How to Spend One Day in Volcanoes National Park

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Standing on the rim of the crater of the world’s largest active volcano was a moment we’ll never forget! We spent one day in Volcanoes National Park, and it may have been the highlight of our Big Island Road trip.

National Parks never cease to amaze me, but this one is especially mind-blowing. From the glowing Kilauea crater to the Thurston Lava Tube to the incredible Pacific views, this park provided core memories for our family.

Here’s your guide to experiencing the best of the park in one day:

*(A quick family picture on the Kilauea Iki Trail.)*

Know Before You Go

There are 5 volcanoes on the Island of Hawaii: Kilauea, Kohala, Hualālai, Mauna Kea, and Mauna Loa. However, only 2 have been active in recent years – Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Since we were limited to one day in Volcanoes National Park, we opted to explore the Kilauea area.

Plus, it was actively flowing while we were there!

The volcanoes are not always active. So, there’s no guarantee that you’ll see real-life lava (we were so lucky to mark that off our Hawaii Bucket List!). Check the park’s website before you go for eruption status updates.

We stayed in the cabins at Kilauea Military Camp (KMC). So, technically, we spent 3 nights in the park, but only one day exploring it.

(Check out our 4-Day Big Island Road Trip Itinerary to see what else we did on our trip.)

Kilauea Military Camp: Our Stay Inside a Volcano — *(Kilauea Military Camp reception.)*

Steam Vents & Overlook

Our first stop of the morning was the Steam Vents and a Kilauea Overlook, which are right down the road from KMC.

This was a quick stop, as there are 2 steam vents right in the parking lot. Steam vents form when groundwater seeps down into rocks that are superheated by magma. The rocks are so hot that they vaporize that water, and it returns to the surface as steam.

*(Her glasses quickly got fogged up by the steam vent.)*

If you only have one day in Volcanoes National Park, stop and see the steam vents. — *(The steam vents just look like normal rocky holes from the top.)*

From the surface, the steam vents look like pretty normal deep rocky holes in the ground. However, they are billowing steam that smells slightly sulfuric. You can feel the heat emanating from them when you stand near them, but it’s not dangerously hot (at least these weren’t).

After a quick look at the steam vents, we took a short walk back to the overlook. The caldera was smoking this morning, but it had a small eruption and lava flow the next day!

*(Don’t miss the short walk back to the lookout.)*

How to spend one day in Volcanoes National Park: take pictures of the smoking Kilauea caldera. — *(It has terrific views of the Kilauea caldera.)*

*(You’ll definitely want some pictures in front of the smoking volcano!)*

*(This is what the glow looked like at nighttime – from my iPhone.)*

Thurston Lava Tube

After leaving the steam vents, we headed to the Thurston Lava Tube and Kilauea Iki Trail.

There is limited parking at the lava tube. However, we knew that we would be hiking the Kilauea Iki Trail. So, we parked in the overlook/trailhead parking lot and made the easy walk over to the Thurston Lava Tube from there.

It’s easy to connect the Thurston Lava Tube and make it part of your Iki Trail hike, since the hike is a loop anyway. It’s much easier than trying to find parking in two different lots, and it barely adds any length to your hike.

A lava tube is a natural tunnel formed by low-viscosity lava flows. There are several lava tubes across the state (so far, we’ve only found one on Oahu), but this one is probably the most photographed. I was excited to see that the entrance of the lava tube looks just as lush and mysterious as its pictures online.

How to spend one day in Volcanoes National Park. — *(The walk to the lava tube is full of great views of the crater!)*

If you only have one day in Volcanoes National Park - make sure to visit the Thurston Lava Tube. — *(The entrance to the Thurston Lava Tube.)*

You walk all the way through this lava tube and come out to a set of stairs on the other side. There are lights along the way, but it is still pretty dark. You may want to use a flashlight or open the one on your phone to make sure you don’t trip.

A stroll through the Thurston Lava Tube is a must if you only have one day in Volcanoes National Park.

Inside the lava tube. — *(It’s a little dark inside, but the lights help.)*

How to spend one day in Volcanoes National Park: the exit of the Thurston Lava Tube. — *(The exit of the Thurston Lava Tube.)*

Kilauea Iki Trail

I did a lot of research before planning our Big Island road trip and one of the blog posts that I read said that if you only do one hike in the park, make it the Kilauea Iki Trail. And I am inclined to agree!

This trail descends more than 400 feet through a flourishing rainforest down to the floor of the Kilauea Iki crater. Guided by cairns (stacked rocks), you walk across the solidified lava lake to the other side of the crater, then back up through the jungle on the other side.

One day in Volcanoes National Park: switchbacks on the Kilauea Iki Trail. — *(So many switchbacks on the trail down to the crater floor.)*

Cairns marking the path of the Kilauea Iki Trail. — *(Cairns marking the path across the Kilauea Iki crater.)*

The ascent back up the lush crater wall is tiring, as it is full of stairs. However, the dense green foliage is a welcoming sight after the long, hot walk across the nearly barren crater.

Round-trip, this hike on its own is 3.3 miles. When combined with the lava tube, it’s about 4 miles. I highly recommend this hike. It is stunning and everything you expect a visit to a volcano to be!

(For more info about the hike, check out this post: Short on Time? The Kilauea Iki Trail is the Ultimate Volcano Hike.)

How to spend one day in Volcanoes National Park: hike the Kilauea Iki Trail across a volcanic crater. — *(It’s so cool to see the plants growing up through all of that lava!)*

Stairs on a trail inside Volcanoes National Park. — *(The stairs on the way back out of the crater were exhausting.)*

Lunch

We were hungry after our hike, so we headed back to KMC for lunch at the Crater Rim Cafe. However, they are not open for lunch. So, we opted for lunch at the bowling alley’s 10-Pin Grill instead.

Though lodging is only available to active and retired service members, everyone is welcome to enjoy a meal and explore the grounds of KMC.

Chain of Craters Road

Once we were fed and rested, Heff and I took a drive down Chain of Craters Road. (The girls were tired and stayed at the cabin.) This 19-mile road winds through the East Rift and coastal areas of the park, descending more than 3700 feet.

If you only have one day in Volcanoes National Park, I highly recommend this drive.

*(The beginning of Chain of Craters Road.)*

Crater Overlooks

Chain of Craters Road was named for the group of craters that it takes you by. There are paths and road offshoots you can explore or pull-offs and overlooks where you can get out and take a few pictures.

It was raining on us during this portion of the road, so we only made one stop at a lava flow. However, some of the craters are huge and would be fun to see in better weather.

*(I can only imagine how difficult it was to build this road in all of these lava flows!)*

Pu’uloa Petroglyphs

There are not many petroglyphs on Oahu. (In fact, we’ve only found one site!) So, we didn’t want to miss the chance to see thousands of them in one area!

The Pu’uloa Petroglyphs Trail is a 1.4-mile (round-trip) walk across a lava field to one of the most extensive petroglyph fields in the state. There are over 23,000 petroglyphs here! Many of which are cup-like depressions meant to hold the umbilical cords of babies born to the Native Hawaiian people who lived in the area long ago.

Many of the petroglyphs are viewable from a boardwalk at the end of the trail. However, you can spot several of them before you reach the boardwalk if you’re paying attention.

How to Spend One Day in Volcanoes National Park: Hike the Pu'uloa Petroglyphs trail. — *(Beginning of the petroglyphs trail.)*

If you only have one day in Volcanoes National Park, make sure you check out the petroglyphs. — *(We saw SO MANY petroglyphs!)*

*(All of these little round holes are petroglyphs made for umbilical cords.)*

Holei Sea Arch

At the end of Chain of Craters Road is the Holei Sea Arch. It’s a short walk from the parking lot to the sea arch viewing area.

Sea arches are temporary structures created when lava flows into the ocean, creating sea cliffs. The force of the water and waves erodes and fractures the cliffs, creating sea caves and eventually sea arches.

As sturdy as they may seem, these sea arches continue to erode. The bridge will eventually collapse, leaving behind a pile of rocks known as a sea stack.

*(It’s a short walk to the sea arch viewing area.)*

*(The whole coast is made of lava as you can see on the trail to the sea arch.)*

How to spend one day in Volcanoes National Park: see the Holei Sea Arch. — *(I could sit here and watch the waves crash against the rocks all day.)*

We ended our day with dinner at Crater Rim Cafe and a walk down to the overlook to see the glow of the Kilauea crater at night.

Spending one day in Volcanoes National Park was an experience we’ll never forget! It’s an incredible place, and I’m so glad we were able to mark it off our Hawaii Bucket List.

If you only have one day in Volcanoes National Park, add the steam vents, lava tube, Kilauea Iki Trail, and Chain of Craters Road to your itinerary. You won’t be disappointed!