Blog

Looking for a fresh way to move your body and recharge your mind? Step outside. The national parks of Hawaiʻi and American Samoa offer some of the most inspiring “workout spaces” on Earth. Whether you’re easing into a new routine or pushing your limits, there’s a trail, shoreline, or scenic stretch that meets you where you are.

We thought about some ways to get outside and move, in whatever way works for you. Fresh air, new places to discover, birds and wildlife, sweeping views, and varied terrain make every national park outing a win for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Here are eight options for easy, moderate, and more strenuous adventures. Bring a hat, sun shirt, full water bottle, snacks, a fully charged phone, and your enthusiasm!

Easy: Gentle movement, big rewards

1. Crater Rim Trail stroll

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park


Take a relaxed walk along portions of Crater Rim Trail. You’ll pass through native Hawaiian forest, marvel at steamy ground vents, and catch views of volcanic landscapes shaped over time. You might even get lucky and be in the park during a summit eruption of Kīlauea Volcano! It’s a perfect trail for a low-impact outing with plenty to take in. Birdwatch for native birds like the ʻapapane, too!
2. Coastal meander

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park


Varied, sunlit trails wind past ancient Hawaiian fishponds and along the shoreline. This trail varies from beach sand to flat rocks to volcanic gravel, and travels in and out of the shade of palm and beach heliotrope trees. Walk at your own pace, watch for honu (green sea turtles) grazing on algae in the shallows (never approach), and enjoy the many moods of the Pacific Ocean.
3. Scenic overlooks and short walks

Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park


Explore short sandy paths and trails through historic royal grounds, the prettiest picnic area you may have ever seen, and along the dramatic coast. This is a great option for a mindful walk, where Hawaiian cultural history and natural beauty go hand in hand. The whalewatching from here in the winter months can be excellent.
 
Moderate: Build strength and endurance

4. Kīlauea Iki Trail loop

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park


Descend through rainforest and birdsong to a solidified lava lake (from a 1959 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano), then climb back up. The varied terrain keeps your body engaged while the scenery keeps your imagination inspired. Be amazed by young ferns growing out of lava cracks all around you.
5. Ala Kahakai coastal hike

Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail


This long-distance trail traverses four national park sites on Hawaiʻi Island and offers flexible sections for a moderate outing. Choose a different starting point or park every day! Walk across lava fields and along sandy stretches by the ocean while tracing historic Hawaiian coastal routes.
6. Pola Island views and village paths

National Park of American Samoa


Gentle elevation changes and dreamlike, lush surroundings make this a satisfying way to get moving. Enjoy village-to-coast routes with iconic island views. Check routes and rules with the national park, and be sure to understand best cultural practices in this amazing national park that houses Samoan communities.
 
Strenuous: push yourself in unforgettable settings

7. Mauna Loa Volcano summit trek
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park


For experienced hikers only, this high-elevation journey offers a true endurance challenge. Be ready for direct high elevation sun, the potentional for high winds, and even snow. The climb is long and exposed, but the sense of scale and solitude on this massive volcano is unmatched. Register with the park backcountry office so that folks know were you are, in case of emergency. Mauna Loa is still an active volcano, and weather changes up here can be rapid and serious.
8. Mount ʻAlava Trail

National Park of American Samoa

A steady uphill climb through tropical forest works your lower body and rewards you with sweeping, incredible views of the ocean and Tutuila Island. Expect humidity or even rain, elevation gain, and a serious cardio workout. Look for colonies of roosting, snoozing fruit bats during the day in forest trees, and watch seabirds riding the wind at eye level once you summit the trail.

Move your way

Your “national park workout” doesn’t have to look a certain way. Walk, hike, stretch, breathe deeply, swim, or simply slow down and take it all in. The goal is to support your well-being while connecting with places that matter: our incredible, irreplaceable, national parks.

When you visit these parks, you can also actively support their futures. Purchases at visitor park stores and donations help support critical programs that protect wildlife, preserve cultural sites, tell the stories of these uniquely American places, and keep these landscapes and experiences accessible for generations to come.

So lace up your shoes, double-check your gear, and head outside. Your beautiful gym is waiting.

Find an assortment of national parks maps and guides here.

Check out the National Park of American Samoa online here.

Follow Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park on Facebook here.

Hi! Iʻm Chuck Danilowski, and I am the Custom Project Management Specialist for Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association (HPPA). I ensure that any custom-made products that you purchase in our national park visitor center stores or online shop move efficiently through the Creative Services Department from initial design concept to final finished product on park store shelves. Our national park partners, and the stores we run within them, are located in Hawaiʻi and American Samoa.
 
I recently attended the Public Lands Alliance (PLA) Annual Convention & Trade Show in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Public Lands Alliance is a national organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of America’s public lands through its mission to connect, strengthen, and represent the nonprofit organizations that support these treasured places. HPPA is a member of PLA.
 
It was my first time attending this amazing gathering of like-minded professionals. There were informative and eye-opening educational sessions, a two-day trade show with vendors from across the U.S., a silent auction, and the chance to network with people I had only known through emails or phone calls. It was a time to put faces with names, and to browse product offerings that we may bring into our visitor center park stores to teach, inform, and connect to a lasting memory in someone’s mind of their national park experience. 
 
The theme of the conference was Power of Place: the ways cultural and natural landscapes shape, strengthen, and inspire us. Many session speakers spoke about looking forward while remembering where we came from...but also pushing toward the future in partnership with each other and our shared love of national parks. That was my overwhelming takeaway: Relying on public lands partnerships will see us through any challenge, and can be a way to bring about change in a challenging world and environment. 
 
I also connected with product vendors. Our goal at HPPA is to be innovators in products that connect visitors to our national park partners through a feeling they had, a site they viewed, a trail they walked, a cultural experience they had, or a native species they learned about. As a self-described “hat geek,” I met with one vendor who illustrates stunning panoramic park landscapes and translates them to embroidered hats. I imagine someone noticing that unique hat and potentially being reminded of an amazing sunrise over Sliding Sands Trail at Haleakalā National Park, or the fountaining volcano at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
 
During the trade show, I met someone who had recently traveled to Hawaiʻi Island in the hopes of seeing Kīlauea Volcano erupt. I couldn't help but be transported with him as he described seeing a summit eruption grow from tiny lava trickles to 1,000-foot fountains, and the awe he felt with the eruption roar so close to him. He hiked trails, birdwatched, and photographed native forest birds (and showed us the pictures!) Whenever I passed him during the rest of the trade show, I saw his face lighting up as he told his story to others. His daughter had taken home an HPPA-designed custom nēnē (Hawaiian goose) plush to commemorate the trip and seeing those wonderful geese in the park, in person.
 
Attending a conference like this drives home, for me, what all of us at HPPA strive for: to inspire stewardship and connection to our extraordinary national park partners. Our sales proceeds are donated to these parks to help support endangered wildlife programs, school programs, community outreach projects, and much more. The nēnē plush that a family purchases at our visitor center park store helps protect native species, and reminds visitors of their park experience—and of the aloha behind everything we strive to do.

Our curated collection for our national park partners is here.

Learn more about PLA.

Connect to our history.

It’s easy to think they’ve always been here. You walk into a visitor center in a national park and there’s the store. Shelves of books you won’t find anywhere else. Locally made art. Field guides. A child picking out her first patch, plush, or postcard. It feels like part of the park itself. But these stores didn’t just appear. They grew out of a mission to help people connect more deeply to the places they were visiting.

Back in 1916, the National Park Service was established to care for a small but growing group of parks, including Hawaiʻi National Park which, at that time, included both Maui and Hawaiʻi Island acreage. As more people began visiting these new public lands across the nation, they wanted more than just a quick look. They wanted to understand what they were seeing—the wild landscapes, the history of the people there, the stories of the past and ideas about the future. National park staff were overwhelmed by the tides of visitors exploring "America's Best Idea", and couldn’t manage it all alone. In 1920, the Yosemite Museum Association was founded and stepped in to help. They began offering books and educational materials to visitors, creating a new kind of partnership, one that focused on education, connection, and support.

Read more: Carrying the Story Home: From Books to Belonging, How National Park Stores Came to Be

If you plan to visit the National Park of American Samoa, you may meet HPPA's Melekuini in the fascinating visitor center and park store. This U.S. national park in the South Pacific is remote, but it is visited by cruise ships all year long, as well as dedicated independent travelers. HPPA loves to tell the story of this incredible place, our partner, through the products we sell and the park programs and projects we help fund with those proceeds. You may pick up a fun fruit bat shirt or a coconut crab puzzle kit, and while you're there, you may meet this remarkable person. Here is her story.

*

I started working for the Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association at the National Park of American Samoa on September 19, 2025. Before that, my journey in the park first began when I became a KUPU conservation intern with the National Park Service. At first I worked in trail maintenance, caring for our native plants and spending long days out in the forest. That experience really deepened my love and respect for the land. Later, I transitioned into park interpretation, where I was able to connect with visitors and share what makes this place so special. I later interned with the American Conservation Experience, where I gained even more skills and helped lead the dendrology program. During my term, I earned certifications in Oxygen Use, Emergency First Response, CMS, and FEMA. Those opportunities strengthened both my skills and my confidence. Altogether, these experiences helped me realize that I wanted to continue working in a national park, protecting the environment while sharing knowledge and Samoan culture with others.

Read more: Meet Melekuini: Rooted in Culture at the National Park of American Samoa

If your 2026 plans include visiting our national park partners in Hawaiʻi, lace up your hiking shoes and get ready to wander. From cool, fern-shaded forests to sandy footpaths tracing lava rock coastlines, national park trails in Hawaiʻi offer something for every pace and interest. With routes ranging from short and gentle to long and rugged, inspiration is never far away. And our park stores carry maps and guides to help you find your way.

Read more: Hiking Hawaiʻi Is a Walk in the (National) Park

National Park Service (NPS) Ranger Jon Jokiel recently retired from Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park on Hawaiʻi Island, one of three national parks on the west coast of the island that interpret, protect, and preserve Hawaiian sites, culture, and values. We asked him to reflect a bit on his career and on his thoughts about how the park's long partnership with HPPA helped to support the important work of this national historical park. HPPA runs the visitor center park store and also supplies direct aid to the park for programs and projects.

*

I grew up in the community of Kaneohe on the island of Oʻahu. My father was a marine biologist and he helped start the University of Hawaiʻi Marine Lab on Coconut Island, so during my childhood I was in the ocean a lot of the time. I was surfing, swimming, diving, and playing with my brothers. I did not think I would specifically be a park ranger someday, but I think I knew I would do something related to protecting and working in an outdoor environment. Then I moved to the Pacific Northwest as an adult and really immersed myself in the outdoors—hiking and exploring the North Cascades and Olympic Mountains. Seeing NPS park rangers out there on the trails really appealed to me, and I admired the work they did helping others protect and interpret the environment.

Read more: Guiding Hands and Lasting Memories: Retired NPS Ranger Jon Jokiel on the Power of Park Programs...

Every holiday season, our online shop hub (based inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park) becomes a flurry of activity as people across Hawaiʻi, the U.S., and beyond choose gifts that support the national parks of Hawaiʻi and American Samoa. And behind each order is a real person who cares deeply about where your purchase goes and what it supports. Hi! I’m Kiry Galapir, and I’ve been part of Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association since 2007, joining the HPPA ʻohana just before an eruption of Kīlauea Volcano! Today, I manage the lively world of online orders and our commitment to sustainable packing. When you place an online order, I am the one who makes sure you get your package.

Here’s a peek at how your holiday national parks gifts and other purchases make their way from our warehouse on Hawaiʻi Island to your doorstep:

• Coffee First

Every good packing day begins with a cup of coffee—fuel for the season’s steady stream of thoughtful shoppers.

Read more: Where Gifts Give Back: Behind the Scenes at HPPA’s Online Shop

It’s always fun to talk about bats in October. Here at HPPA, where we love bats, we like to call them “sky puppies”!

Our six partner national park sites in Hawaiʻi are all places where you can try to catch a glimpse of the cute little fuzzball known as the Hawaiian hoary bat. “Hoary” means frosted, like “hoarfrost”, and here it describes a mature bat whose deep, glossy, brown fur is tipped with white. These bats can also have a tan collar and ears, with fancy black ear tips. Their Hawaiian name is ʻōpeʻapeʻa (oh pay uh pay uh) and they are pretty small—only 24 grams when fully grown. That is about the same weight as a AA battery. Their little wingspans max out at just about a foot wide. Small bats like this are called “microbats”.

Because of the difficulty of reaching these remote islands for just about any animal, the ʻōpeʻapeʻa is the only native land mammal in Hawaiʻi, and listed as an endangered species. Most scientists say that it is closely related to the North American hoary bat, and arrived in the islands a ~10,000 years ago, probably pulled along by the winds of a huge storm or series of storms.

Read more: Going To Bat for Bats