At the center of the big island, Hawai’i is Hawai’i Volances National Park. The park is quite large and takes up a large portion the island; however, due to the landscape and the active volcano large portions of the park are inaccessible, particularly after the most recent eruption. We visited before the most recent eruption that closed down large parts of the park, so we were able to explore more of the park. The park offers visitors the opportunity for a scenic drive, exploring lava tubes, a visitor center, petroglyphs, and hiking trails in varying landscapes of the coast, lava fields, forests, and of course the volcano itself.

When we visited we started at the visitor center to help orient ourselves with the park. Next we drove along the road and stopped off at different viewpoints. Next we went to the lava tubes and enjoyed a short hike. Afterwards, we headed down to the coast to look at the sea arches. We then slowly drove back up the main drive and stopped at additional viewpoints to explore the park. One of our favorite parts was seeing the steam emerging out of cracks from the volcano and the way you can see the variances in lava flows from different eruptions. We had a fantastic time exploring Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park and definitely recommend a visit!