This Year’s 13 Best Hiking Trails in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Hike Through a Volcanic Landscape

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park opened on August 1, 1916, on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. The park contains two of the world’s most active volcanoes: Kīlauea and Mauna Loa.

Here are the 13 trails you shouldn’t miss this year at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

NOTE:

Check the National Park Service website for current trail status before you go to make sure it’s safe to hike.

Mauna Ulu

Difficulty: Most of the trail feels easy but includes a steep 1/4 mile climb up Pu’uhuluhulu cone.

Right on Kilauea Volcano’s east rift, Mauna Ulu caused one of Kilauea’s longest known rift eruptions. Lava up to 25 feet deep buried the Chain of Craters Road, wiped out trees and grass, and spread across 40 square miles, flowing seven miles to the ocean.

The path takes you over Mauna Ulu’s 1969-1974 lava flows, showing cool features like tree shapes formed by lava. At the top of Puʻuhuluhulu Cinder Cone, you see the whole volcanic area spread out below, where steam still rises through through some of the cracks in the ground.

Kipukapuaulu

Difficulty: Easy, The well-kept dirt path has gentle slopes anyone can handle.

This 1.2 mile loop shows how rare Hawaiian plants and animals fight to survive. You’ll walk through a “kīpuka” – an older patch of plants surrounded by newer lava from Mauna Loa. Kīpukapuaulu also holds many native Hawaiian plants and animals you won’t find anywhere else on Earth.

To find it:

Drive 5 miles south from the main park entrance on Highway 11. Turn right onto Mauna Loa Road and go 1.5 miles to park.

Keanakākoʻi Crater

Difficulty: Easy hike that’s about 2 miles round trip.

Keanakākoʻi means “cave of the adzes.” You can find this trail around Crater Rim Drive near Devastation Trailhead Parking Lot Walk along old Crater Rim Drive, now closed to cars because of past volcanic activity.

The paved path goes through koa and ʻōhiʻa trees, ending at Keanakākoʻi Crater’s edge. See cracks from the 2018 summit collapses and look out at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater and Mauna Loa.

Mauna iki (Footprints Shelter)

Difficulty: Easy from from Kaʻū Desert Trailhead to Footprints shelter. Medium from Maunaiki to Maunaiki Trailhead.

In 1790, a big explosion at Kīlauea’s summit shot hot gas, ash, and sand over the Kaʻū Desert. Native Hawaiians walking through got caught in it, leaving footprints in fresh ash, which is where this trail got its name.

Begin the hike by picking either the Kaʻū Desert Trailhead on Highway 11 or Maunaiki Trailhead on Hilina Pali Road.

Halemaumau Trail

Difficulty: Medium, and usually takes 1-2 Hours.

This is one of the best daytrip hikes in the park. Start behind Volcano House off Crater Rim Trail, where you’ll walk through a rainforest that has keep surviving despite volcanic damage.

Going down, watch trees thin out to open Kīlauea Caldera floor with big views of volcanic features. Cross “Rainbow Bridge,” a natural land form with panoramic sights. Zigzag down the crater wall cliffs to reach the bottom.

TIP:

Planning the 11.2-mile one-way hike linking Sliding Sands and Halemauʻu trails? Park at Halemauʻu Trailhead, get a ride to start at Sliding Sands Trailhead. You’ll end where your car waits.

Uealoha (Byron Ledge)

Difficulty: Medium, around 1.1 miles (1.8 km) one-way from Devastation Trailhead to Kīlauea Iki trail crossing.

This trail connects to Kīlauea Iki loop and Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube), so you can combine them if you’re in the mood for a longer hike.

From Devastation Trailhead, you’ll be walking through cinder fields. These will eventually take you to the Puʻupuaʻi cinder cone where you can take a peek at Kīlauea Caldera.

Crater Rim Trail

Difficulty: Easy, and starts from several spots on Crater Rim Drive.

This trail runs from Uēkahuna on caldera’s north side to past Keanakākoʻi Crater south and includes Kūpinaʻi Pali (Waldron Ledge).

Circle Kīlauea Caldera to see wet rainforests, bare lava fields, steam vents, and big views of volcanic craters. Don’t forget to stop at Kūpinaʻi Pali (Waldron Ledge), Steam Vents, and Halemaʻumaʻu Crater.

Puuloa Petroglyphs Trail

Difficulty: Medium, 1.4 miles (2.25 km) round trip and usually takes 1 to 1.5 hours.

Along this trail, you’ll cross a 500-550 year-old lava field to a boardwalk showing Puʻuloa petroglyph field. About 23,000 petroglyphs are visible here, and you can see many of them from the boardwalk.

These kiʻi pōhaku (rock images) carved in hard lava show how Native Hawaiians lived. Look for cup marks, circles, patterns, human shapes, canoe sails, and feathered cape designs.

Kupinai Pali (Waldron Ledge)

Difficulty: Easy, usually takes 45 minutes to 1 hour.

This mostly paved trail is sometimes “the “Earthquake Trail” by the locals.

It’s a part of the Crater Rim Trail, which used to be Crater Rim Drive until a big 6.7 earthquake in 1983 broke it up. The quake made parts collapse and deep cracks form, blocking cars.

They turned the broken road into today’s trail, keeping old pieces. You can still see painted road lines, showing what it used to be.

Note: The first small lookout past Volcano House drops steep on the right, but the bigger lookout stays flat.

Devastation Trail

Difficulty: Easy – Works for wheelchairs and strollers, but some paved spots slope more than eight percent (8%).

This trail will walk you through an area covered in cinders from the 1959 blast. You can see the aftereffects, such as tree molds – hollow spots where lava surrounded trees, making natural casts.

Though wheelchairs can use most of the paved trail, some parts slope steep and may crack.

Nahuku (Thurston Lava Tube)

Difficulty: Easy, takes about About 0.4 miles (0.6 km) round trip.

The Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) is a 500-year-old tunnel in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park made by old volcanic flows.

You’ll start through thick rainforest full of native Hawaiian plants and animals, then go down into the cool, dim lava tube.

The tube lights run 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, but bring a flashlight or headlamp for better visibility.

Kilauea Iki

Difficulty: Medium to hard – Steep and rocky, down & up 400 feet (122 m).

Starting at the Kīlauea Iki Overlook, go down through thick rainforest with native Hawaiian plants to the Kīlauea Iki crater floor. Cross the hard lava lake from the 1959 eruption to see weird lava shapes and steam vents. Climb back through rainforest on the other side for big views of the volcanic area.

Kaakulamanu (Sulphur Banks)

Difficulty: Easy, about 1.2 mile (2 km) round trip from Kīlauea Visitor Center.

The path starts near Kīlauea Visitor Center and runs by volcanic gases leaking from the ground, making steam vents and colorful mineral spots.

These gases carry carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide, which paint the area in distinct colors.

Walk on paved parts, dirt paths, and boardwalks, with signs explaining what the Sulphur Banks mean for geology and Hawaiian culture.