Established August 1, 1961

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park was originally established along with Haleakalā National Park as “Hawai‘i National Park” in 1916, the year the National Park Service was created. In 1961, the two parks became independent. Here within the more than 330,000 vast acres of designated parklands you can find two of the world’s most active volcanoes—Mauna Loa and Kīlauea—as well as tiny nananana makakiʻi (happyface spiders), carnivorous caterpillars, exquisite ʻapapane (an endemic honeycreeper), towering hapuʻu fern forests, and the nesting beaches of critically endangered honuʻea (hawksbill sea turtles). Many of the park’s species are listed as rare, protected or endangered. Kīlauea’s summit area is accessible by car. The Kīlauea Visitor Center just inside the park entrance is open every day, offering interpretive programs, museum exhibits, a park film, reference materials, and guided walks. A Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association park store in the visitor center showcases books, photography, maps, apparel, and more.

Cultural sites, representing six centuries of habitation by Native Hawaiians, are also special features of the park. Some of those features are historic foot trails, petroglyph fields, once-inhabited lava tube caves, and even the preserved footsteps of people traversing the Ka‘ū Desert, caught in deadly ash fall in the late 1700s. Coastal fishing villages once dotted the hot, dry coastline. Their ruins can still be seen along the coastal trails between remote campgrounds. The summit of Kīlauea is still visited by hula hālau (schools) who come to pay tribute to Pele, the volcano deity who dwells at Halemaʻumʻau crater.

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Here within the more than 330,000 vast acres of designated parklands you can find two of the world’s most active volcanoes—Mauna Loa and Kīlauea—as well as tiny nananana makakiʻi (happyface spiders), carnivorous caterpillars, exquisite ʻapapane (an endemic honeycreeper), towering hapuʻu fern forests, and the nesting beaches of critically endangered honu ʻea (Hawksbill sea turtles). Many of the park’s species are listed as rare, protected or endangered. Kīlauea volcano has been erupting nearly continuously since 1983, affording the opportunity to witness the creation of the newest land on earth.

The 116,000-acre Kahuku unit of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is a former cattle ranch astride a once-active eruption site on the slope of Mauna Loa volcano. The striking landscape offers both physical reminders of the ranching history and remnants of the original forests. The park is working to restore the specific plants and animals of pre-ranching Kahuku. The park offers guided hikes, and HPPA partners with the park on ʻIke Hana Noʻeau cultural demonstrations that are free to all. Guided hikes include: People and Land of Kahuku, Palm Trail, 'Ōhi'a Lehua, Pu'u o Lokuana, Hi'iaka & Pele.