in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (with video)
- Where to stay: camping and the Volcano House
- Directions & opening hours
Volcano Village is a great place to stay if you are planning to spend more than a day in the park. Set in rainforest, this small village is only a 5 minute drive from the park entrance and has some great-value vacation rentals.
You can visit the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park at night to see the glow over the Halemaʻumaʻu crater.
See our page with park pictures for more images of the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
The Kīlauea volcano (a short introduction)
The Big Island is built from five volcanoes: Kohala, Mauna Kea, Hualālai, Mauna Loa, and Kīlauea. Mauna Kea measures 13,796 feet and is the tallest mountain in the state and the tallest sea mountain in the world. Mauna Loa is the largest volcano on Earth in terms of volume and area covered. The park encompasses two of these volcanoes: Mauna Loa and Kīlauea.
Despite all of these impressive figures Kīlauea is the most famous of the Hawaiian volcanoes, and rightly so. As the youngest and most active of the five, it is the one whose lava you can often see, either flowing toward the ocean or glowing in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater that crowns the park grounds.
You can read more in-depth information about the Kīlauea volcano on the USGS website. Read more about the five volcanoes on the Big Island in our blog.
12 great things to do in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
It is easy to spend multiple days in the park without getting bored. There are many short and long hikes and plenty of spots you can reach by car, and the park runs a weekly evening lecture series called “After Dark in the Park“.
Park attractions include the following highlights, but there is far more in the park that deserves your attention.
- Kīlauea visitor center
- Halemaʻumaʻu crater overlook (the glow)
- Kīlauea Iki crater + hike
- Thurston lava tube
- Chain of Craters road (scenic drive)
- Day hikes
- Volcano art center
- The sulphur banks
- The Mauna Loa Road Scenic Drive
- The free junior ranger program + workbook (kids aged 12 and below)
- Keanakākoʻi Crater + Halemaʻumaʻu overlook
- Seeing lava in the park
Below the list, a short video covers four of our favorite stops, with more detail further down on camping and seeing lava.
The Kīlauea Visitor Center
Make the Kīlauea Visitor Center your first stop. It is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the rangers here post current eruption status, trail and area closures, and the day’s ranger-led hikes. A 25-minute film introduces the park, and you can pick up a map and ask about hikes. Opening hours change seasonally, so confirm the current hours at the national park website.
4 Halemaʻumaʻu crater overlook points (to see lava in case of an active eupotion)
When lava is present in the crater, watching the glow rise off the Halemaʻumaʻu crater after dark is the most popular thing to do in the park.
Kīlauea Overlook is one of the best vantage points, but the lot fills quickly, so have a quieter backup in mind on busy nights. Other good viewpoints for the glow are Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff), the Volcano House, Waldron Ledge, and the Old Crater Rim Drive near Keanakākoʻi.
The glow from the Halemaʻumaʻu crater at night in the Volcanoes National Park, seen from the (now demolished) Jaggar Museum overlook
The Kīlauea Iki crater
The Kīlauea Iki hike is our favorite short hike on the Big Island (more about this hike). It drops you down through rainforest and across the crater floor, which was a churning lava lake during the 1959 eruption, then climbs back up to the rim.
Park at Kīlauea Iki Overlook and follow the Crater Rim Trail toward the lava tube parking lot to pick up the loop. The recommended direction is counterclockwise, to your right, for a 4 mile round-trip.
Tip to avoid crowds: park at Devastation Trail and do the six-mile (9.7 km) round-trip into and around Kīlauea Iki from Uēaloha (Byron Ledge). The route adds wide views of Kīlauea caldera, Mauna Loa on clear days, and native forest with tall tree ferns.
Hikers cross the floor of the Kīlauea Iki crater in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Find more information about this hike on our website
Thurston Lava Tube
Thurston Lava Tube (Nāhuku) is the most accessible lava tube in the park, a short walk from the Kīlauea Iki parking lot. A 20 minute, 1/3 mile loop takes you through a tree fern forest and an illuminated, cave-like tube and back to the road.
A fern-filled rainforest path leads to the dark entrance of Thurston Lava Tube (Nāhuku), where visitors can explore a natural tunnel formed by ancient lava flows in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
The tube is lit during the day, but the lights are off between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. The cave stays open overnight for anyone who wants to experience it pitch black. If you go after hours, bring your own light: rangers recommend a head lamp or flashlight, and a phone is not enough on its own.
Explore this 500 year old lava cave that could fit a truck in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
You can see more pictures of Thurston lava tube on our website or on the official park website. We have also made a list of 5 Big Island lava tubes you can explore after Thurston if you want a deeper dive into lava caves.
Good to know: parking is very limited at the Nāhuku lot and you likely won’t find a spot on your first pass. Arrive before 9 am or after 4 pm, or park at the Kīlauea Iki Overlook, which connects to the tube by a half-mile walk.
The Chain of Craters Road
The Chain of Craters Road runs from the summit down to the coast, ending where lava buried the road in eruptions between 1986 and 1996 (the park describes the route on its website). It passes craters and pullouts the whole way down, which is why it is one of our favorite scenic drives on the Big Island. The ranger station on the road is open daily from 10 am to 9 pm.
Chain of Craters audio guide
One good way to drive the Chain of Craters Road is with a GPS-triggered audio guide. Along with flagging the pullouts and trailheads you pass, these guides tell the myths and history tied to the landscape. See for example this audio tour of the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park by Shaka Guide.
The scenic Chain of Craters Road in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park ends after 23 miles at lava flows that covered the road in several eruptions between 1986 and 1996
10+ day hikes in the park
The park has more than 10 day hikes, each described on the park website. Over 100 miles of trail run through old lava tubes and rainforest and across old and new, still-steaming lava flows. The park also runs daily ranger-led hikes.
If you are looking for longer and more challenging hikes a good place to start is the Big Island Hikes website (the hikes are listed at the bottom of the page).
Part of the Halemaʻumaʻu trail in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park that takes you from the visitor center down to the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor
The Volcano Art Center Gallery
The Volcano Art Center Gallery sits right next to the Kīlauea Visitor Center and is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. More info on the Volcano Art Center here.
The Haʻakulamanu (Sulphur Banks) trail
The Sulphur Banks are one of the most direct signs of the volcano at work: volcanic gas and groundwater steam seep straight out of the ground. Expect steaming cracks, colorful mineral crusts, and the smell of sulfur, like rotting eggs, hanging in the air.
To see them, hike the easy 1.2 mile (2 km) round-trip Haʻakulamanu trail, which starts and ends at the far left of the Kīlauea Visitor Center parking lot, past the Volcano Art Center Gallery (more information on the park website).
The sulfur banks are a short hike away from the steam vent parking area and are accessible along a paved path and boardwalk
The Mauna Loa Road Scenic drive
The Mauna Loa Strip Road is an 11.2 mile (one way) road that climbs to the Mauna Loa lookout at 6,662 feet (2,031 meters). On the way up and back you pass volcanic features and open views across the Kaʻū district and Kīlauea.
This is one of our favorite local scenic drives, and you can read more about it in our article on the best scenic drives on the Big Island.
Special activities for kids in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Kids up to 12 can earn a junior ranger badge by completing a short set of park activities. It is free, and worth doing if you are traveling with children. There are programs for ages 7 to 12 and a simpler one for age 6 and below.
More information, including junior ranger handbooks you can print at home, is on the be a junior ranger website.
Keanakākoʻi Crater + Halemaʻumaʻu overlook
This stretch of the old Crater Rim Drive, near the Devastation Trail parking lot, is open to hikers only. It is an easy 0.7 mile walk to Keanakākoʻi Crater, with two overlooks along the way that frame Halemaʻumaʻu Crater and Mauna Loa.
Those two viewpoints are the reason to do this short walk: they are the best place to take in how much the Halemaʻumaʻu crater grew during the 2018 collapse.
Seeing lava in the park
Lava viewing conditions, where it is flowing and whether you can reach it, change constantly. See our lava viewing guide for Hawaiʻi for current information on where and how to see lava, and check the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory status page before you go.
More pictures
See more pictures of our favorite places and activities in the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The following video shows four of our favorite stops in the park:
- The Halemaʻumaʻu crater overlook
- The Thurston lava tube
- The Kīlauea Iki crater
- Part of the Chain of Craters road.
The video was made by Will and Jim Pattiz, who have set out to film and document every National Park in the United States. Check out their other National Park videos and guides if you like their style.
Stay in (or near) the park overnight: camping and the Volcano House
There is enough to do here that many visitors spend at least one night in or near the park. You have three options: two campgrounds inside the park, the Volcano House hotel, and vacation rentals in nearby Volcano Village. Overnight camping is allowed at the two campgrounds, one of which also has tent rentals and cabins. The park hotel, the Volcano House, pairs a great location with average, somewhat pricey rooms, and a lounge that looks straight out at the Halemaʻumaʻu crater.
If camping or the Volcano House doesn’t appeal, stay in Volcano Village, a few minutes from the park entrance. The village sits in the same rainforest as the park and has many affordable vacation rental houses.
If you are an active-duty service member or have served in the US military, you can also stay at the Kīlauea Military Camp (KMC, website). The KMC sits inside the park and offers 90 guest cottages and apartments with one, two, or three bedrooms, plus a 110-bed dormitory.
Directions and opening hours
The Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The Kīlauea Visitor Center is on Crater Rim Drive off Highway 11, between the 28 and 29 mile marker south of Hilo, and is open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
The park gate stays open outside the visitor center’s hours, so don’t worry about staying late or arriving early to beat the crowds.
Steam vents at the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Entrance fees for the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
General admission is $30.00 per private non-commercial vehicle, or $15.00 for pedestrians and cyclists. Keep the receipt: it is good for seven days of entry. If you already hold an America the Beautiful annual pass, it covers entry here too.
If you are staying longer in Hawaiʻi, look at the annual Hawaiʻi Tri-Park Pass ($55.00). It covers one full year from first use at:
- The Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (this page),
- The Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park on the Big Island, and
- The Haleakalā National Park on Maui.
The Tri-Park pass admits the holder and spouse plus accompanying passengers in a single private, non-commercial vehicle. If you enter by other means (bike, on foot, Hele-On bus), it covers the purchaser and accompanying immediate family. The pass is not refundable or transferable.
Map of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Below is the map of the summit area, where most first-time visitors spend their time. You can find larger maps of the full park and the island in the maps section of the national park website.
Map of the Hawaii Volcanoes NAtional Park Kilauea Summit region. June 2026.