Ultimate Family Hike through Volcanoes National Park

Hiking Volcano National Park hit high on our Hawaiian Bucket List. However, there are tons of hikes, ranging from short 1 milers, to long multi-day treks. We tested several hikes and report back with our ultimate family hike through Volcanoes National Park.

Devastation Trail – An unfortunately devastating disappointment, especially to my sister who was a few hikes in and battling blisters and hunger. In my mind, this trail would include solidified lava flows frozen in time as they crossed a road or melted away a road sign. And the description of this hike added further fuel to my daydream by promising a “starkly beautiful landscape that was buried by cinders.” However, the actual sight severally disappointed the group, and I refused to acknowledge reality and pushed us onwards towards Crater Rim Dr, because this level of devastation was not meeting my expectations.

Due to the gravelly shape of the cinders, it appeared like an over eager landscaping company poured excessive amounts of gravel down a hill, and accidentally covered the whole area. Not quite the dramatic scene the name Devastation Trail conjures in your imagination. While I could picture what it might look like after a volcano, thanks to the photographs at the beginning and end of the trail, it was definitely not worth the time for us, and from looks on a few other visitors faces, along with their rushed paces, indicated we weren’t the only ones.

CZ’s new favorite bird, the Nene, pronounced, or rather shouted, Naynay.

Crater Rim Drive – While not technically a trail, you can hike along the closed section of this road from Devastation trail. The area is regularly affected by dangerous sulfur gases, hence the road closure, so use your best judgement, and follow park direction regarding how far your out and back walk should go. Here again, I hoped for some lava covered roads, but alas, the most damage was slight narrowing of the roadway by overgrowth and weeds. This “trail” did offer isolation and serenity from the busier sections of the park we traversed. We looked upon the smoking Keanakako’l from vantage point that many miss, and stumbled across a few flocks of the endangered and elusive Nene. The unique vantage point and Nene sightings definitely made a happy accident out of our devastating disappointment.

Thurston Lava Tube – A quick, easy hike from the carpark, this path is frequented by tourists for good reason. Standing in the middle of a cavernous lava tube conveyed the power of the molten rock, but it felt almost too easy to access. JZ and I prefer the feeling of fulfillment of reaching a destination instead of pulling up right next to it, taking our selfie, and leaving. I also think it would have been more awe-inspiring without the lit pathways, although I understand the safety reasons behind choice. They do offer guided ranger tours into the unlit portion of the tube, if the timing works for your group, and there are other lava tubes for exploring. We just ran out of time.

That said, it is still worth the visit, and we recommend integrating this gem into the longer Kilauea Iki trail for maximum feelings of accomplishment. See below for details.

Kilauea Iki Trail – This trail provided everything we wanted from a hike through the Volcanos National Park. The longer distance 4mi/6.7km gave us a sense of accomplishment, and the varied terrain kept us interested and excited throughout the whole hike. The hike follows switchbacks into the solid (but still steaming) Kilauea Iki crater lava lake. You hike down through lush forests until you reach the stark, black landscape of lava and red Ohi’a Lehua flowers.

The sudden change of landscape came with an additional 10 or so degrees of heat, so bring hats, sunscreen, and water. We enjoyed scrambling over the rocks and examining the split crater floor. The trail is one of the most popular at the park, but the large lava lake provides enough room for hikers to spread out and appreciate the path at their leisure. CZ wanted to join in the fun, so she hopped out of the backpack and walked with Grandma and Grandpa.

We recommend parking at the Kilauea Iki Trailhead, and starting at the overlook. When facing the crater, you take the sidewalk to your right, and the entrance to the trail will be on your left. Follow the lush green trail down, until you reach the crater surface. After crossing the crater, you hike up numerous switchbacks, until reaching a parking lot. This is the Thurston Lava tube parking lot, which is much smaller than the Kilauea Iki one.  Cross the road to take a detour by the lava tube and use the bathrooms, before heading back to your car.

A word of caution, the trail up from the crater is a relatively steep climb and lots of switchbacks. There are several paths straight up that look like shortcuts. My sister climbed one that dead-ended in a clearing, and she had to climb back down.

My mom followed another, and she ended up completely separated from the group. We ended up unable to find her, since her shortcut skipped the Thurston Lava tube parking lot all together (see the small blue line on the right). We got a bit worried, so JZ, CZ, my dad, and I followed her footsteps up a very tropical and muddy path. I legitimately worried about one of “The Others” from Lost popping out and pulling me down in between the cavernous roots, but fortunately, we survived unscathed,

One last tip: The weather changes extremely quickly on this side of the island. On the plus side, rainy weather doesn’t last long, but it does require a bit more gear, if you want to avoid being wet and cold. At minimum, pack a rain coat and warmer layer. For CZ,  we had warm and cold outfit change on hand, and we used it. We also had her poncho, and our standard garden size trash bags for the gear bags.

We frequented the National Park during our stay on the Hilo side of the island, with day hikes and night volcano viewings, appreciating the scenery and uniqueness of the volcanoes. However, just to properly set your expectations, what you can see with the naked eye does not even compare the flowing lava shots found on the National Geographic channel. However, for the safety of us hikers, we happily accepted the trade-off and enjoyed our more distant view of nature’s awesome power.

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