Visiting Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park: Our Family Adventure From Crater Lookouts to the Coast
By Jen | Chasing Wild Adventures
Before you drive to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, check whether the park is open—and whether the places you want to visit are open, too.
That was especially important during our Hawaii trip. We had been watching Hurricane Nolo before leaving home, and weather had already made us rethink parts of our itinerary. Visiting the volcano was something we were excited about, but we needed to know what was safe and accessible before making the drive.
Start with the park’s official Alerts & Conditions page. Check for road closures, closed trails and viewing areas, construction, volcanic activity, and air-quality information. Then check the National Weather Service Honolulu forecastfor the park and your route. Recheck the morning of your visit; yesterday’s information may no longer apply.
Once you’re there, stay out of closed areas and follow ranger guidance. This is a landscape that changes, sometimes dramatically. Our visit brought that lesson home in a way we hadn’t expected.
Planning a trip to the islands? Check out our Hawaii with Kids: Family Travel Guide to Oahu, Big Island, and Maui for more ideas to help plan your family’s Hawaiian adventure.
Start at the visitor center and make a plan
Our first stop was the visitor center to get oriented. During our visit, visitor services were at a temporary location up the road, past the steam vents, rather than at the usual Kīlauea Visitor Center.
The temporary Welcome Center at Kilauea Military Camp was serving visitors while the main visitor center underwent renovation. The park describes it as approximately 1.25 miles beyond the entrance station, with parking at the nearby ballfield. Check the Welcome Center page for the location and hours before your own trip, since those arrangements can change.
This is where I recommend asking a ranger:
- Which roads, trails, and overlooks are accessible today?
- What should we prioritize with the time and energy we have?
- Are there weather, air-quality, or eruption-related concerns along our route?
- Where can we get a Junior Ranger booklet and our souvenir park stamp?
We picked up a Junior Ranger booklet for Aiden and purchased a national park stamp book as a souvenir. Those were small additions that made the visit feel more personal. The booklet gave us something to explore together, and the stamp book became a keepsake we can bring to future parks.
If your child wants to complete the Junior Ranger program, ask about the current requirements and when to return the booklet. Build that return stop into your day instead of discovering you’re too late after a long drive to the coast.
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was just one part of our trip. Read about our Big Island family adventure for more of the places we explored, from waterfalls and local treats to snorkeling along the Kohala Coast.
A little history before you explore
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was established on August 1, 1916, originally as part of Hawaiʻi National Park, which also included Haleakalā on Maui. The parks were later separated, and the Big Island park received its current name in 1961. It protects landscapes associated with Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, along with Hawaiian ecosystems and cultural heritage. (NPS park history, NPS timeline)
But its significance began long before national park boundaries. For Native Hawaiians, this is a sacred landscape with generations of stories, traditions, and connections to place.
Knowing a little of that history changes how you visit. A crater becomes more than a photo stop, and a lava field becomes more than an unusual stretch of rock.
If your family enjoys exploring America’s incredible landscapes, you can also read our guides to other national parks, including Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon.
Begin with the shorter summit drive and volcano lookouts
After the visitor center, we started with the shorter side of the drive and visited the volcano lookouts before tackling the longer trip down toward the ocean.
That order worked well for us. We could get oriented, take in the scale of the volcanic landscape, and make several stops before committing to the coastal drive.
Ask the ranger which summit overlooks are open and best suited to your visit. Kīlauea Overlook and Uēkahuna are examples to ask about, but access and viewing opportunities depend on conditions. Don’t assume you’ll see flowing lava: an active volcano doesn’t guarantee a visible eruption during your visit.
Our tip: Give the lookouts time. Step out of the car, read the signs, and take in what you’re seeing. You don’t need a long hike to appreciate the scale of this place.
Don’t miss Nāhuku, the Thurston Lava Tube
One stop I would absolutely recommend is Nāhuku, also known as Thurston Lava Tube.
You walk through lush rainforest before entering a tunnel that once carried molten lava. The park dates the tube to roughly 500 years ago. It’s a completely different experience from looking across a crater or driving past exposed lava fields. (Official Nāhuku visitor information)
The walk down felt steep to us. What I appreciated was that the return followed a different route, so it didn’t feel like climbing straight back up the same steep approach. There are still slopes and steps, though, so don’t plan on a flat or step-free walk.
Wear shoes with good traction, watch for wet surfaces and low ceilings, and avoid touching the lava tube walls or hanging roots. Parking is limited, so allow flexibility if the closest lot is full. If you park farther away, your total walk will be longer; use the park’s designated trails rather than walking along the road.
Our tip: Keep this on your priority list, and check its status before arrival. It’s one of those places where walking through the landscape tells you something a photograph can’t.
Drive Chain of Craters Road—and leave time to stop
After exploring the summit area, we drove down Chain of Craters Road, making a bunch of stops along the way.
This is the longer drive toward the coast, and the changing scenery is a big part of the experience. You move through volcanic terrain toward the ocean, with opportunities to pull over and explore along the way.
The park lists the road as 18.8 miles one way to its end. Think of it as a scenic outing with a return drive, rather than a quick detour. There is no food, water, or fuel available along Chain of Craters Road, and cell service is limited. Bring what you need before heading down. (NPS Chain of Craters Road guide)
We enjoyed making multiple stops rather than racing to the bottom. For your own route, use the park map and current ranger advice to choose crater viewpoints, lava-flow stops, or a walk that fits your group. Maunaulu, Kealakomo, and the Puʻuloa petroglyph trail are possibilities to research; they weren’t all confirmed stops on our visit.
Our tip: Budget time for the return journey and your drive back to your hotel. It’s easy to keep adding “just one more stop” when the scenery keeps changing.
The sea arch we just missed
We drove all the way to the end of Chain of Craters Road hoping to see Hōlei Sea Arch. Unfortunately, we had just missed it.
The arch had collapsed into the ocean shortly before our visit, during the period when Nolo was affecting Hawaii. We understood it had happened about two days earlier, which made the timing especially disappointing.
The National Park Service later confirmed that the arch was still standing on September 23 and had collapsed by the evening of September 27. The exact time is unknown, and the park says it could have happened during its temporary storm closure. The coastline had also shown instability for years, so the report doesn’t establish hurricane surf as the sole cause. (NPS report on the collapse)
I was sad we didn’t get to see it. But it was also a striking reminder that this park isn’t a fixed collection of sights. Volcanoes create land, the ocean reshapes it, and the place you visit can change between planning your trip and arriving.
If you head to the coast, check current access and stay well back from unstable cliffs. Older guides and photos may still show the arch standing; it is no longer there.
The trail we saved for another visit
We missed Devastation Trail, and it’s something I would consider for a return trip.
The park describes it as a one-mile round-trip paved walk through a landscape buried by cinders during the 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption. It offers a chance to see vegetation returning to an area transformed by volcanic activity. Although rated easy, some sections have noticeable grades. (NPS Devastation Trail guide)
Missing it reinforced my biggest planning advice: choose what matters most to your family, or visit over multiple days.
A day focused on summit overlooks and the lava tube will feel different from one that includes a substantial hike and the full drive to the coast. Both can be wonderful. Trying to fit every possibility into one day can leave you rushing through the places you came to enjoy.
If you have two days, consider exploring the summit and selected trails one day, then giving Chain of Craters Road its own outing. Check conditions again each day.
A story of Pele and her journey to Kīlauea
One Hawaiian moʻolelo, or traditional story, tells of Pele’s journey across the islands in search of a home for her volcanic fire.
In the version shared by the National Park Service, Pele travels from Kahiki with members of her family. Her elder sister Nāmakaokahaʻi pursues her, and seawater overcomes the fire pits Pele creates along the way. After reaching the island of Hawaiʻi, Pele ultimately makes her home at Halemaʻumaʻu, at Kīlauea’s summit.
The park notes that this journey echoes the geological progression of the Hawaiian Islands. It also explains that versions of these stories vary across generations and tel-lings. (NPS: Holo Mai Pele, The Journey of Pele)
Pele is a volcanic deity in living Hawaiian traditions. Learning this story is a way to begin appreciating the cultural meaning of the landscape alongside its geology, and to approach the park with respect.
Why we loved using Shaka Guide
We purchased the Shaka Guide island tour app, and it was such a fun addition to our drive through the park. It walked us through stops and shared stories about the volcano along the way.
I highly recommend it for families who enjoy exploring independently but want more context than a map alone provides. Hearing the stories while driving helped connect what we were seeing with the history of the place.
Download your purchased tour before leaving reliable Wi-Fi. Shaka Guide says its downloaded tours include offline audio, maps, and driving directions, which is helpful in areas with limited reception. Bring a charger and have a passenger manage the phone. (Shaka Guide download and offline-use guidance)
Use the app alongside current park information. Road signs, closures, and ranger instructions take priority if a recorded tour suggests a stop that is no longer accessible.
What to bring for your park day
- Water, lunch, and snacks—especially for the coastal drive.
- Comfortable shoes with traction, a rain jacket, and a light warm layer.
- Sun protection for exposed stops and walks.
- A charged phone, charger, downloaded audio tour, and park map.
- Your Junior Ranger booklet and park stamp book.
- A realistic list of priorities, with room to change plans.
Our visit included volcano lookouts, a walk through a lava tube, a drive to the ocean, stories along the way, and a souvenir we can keep adding to. It also included a trail we missed and an arch that had disappeared just before we arrived.
That combination made the visit memorable. We explored what was available, learned more about what we were seeing, and left with reasons to return.
Planning your own visit? Start with current park conditions, stop to talk with a ranger, and choose the experiences your family most wants to make time for.
Getting ready for your next family adventure? Take a look at our must-have travel gear for family trips to help you prepare for days of exploring.