Experience
some of the many of the different environments the Park has to
offer. These tours are designed for the Park visitor with limited
time. All of the hike or bike tours take less than 4 hours.
You can hike either the Kilauea Iki Crater or the Pu'u Huluhulu
Trail. The Pu'u O'o Trail is in the center of the Park and passes
through native Ohi'a Forest, across a lava field and climbs to the
summit of Pu'u Huluhulu (means hairy mound in Hawaiian). This is a
cinder cone bypassed by recent lava flows and offers magnificent
views of Pu'u O'o (the current erupting crater), Mauna Ulu Crater
(the previous eruption), and many other spectacular sights. The cone
itself is the site of some very old native vegetation and when you
reach the summit you can look down into the interior of this once
active volcano and out over the surrounding lava fields some 500'
below. It's an easy trail and requires no special skills or endurance.
The
Kilauea Iki Trail passes through native Giant Fern and Ohi'a forest.
This area is also rich in rare birds. Your naturalist guide will
explain about the many different natural plant species and try and
spot an Iwi'i for you. Now we descend 400' on a switchback trail into
the crater. We'll walk across the crater as your guide points out the
many unique geological features which typify this very special place.
At the far side of the crater we climb back out to the Bryon Ledge
Trail which passes through native Ohi'a forest in a much dryer
environment than the giant fern forest trail. The Bryon trail merges
with Devastation Trail where you will see the awesome power of the
volcano close up. The Devastation Trail also offers some of the
finest views of Kilauea Caldera and Mauna Loa Volcano in the Park.
Or you can take a bike trip down the either the Hilina Pali Road (for
anyone who can sit on a bike) or the Escape Road which requires a
little endurance. Click on the rider for the Hilina Pali Road. The
Escape Road begins at Thurston Lava Tube and goes for 9 miles through
Giant Fern Forest in a beautiful setting. The trail then crosses a
lava field near the end where you will see flows from the 1970's.
It's a great ride and along the way we'll stop and walk along a
couple of side trails to see some amazing sights. If you like the
coastline we'll take you down a portion of the Chain of Craters Road
with several stops along this magnificent coast to include the Holei
Sea Arch. When lava is flowing into the sea the large steam plumes
will be visible in the distance for the entire ride.
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