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November 2023 by Gregg Cochran
This experience was incredible for our family. We had the opportunity to hike the rim of the volcano, walk through a large lava tube, and drive to the end of the park.Prepare for a full day experience to get the most out of the park. If not, you may end up driving back in the dark.I highly recommend Shaka Guide App. This is available on the App Store and was featured on Trip Advisor. It is a fun and engaging app that highlights all the sections in the park, in real time, based on where you are at. This made the entire experience even better.
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October 2023 by Bobby Wells
One of the best national parks I've been to, simply stunning! You can easily spend an entire day here. Where else can you see an active volcano, also highly recommended the lava tube, and driving to the sea arch.
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October 2023 by Vivian W.
Impressive park with lava stone connected with ocean, the scenic drive is amazing, and breathtaking. We walked Kilauea iki trail, it fun to walk through the tropical forest, but the stairs is pretty challenging for my knees, but we eventually finished the hike, felt accomplished. We did our scenic drive after the hike. It's a good visit, and i hope to come back here sometime again. There are so much to see and experience!
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October 2023 by K K
So many things to do and explore. I am so sad we didn’t have the time or the appropriate footwear to explore!! My husband has never seen lava before and our trip coincided with an active eruption. There were plenty of vantage points to view the eruption.Next time for sure, whether there is an active eruption or not, we are going hiking. I haven’t explored those cavers in decades and would love to experience it with my husband.They have multiple trails and maps available at the visitor’s center. You can opt for a long hike or a short(1-2 hour hike). There are also roads you can drive on to get to the sight seeing points. So if you don’t want to do excessive hiking but don’t want to miss out on the sights, you can drive to them. Parking lots are small but doable.It was $30 for a vehicle. The sign said up to 14 people in a personal/non-commercial vehicle which I thought was a terrific price. Maybe I’ll take my gaggle of nieces and nephews up one day!Beautiful sights. ❤️Restrooms: Saw restrooms at a couple of the sight seeing spots. They had extra port a potties at the view points for the eruption.
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October 2023 by William Perdichizzi
Definitely worth the visit! The volcano caldera is absolutely breathtaking. World’s LARGEST active volcano! It wasn’t active when we were there but it had been a couple weeks prior so there was still smoke and steam. Still worth seeing!
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October 2023 by Rachel Hill
What an amazing park! 100% worth the drive from Kailua-Kona. This park has lava tubes, lava lake, steam vents, and an incredible view of the volcano’s crater. The visitor’s center has LOADS of information. The staff was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly. We enjoyed lunch at Volcano House and ate amazing pizza with a great view. Most view points are wheelchair accessible, but there are some paths that are not. Our only regret is not seeing it at night. The tickets give you access to the park for 7 days, so plan on a couple of trips if you want to see it all. You could easily spend 10-12 hours taking everything in.
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October 2023 by Erica Kristin
Definitely worth the visit regardless of visible volcano activity. Driving to the different view points is a must. You can pull over at check points/look outs and stand on old lava or check out old petroglyphs. Just be careful where you step. If you can catch active flow, you are in for a treat. Check out the lava tube and drive down to the sea arch.
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October 2023 by Laila Moiré-Selvage
Been visiting Volcano National Parks since I was a kid growing up here and still never gets old. So many things to see and trails to explore. If you’re lucky, you might get to see Pele and her powerful lava flowing! Sacred, beautiful space to learn about Hawai’i and it’s rich culture. Make sure to respect this sacred place and leave no trace!
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October 2023 by Jonathan Clark
Truly incredible park - so many beautiful vistas of the vast volcano crater, sulphur vents, and trails that take you right across the crater floor that is best described as otherworldly. Must see park for anyone on the island, let alone one of the greatest national parks I've ever visited.
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October 2023 by Rohan D.
One of the best things about our Federal Government is the National Park system. Here's another five star National Park, and it's uniquely other world vistas are simply breathtaking. Do not pass up the visitor center, you'll find a useful map so you can plan your visit depending on how much time you have but you'll want at least two hours and preferably a whole day or two. The workers here are the best combination of well trained National Park staff and Local Aloha friendly. Also, don't pass up the chance to use the restrooms. If you can plan it, go early in the morning, or stay into the evening so you don't have the equatorial sun beating down on you. Bring water in any case. During a light rain is the best, there is nothing in the world like rainbows over the crater. DON'T LITTER.
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September 2023 by James D.
29 miles from Hilo Hawaii, you'll find Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It is massive & has several "rim" turnouts & a visitor's center with gifts, maps & rangers happy to explain how this volcano works. Sadly, the observation building right on the rim was damaged 5 years ago & Park management chose to put a fence around it instead of fixing it. This facility WAS the highlight of visiting the park. Next to the entrance is the road to the walk-through lava tubes.. Don't miss this !! See the included photos
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September 2023 by Wulfstan C.
This National Park is magnificent and offers many things to see and do related to the volcanoes.The central sight is the the Hale Ma'uma'u crater of Kilauea, which has several viewing points around it, including the Kilauea Overlook and Uekahuna Overlook on the north side, reachable by car to the parking lot, or by a walk on the trail on the crater rim from the Volcano House Hotel. There is a visitor centre, the hotel with restaurants, and other places to stay at the old Kilauea Military Camp. There are steam vents and lava tubes to explore, the Kilauea Iki crater with a hike across it,other trails to the south, the Chain of Craters Road going to the Holei Sea Arch, and more. A thorough exploration would take a few days. We stayed two nights here on this trip. We explored the steam vents, walked around the crater to the Kilauea and Uekahuna Overlooks, explored the Chain of Craters Road and walked out to the petroglyphs and the sea arch.
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September 2023 by Avi M.
The Park is fantastic!!!Even though my partner and i wasn't able to hike all of the trails (in one day), enjoying the beautiful nature on a good weather day was amazing enough. Not to mention, Kīlauea has been erupting!!! What an awesome experience to see. At the entrance of the park, you receive a map for all of the trails and legends of where things are located. There are some areas for bathrooms, picnic tables, a camping site, trails, etc. around the park. This is my first time flying to one of the sister islands (i know, finally yeah) and big island was a trip! We came to the park on September 23rd. Note: September 23 is a "national publics lands day" meaning that the national parks across the US have (or should have) free entrance! For one personal vehicle, you would pay $30 to park. Each lot before you start your journey has a trash bin and a porta-potty. Note: make sure you have PPE just in case! The inside is quite huge which could probably fit a stroller in there + TP & hand sanitizer inside the portable was included. We mainly hike Kīlauea iki to see the crater. It's not as hard as you think it might be. It was a great hike! The hike scenery changes as you shortly pass through a forest feel, through some sinkholes, a -- what i call a "black desert", and then through another forest, then rock bottom, literally. Will definitely come here again and hike the rest of the trails Preferably on a holiday because all holidays have free entrance to the park! Their website about the park is super informational too! High note: wear sunscreen even if it might be cloudy!
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September 2023 by John F.
Amazing park. We did iki crater hike and absolutely loved it. What a cool experience. Definitely more on easy moderate side as opposed to listed moderate on all trails however we hike a lot and are experienced. We stopped and took lots of cool photos on the crater portion. Go early in the AM but not too early as the mist and dew can cover some of the scenery. We started at 830 or so and found it to be perfect. There was still parking. Then we did lava tube and finished out the crater Tim drive and saw sea arch and petroglyphs. It was a great 5-6 hour day.
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September 2023 by Angie
Every time I visit the island I come and pay my respects to Pele. Love seeing and feeling the energy of Pele. The crater, steam vents and lava tubes were the center of my visit this time. So much to explore. Love this beautiful National Park. Entrance fee is $30 but I you plan to visit more than once the annual pass is a more economical option.
