How to See Lava in Hawaiʻi (DIY, Best Tours, and 2026 Updates)

Lava update: Episode 52 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began at 7:10 p.m. HST July 28 and ended at 2:36 a.m. HST on July 29, 2026. Read more.

Since December 2024, Kīlauea has been in an episodic fountaining eruption that has set the all-time record for most fountaining episodes in a single eruption of this type. Each episode lasts hours to days: the summit fountains, pauses while it re-inflates, then begins again. The status banner at the top of this page shows whether the eruption is currently active or between episodes.

This guide covers all five ways to see lava on the Big Island. Whether you have a few hours for a crater overlook or want a full guided hike to the flow, we cover timing, parking, and the gear list that matters at 4,000 feet at night.

Is lava visible right now?

Kīlauea is in an active episodic eruption phase, meaning the volcano turns on and off every few days to a few weeks. Checking the live webcams below and the USGS update before you leave for the park is the single most useful thing you can do.

The ongoing Kīlauea episodic eruption (December 2024 to present)

Kīlauea has been erupting in episodes since December 23, 2024. The eruption is not continuous: each episode lasts hours to days, then pauses while the summit re-inflates before the next episode begins. You can see an up-to-date timeline of all episodes on the USGS eruption information page.

-> Current Kīlauea eruption status: Kīlauea is currently experiencing highly episodic, on-and-off eruptions with intermittent high-fountaining episodes that last 8 to 10 hours.

For a full timeline of all episodes and past eruptions, see our Kīlauea eruption history page.

Visitors at Keanakākoʻi Overlook watch episode 47 of the Kīlauea eruption, with fountains reaching 600 feet (183 meters). The overlook requires a 0.5-mile hike from the parking area but puts you closest to the active vents along Crater Rim Drive.

Live webcams

West Halemaʻumaʻu crater (V1cam):

East Halemaʻumaʻu crater (V2cam):

South Halemaʻumaʻu crater (V3cam):

The V3cam was destroyed on December 6, 2025 by a lava fountain during Episode 38. You can see the last 10 minutes before it was engulfed:

When and where to see it (during an active episode)

When the eruption is in an active episode, you can see it yourself from the crater rim overlooks (sunrise is the best time to beat the crowds) or join one of several guided tours.

• Where? Kīlauea is erupting within Halemaʻumaʻu crater.
• How? It is located in the southwest corner of Halemaʻumaʻu crater, visible from several viewpoints along the Crater Rim Trail: Uēkahuna, Kīlauea Overlook, Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff), Kūpinaʻi Pali (Waldron Ledge), Volcano House, Keanakākoʻi, and other overlooks.
• How to avoid the crowds? The best time to see the lava is when it’s dark. An hour before sunrise is the best time to skip the crowds, or late at night (after 10 p.m.) if you don’t like early mornings. Sunset viewing is possible, but expect traffic jams in the park between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m.
• Prepare in advance: Don’t forget your flashlight, warm attire, rain gear, and sturdy shoes. Keep an eye on the weather, as rain and fog can obstruct the view.
• Stay safe! Stay out of closed areas. Rope lines and hazard signs are in place to protect you from volcanic fumes, unexpected rim collapses, and hidden cracks. Volcanic gas is a particular risk for people with respiratory issues, young children, and pregnant women.

Eruption viewing from the Volcano House, also a good place for breakfast with a view. Keanakākoʻi Overlook (0.5-mile hike) puts you closer, but Volcano House is always worth a stop.

Kīlauea Activity Update for Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Activity Summary: 

• Episode 52 of the ongoing Halemaʻumaʻu eruption began around 7:10 p.m. HST July 28 and ended abruptly at 2:36 a.m. HST on July 29, 2026.
• The maximum lava fountain height was approximately 500 feet (150 meters) above ground level from the north vent. The south vent never fountained during this episode but did emit flames at the end of the eruption.
• The maximum plume height was approximately 19,000 (5,800 meters) above mean sea level.
• Tephra fall was restricted mostly to the closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park to the southwest of the active Halemaʻumaʻu vents.

Episode 52 Chronology:

Lava fountaining episode 52 in Halemaʻumaʻu at the summit of Kīlauea began around 7:10 p.m. HST July 28 and ended at 2:36 a.m. HST on July 29, 2026, after 7.4 hours of continuous fountaining from the north vent. The last 4 minutes were marked by gas jetting and flames from the north vent. The south vent never fountained during this episode but did emit flames at the end of the episode. The instantaneous effusion rate peaked at about 350 cubic yards (270 cubic meters) per second at approximately 9:15 p.m. HST, with an average effusion rate of 250 cubic yards (190 cubic meters) per second for the entire fountaining episode. An estimated 6.1 million cubic yards (4.7 million cubic meters) of lava erupted and covered about 40-50% of the Halemaʻumaʻu crater floor. Seismicity followed the normal change in tremor patterns seen after most fountain episodes. The Uēkahuna tiltmeter (UWD) recorded about 14.4 microradians of deflationary tilt during episode 52.

Read the most recent update here.

Mauna Loa: no active eruption

The 2022 Mauna Loa eruption is over and there is no active lava visible on the surface.

-> Current Mauna Loa eruption status: Mauna Loa is not erupting.

5 ways to see lava on the Big Island

How close you can get to the lava depends on where the flow is active and what terrain is accessible. Right now, with the eruption contained within the national park boundary, crater overlooks are the practical option. When surface flows are on public land, you have five ways to get close.

• From up close as it flows over land and/or into the ocean, conditions permitting:
  1. Hiking to the lava (DIY and guided lava tours)
  2. Ocean lava boat tours
• From a distance, via:
  3. Helicopter tours
  4. Crater overlooks and public viewing areas
• No lava? No problem:
  5. What to do when there is no active lava

1: Hiking to the lava (DIY and guided)

Hiking to the lava puts you closest to the action, but it requires two conditions: surface flows must be accessible, and the flow must be on public land. The current eruption is within a closed area of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, so surface hikes to active lava are not currently possible.

IF access to the flow is possible AND on public land, you will find several companies offering guided hikes during daytime or at night.

• How to hike to the lava yourself, and
• When, why, and how to choose a guided Lava Tour.

Hiking tours to the lava flow can be tiresome but are worth every drop of sweat!

Hiking to the lava yourself

Sometimes it is straightforward to find your way to the lava without a guide, and a tour is not always required to see the lava. If you plan a DIY hike, educate yourself on the risks, dress properly, and bring plenty of water and sunscreen. Start with our lava hiking safety section.

The most important factor in whether you can hike to the lava yourself is where it is flowing:

• Within the national park? If the park determines that access to the flow is safe, you can hike to it. Viewing conditions change daily, so check the NPS “What’s going on with the Volcano” page before you go.
• On private land? If the flow is outside the park boundary, you will likely be trespassing if you hike out without permission. The easiest solution is a lava tour guide with proper permissions.

The following video by filmmaker Tyler Hulett, “Dawn of Fire,” shows a time-lapse of the slow-moving Kīlauea lava flows and gives a good sense of what hiking to the lava looks like:

Big Island lava tours

Guided lava tours offer know-how, equipment, and access to restricted terrain where needed. Their guides know the area well and can provide context about the eruption that changes how you understand what you’re seeing.

Tours range from one hour to a full day depending on how accessible the lava is. The hike almost always crosses uneven terrain, so have an honest conversation with the operator about what the hike requires before booking.

A strong option for a guided tour that explores Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and stays in the park after dark to see the glow is the day-long “Volcano Unveiled” tour by Hawaii Forest & Trail:

Suggested tour

Volcano, Chocolate, & Waterfalls (in-depth volcano experience from Kona or Hilo)

Small-group volcano tour with a certified guide through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, plus a tree-to-bar cacao experience and private waterfall tasting. 11-12 hours from Kona

Duration: 11-12 hours

By: Hawaii Forest and Trail

Free cancellation: up to 24 hours before tour

from:

$295

Details

What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.

Booking a lava hike tour far in advance is risky, because at the time of your visit the lava may no longer be flowing. Review cancellation conditions carefully and, if they are strict, don’t book more than a few weeks out.

A guided lava hike, when surface flows are accessible, gets you close to the flow front in a way that is difficult to manage on your own.

2: Lava boat tours (when lava reaches the ocean)

Lava boat tours run only when lava is actively flowing into the ocean. When that happens, operators depart from Hilo Harbor and take you to within 300 meters (984 feet) of the ocean entry point, with permitted operators occasionally getting closer.

Lava enters the ocean while a lava boat gets close to the action. Photo taken in 2017 during the 61g Kamokuna ocean entry.

Safety and licensed lava boat tour operators

There are significant risks involved in seeing lava enter the ocean, which we describe in our lava ocean entry safety guide. Choose your operator with care and always confirm they are licensed to operate in the lava safety zone.

3: Helicopter tours

Helicopter tours give you access to terrain you cannot reach on foot or by boat: the crater interior, surface flows in restricted zones, and lava moving through forest. They are also the most reliable option when ground access is limited, and they book out weeks in advance during active eruptions.

Tours depart from both Hilo and Kona. Hilo departures are shorter and significantly cheaper. The following tour from Hilo gives you a good view of the current eruption activity:

• See Hilo and the Volcanoes (Blue Hawaiian Helicopter Tours)

A Kona departure from Rainbow Helicopters covers more ground but costs roughly twice as much and takes twice as long:

• Kīlauea Volcano Eruption tour

See our guide to helicopter tours on the Big Island for a full comparison of operators and routes.

4: Crater overlooks and public viewing areas

During an active eruption within Halemaʻumaʻu crater, six overlooks along Crater Rim Drive give you a direct view. The most visited is Uēkahuna (large parking area, paved path). Keanakākoʻi puts you closest to the fountain vents but requires a 0.5-mile hike. Kīlauea Overlook and Kūpinaʻi Pali (Waldron Ledge) are good middle options.

Viewing the crater glow from the overlooks

The current episodic eruption takes place within Halemaʻumaʻu crater. During active episodes, lava fountains and crater glow are visible from the overlooks. During pauses between episodes, a faint residual glow may still be visible at night.

• One of the best viewpoints is the Kīlauea Overlook and anywhere along the caldera rim to Kūpinaʻi Pali. The parking lot here can fill up quickly on busy days, so have a backup overlook in mind.
• The Keanakākoʻi and Uēkahuna viewing areas are at times closed due to unsafe air quality and tephra fallout. These closures will be made very obvious with signs and road closures. Please stay out of any closed areas.

Episode 47 of the Kīlauea eruption, seen from the Kīlauea Iki Overlook. At 600 feet (183 meters), the fountains were visible from overlooks across the caldera.

5: When there’s no active lava

No active lava does not mean no volcano. The park itself, the 2018 LERZ eruption zone in lower Puna, and the island’s lava tubes give you a full picture of what these volcanoes have built and destroyed. The Big Island is 100% volcanic in origin, and the evidence is everywhere.

• See the aftermath of the 2018 LERZ eruption
• Explore lava tubes and other volcanic remnants

See the aftermath of the 2018 LERZ eruption

The 2018 Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption zone in lower Puna is one of the more sobering landscapes on the island. Miles of new lava rock, rebuilt roads, and neighborhoods that no longer exist give you a ground-level sense of what 1 billion cubic yards of lava looks like.

Starting in Pāhoa, stop in for a look at the Pahoa Lava Zone Museum. It’s a small building with artifacts from the eruption, photographs taken by locals, and exhibits from the now-closed Jaggar Museum.

From Pāhoa, follow Highway 132 south and east. This road was rebuilt over still-cooling lava flows from 2018, and it gives you some of the clearest impressions of the eruption’s reach. Follow it to what used to be called “4 Corners”: now just one corner and the end of the road. Be careful with parking, and don’t touch the ground in rocky areas: some of it is still hot. On a clear day you can see all the way to the ocean.

The Kalapana-Kapoho scenic drive passes through dense forest canopy before the landscape shifts abruptly to black lava fields. This is one of the more striking contrasts on the island: a lush tree tunnel one minute, 2018 eruption terrain the next.

Visit the Leilani Estates

Leilani Estates was ground zero of the 2018 LERZ eruption and home to Ahuʻailaʻau (known at the time as “Fissure 8”). It is still a residential neighborhood, and all roads except Leilani Avenue are private. You cannot park along Leilani Avenue, and residents have been clear that they do not want disaster tourism in the neighborhood. You can see enough from Highway 130 heading south from Pāhoa, or from Lava Tree State Monument.

Following Highway 130 further south brings you to Kalapana, after which Highway 137 takes you to Pohoiki, which was nearly covered by the 2018 eruption. This is one of our favorite scenic drives on the island.

No active eruption? Still worth going.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park has more than enough for a full day even with no active lava: the Kīlauea Iki trail, Thurston Lava Tube (Nāhuku), Chain of Craters Road, and the petroglyphs at Puʻuloa are all worth your time.

Climb down a steep ladder to reach the lava tube entrance at Kaumana Caves, close to Hilo.

Guided volcano tours are worth considering when there is no eruption. They take you into the park, private lava tubes, and terrain that is difficult to navigate without a guide.

Suggested tour

Volcano, Chocolate, & Waterfalls (in-depth volcano experience from Kona or Hilo)

Small-group volcano tour with a certified guide through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, plus a tree-to-bar cacao experience and private waterfall tasting. 11-12 hours from Kona

Duration: 11-12 hours

By: Hawaii Forest and Trail

Free cancellation: up to 24 hours before tour

from:

$295

Details

What is a suggested tour?Our suggested tours are hand-picked tours that receive consistent good reviews, give back to the community, and work hard to minimize their impact on the environment. Read more about these tours on our website.

We list tour operators in our volcano tours section.

Planning your visit

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Entry is $30 per vehicle, or $15 per person on foot or bicycle. The America the Beautiful interagency annual pass is also accepted.

Best time to visit

The best time to see an active eruption is at night, when the glow from the crater is visible against a dark sky. If the eruption is in an active episode, plan to arrive one to two hours before sunrise: viewpoints are nearly empty at that hour, and the combination of low light and volcanic haze makes for a different experience than the midday visit. Avoid the park between 6 and 9 p.m. if you are not a fan of crowds.

Parking

The main parking lots along Crater Rim Drive fill by 10 a.m. on busy days. The Thurston lava tube parking lot fills first. If you want to visit consider parking at the Kīlauea Iki parking lot and slotting in an extra 10 minute walk through the rainforest and overlooking the crater rim.

What to bring

The summit sits at about 4,000 feet. Nights regularly drop to 50 to 55°F, sometimes colder with wind, and rain is common year-round. Visitors arriving from Kona (where it’s 80°F and sunny) are often underprepared. Bring: a warm layer, a rain jacket, sturdy closed-toe shoes, one flashlight per person, at least 2 liters of water if you’re hiking, and sunscreen.

From Kona or Hilo?

From Hilo, the park entrance is about 30 miles and 45 minutes. From Kona, it’s around 95 miles and 1.5 hours each way. For an evening or pre-dawn visit from Kona, budget a 3-hour round trip minimum plus your time in the park. If night viewing is the goal, staying in Volcano Village (right outside the park gate) is a much better setup than driving from Kona.

Accessibility

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is a working volcanic landscape, and accessibility conditions can change when the terrain does. For eruption viewing, Kīlauea Overlook is accessible via a short asphalt path from the parking area. The Sulphur Banks Trail is mostly manageable for wheelchairs starting from the Kūkamāhuākea (Steam Vents) parking lot; the 0.1-mile gravel trail from there to Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff) is also possible. Wheelchairs are available at the Welcome Center on a first-come, first-served basis. The Welcome Center, Volcano House, and Volcano Art Center are all fully accessible.

Accessible restrooms or vault toilets are at Kīlauea Iki, the Devastation parking lot, Maunaulu, Kīpukapuaulu picnic area, Maunaloa Lookout, and the Chain of Craters Road turnaround. Drinking water is available at Volcano House.

Check the NPS accessibility page for current conditions before you go.

Safety

Volcanic fumes are a real health risk. People with respiratory or heart conditions, pregnant women, infants, and elderly visitors should check current vog and air quality levels before visiting. Getting close to an active lava flow is risky, and hiking out unprepared is how people end up turning back before they get there.

1. Lava safety (hiking)
2. Ocean entry hazards
3. Vog (volcanic air pollution)

1: Hiking to the lava: stay out of closed areas and come prepared

Wear hiking boots, not sandals. Lava surfaces are jagged basalt and the terrain is uneven throughout. Pack sunscreen and water together with your camera. If you plan to view the lava after dusk, bring one flashlight per person and replacement batteries. Viewing conditions change daily: even a park-organized viewing area does not guarantee close access to the lava. Often a 1+ hour hike over rough terrain is needed to reach the flow front.

If you want to be well prepared, take 4 minutes and watch this video about safe lava viewing at ocean entries, made by Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park:

Far too often, visitors arrive at a lava hike in sandals and flip flops. That footwear is not safe on rough lava surfaces and may force you to turn back before you get close. If you plan on staying past sunset (recommended), each person needs their own flashlight for the walk back. See “Guided lava tours” if you want the hike handled for you.

2: Safety concerns at the lava ocean entry

Lava ocean entries create two distinct hazards: the instability of newly formed land, and the noxious gases released when lava meets seawater. Both are serious.

• The stability of the new land you are standing on (the lava bench)
• The noxious gases released when lava meets the ocean

Stability of the new land

Newly created land is inherently unstable and much of it will collapse back into the ocean over time.

Park rangers monitor the stability of the lava bench and set viewing distance limits based on visual inspection and thermal imaging. That distance was set at 1/2 mile (820 meters) for the now-inactive Kamokuna episode.

On May 3rd a large part of the Kamokuna lava delta collapsed into the ocean within minutes. Collapsing lava benches can cause a small tsunami and hurl hot rocks over a large distance. Credit: USGS

Collapses like this can trigger small tsunamis of scalding hot water. Follow any instructions given by park rangers regarding safe viewing distance.

Noxious Gases

Stay away from the plume when watching lava enter the ocean. The wind generally carries the ocean entry plume offshore during nighttime and early morning. From mid-morning through late afternoon, the wind sometimes shifts and brings the plume onshore.

The white plume is very hot and contains super-heated steam and chemicals that range from unhealthy to lethal. The water droplets in the plume can be as corrosive as battery acid. Read more on the USGS website.

3: Vog (volcanic air pollution)

The Big Island has an air pollution problem during active surface flows. It’s called vog (volcanic smog), and the areas southwest of the eruption site get the worst of it on most days.

Vog is created when sulfur dioxide emitted by the Kīlauea volcano reacts with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. Because the dominant wind directions are east and northeast, the areas most affected are those south and southwest of the eruption site. The USGS Interagency Vog Dashboard has specific vog advice for visitors to Hawaiʻi and associated health effects information.

Lava Q&A