HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

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We spent an entire day, from sunup to sunset, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, and for good reason. This expansive national park has enough to explore to justify multiple days, and is a truly remarkable place. I always feel that these natural landscapes are best explored on foot, giving the brain enough time to take in its surroundings and feel immersed. And that’s exactly what we did. After parking at the main visitor’s center, we set out on foot hiking the Crater Rim Trail for it’s entire length, catching grand vistas overlooking the steaming volcano crater between gaps in the lush greenery. We followed this trail until we hit Thurston Lava Tube, which we explored inside and out before hiking along the crater floor on the Kilauea Iki Trail and Halemaumau Trail back to the visitor’s center. We stopped for lunch at Volcano House, again, with stunning views over the volcano’s crater. Refueled, we again set out on the Crater Rim Trail, but this time in the opposite direction to the Kilauea Overlook. And after this full day, we came back once more a few days later to drive further into the park along Chain of Craters Road, following it to its terminus at Holei Sea Arch on the coast. Out of all the National Parks I’ve been to, this one certainly takes a place in the top five of my favorites.