Most of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on Hawaiʻi Island is open, after an unprecedented and destructive Kīlauea eruption in 2018 that forced the longest shutdown in the park’s history (134 days). Last month the popular Nāhuku, more commonly known as Thurston Lava Tube, reopened. SEE ALSO: Hawaiʻi’s Famous Lava Tube Reopens Today And today, the national park opened […]
For the first time in nearly two years, Nāhuku, more commonly known as Thurston Lava Tube, is open today at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The lava tube was closed due to the unprecedented and destructive Kīlauea eruption in 2018 that forced the longest shutdown in the park’s history (134 days). Nāhuku was closed for even
Nestled in an old Hawaiian garden estate surrounded by rainforest, nearly at the end of the town of Volcano on Hawaii Island, Café Ono is home to the best vegetarian lasagna we’ve ever had. It may be one of the best places to stop for lunch before exploring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but the excellent
In May 2018, Kilauea, the youngest volcano in Hawaii, experienced an unprecendented eruption that forced the longest shutdown in the history of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The summit area of the park was severely impacted by thousands of earthquakes and 62 massive collapse explosions, which caused damage to buildings, rockfalls and cracks in roads and trails.
It always happens when I’m standing at the overlook at the start of the Kilauea Iki trail, seeing the barren floor of the caldera, the scene of a spectacular eruption in 1959. The once-geologist major in me stirs. This roughly 4-mile hike is one of my favorites in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Hawaii Island.
Hawaii Island, also known as The Big Island, is the youngest and largest isle in the Hawaiian archipelago. It’s also growing—fresh lava from Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, continues to create new land and lava rock beaches. But this island has far more to offer than its world-famous volcano. Home to all but
The Kahuku Unit of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is perhaps one of the park’s most underrated areas. Open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., this grassy section was once a historic ranch and spans 116,000 acres. Guests can expect to see remnants of ohia lehua forests, unique plant and
Peering over the edge of Kilauea Caldera, I instantly feel dwarfed by the mammoth landscape in front of me. I’m at the Jaggar Museum Overlook and the sun has just set, turning the puffs of smoke and ash emanating out of the 3-mile-long Halemaumau Crater into pretty hues of pink and orange. Now huddled with
Kilauea’s latest lava flow—dubbed 61G, a 5-mile-long flow from Kilauea’s Puu Oo Cone to the southeast on Hawaii Island—has been causing quite a stir. The fiery lava finger points toward the sea within view of two relatively accessible viewing stations in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Kalapana. Hundreds, if not thousands, have flocked to see
If you love seeing rare native plants and birds, then you won’t want to miss Kipukapualulu Trail, a 1.2-mile loop through one of Hawaii Island’s last vestiges of native forestland. Located just outside of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in eastern Hawaii Island, the free-to-access trail is also known as “Bird Park” to area residents because
There are legends behind most places in Hawaii, and the Kahuku area in the south Big Island district of Kau is no different. The story goes that Kahuku, now largely barren and overrun by hardened, jagged a‘a lava, was once lush with forests and taro fields. Lush, that is, until Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of
Two active volcanoes. A temple built on the orders of Kamehameha the Great. A seaside place of refuge from death and danger. A coastal preserve of Hawaiian culture and endangered wildlife. An ancient foot highway spanning 175 miles of coastline. Welcome to the National Park Service sites of the Big Island—a collection of five distinct
