This approximately four-mile hike descends through the lush rainforests down to the bare solidified lava of a 1959 eruption. While visiting Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, you can hike into the crater of a volcano on the Kilauea Iki hike.
Entering a Lava Tube / Photo: Ilana Newman 2. The road passes by old craters and petroglyphs and rewards you with stunning views across the dramatic landscape and out to the ocean.Īlso, check out Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) for a unique journey through an underground lava tunnel.Īs of May 2021, there is no hot lava currently in the park, but you can see where lava recently sat at the bottom of the Kilauea crater.
If you have a full day or multiple days in Volcanoes National park, drive the Chain of Craters road down to the ocean. Look for these two types of lava as you visit the National Park and as you explore the island! This lava came out at a hotter temperature with lower viscosity and moves slower than the ‘A’ā lava. Pāhoehoe (pronounced pah-hoey-hoey) on the other hand, appears smoother with ripples often still apparent even in old lava. It has rough edges and formed through an explosive process that left it looking sharp and jagged. ‘A’ā (pronounced ah-ah) lava looks like a bulldozer just plowed through it. One of my new favorite fun facts came from a ranger who told us about the two types of lava found on the island of Hawaii: When we visited Volcanoes National Park, we only had a few hours and spent them hiking some easy trails and visiting overlooks and despite our time crunch, the experience was informative and breathtaking. You could spend days in the park seeing everything it has to offer, or you can sample with a few-hour visit. The park includes sea arches, active volcanoes, rainforest, desert, and more. Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park covers much of the central and southern parts of Hawaii island. Whether you want to go snorkeling or hike through a volcanic national park, discover the best things to do in Kona in this planning guide.
The mountain stands at about 13,678 feet above sea level, but rises an additional 30,000 feet from the bottom of the ocean - making it taller than Mount Everest! In this post, we cover the best that the Kona Coast has to offer. Also, the island itself consists of the largest active volcano on the planet: Mauna Loa. Because of this, black rocky beaches line the coast with only a few white sandy beaches intermixed. The Big Island of Hawaii is the newest volcanic island in the Hawaiian island chain. Planning a vacation to Kona, Hawaii can be as relaxing or adventurous as you want and there are many fun things to do in the area including visiting a coffee farm, hiking into a volcano, snorkeling with manta rays, and much more. So what are the best things to do in Kona? Meaning “leeward” in Hawaiian, the Kona Coast is known for being calm and beautiful and only receives about 18 inches of rain a year. Located on the Big Island’s western coast, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii features turquoise blue waters and amazing views of Hawaii’s tallest mountains.