. . . the entire crater fumed with steam and gases like a sleeping dragon ready to wake at any minute.

April 28–30, 2024

Venturing to the Hawaiian Islands is no small feat, but when flight prices dropped we had to take advantage of the opportunity. Having boarded our flights to Kona nine hours earlier, we at last landed on the Big Island at noon, island time. Though making a long day of it, the time change worked in our advantage extending our daylight in Hawai’i by four hours.

Once on the ground we rented a car and drove the two hours to our rustic cabin just inside the park near the village of Volcano, Hawai’i. The afternoon clouds threatened thunderstorms in pockets of mist and deluge so we bundled up in rain gear and took to the park, not wishing to waste a moment in this tropical paradise.

Complete with informational exhibits, water stations, bathrooms, and maps, the Kilauea Visitor Center offers a good (and dry) first stop once inside the park. This visitor center sits along Crater Rim Drive, a scenic roadway offering viewpoints of the often active Kilauea Crater below. At first, we drove some three miles to the end of the road at Uekahuna. Because of a recent eruption, the Jaggar Museum which offers views of the crater was closed for damage control, making the stop not worth the short drive.

Instead, we decided to explore the trails near the visitor center and Thurston Lava Tube, a hollow cave formed by a river of molten lava. The now dormant lava tube is open to visitors. We felt swallowed alive by the island itself as we entered the dark gaping cave. Groundwater and plant roots hung from the ceiling. The passageway led us up and out the other end of the tube. With looming clouds and night approaching, we turned in for the evening.

The next morning brought low lying pockets of clouds and a gentle mist along the crater rim. We caught our first real glimpse of the Kilauea Crater from the Volcano House lodge, perched high on the rim near the visitor center. The trail behind the lodge led to many overlooks each worthy of pausing and taking in the volcanic immensity below. Though no lava could be seen, the entire crater fumed with steam and gases like a sleeping dragon ready to wake at any minute.

For the remainder of the morning, we continued along the Crater Rim Trail down into Kilauea Iki, a smaller crater to the south of Kilauea that once held an enormous lava lake from a 1959 eruption. Decades later, hikers are encouraged to traverse the now solidified lava lake and experience the otherworldly aftermath of a volcanic eruption. Along this 3.5 mile loop, We crossed fissures and ripples of hardened rock on our way over the 400 foot crater. Here and there, small ‘Ohi’a Lehua trees colonized the barren landscape in an effort to regain the forest lost to the catastrophic eruption.

The afternoon brought sunny skies and a warm wind, so we headed down Chain of Craters Road to the Holei Sea Arch and the Pu’uloa Petroglyphs. Though remarkable, Holei Sea Arch could not be seen save for a distant viewpoint along the coast. While it was indeed visible, it left us wanting a closer view. The petroglyphs on the other hand were very approachable. A three-quarter mile trail led to an open boardwalk loop revealing countless petroglyphs made by tribes of early Hawaiian settlers documenting generations of families.

As sunset approached, we made our way to Old Crater Rim Drive for what we deemed the best viewpoint into Kilauea Crater. We walked one mile down a closed section of Crater Rim Drive to a dirt trail off the side of the road. This trail led to the rim of Kilauea with sweeping views of the steaming caldera. The waning sunlight convinced us this would be the perfect spot for a sunrise. So the next morning we gathered our gear and headed to Old Crater Rim Drive for a quiet, secluded sunrise—just us and the steaming rocks below a blanket of purple-pink clouds in the pre-dawn hour.

On our way back we made one last stop to visit the Steaming Bluffs. Super heated water deep in the earth leaks out through cracks and fissures along the bluffs. We walked along the trails, one moment enveloped in spa-like humidity and the next in a clear dry breeze. Knowing this was our last day in the park, we savored the last moments of the morning light before heading back to our cabin to pack up and fly home.

*In January 2025, nearly a year later, we returned to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park to witness the summit eruption of Kilauea. You can read the trip report here.