This was an interesting time to visit Volcanoes National Park. In my prior trip in 2008, the main caldera did have a small lava lake in its middle but it was hard to see as the lava pool was far below the rim. It also had a live lava flow through a fissure that surfaced near the ocean and proceeded to directly drop into the ocean waters, giving dramatic and explosive views (see the 2008 trip for photos).

In the meantime there have been a lot of activity in the park (see the Britannica link on this page for a good summary). Starting in March 2018, Kilauea (the main volcano within the park) became dramatically active. This included a collapse of one of its side craters and multiple fissures opened up with lava flows destroying property while adding 835 acres of new land to the island. Ultimately, the main Kilauea summit started collapsing. This series of collapses cumulated in the depth of the summit crater going from 85 m [280 ft] to 488 m [1600 ft], with its diameter more than doubling. You can search the NPS site for the 2018 eruption to watch a great video showing the dramatic events.

While we were there the lava lake in the main crater was visible (see the photos with all the steam in the daytime and then the night shots). During the day with binoculars you could faintly detect red lava in some cracks in the crater floor.

The road around the rim is no longer open as some of it collapsed into the crater. If you look carefully at image 2205100045N, just to the right of the center about half way down into the caldera you can see a sloped ledge. Looking closely the old road is crossing across its upper right corner. That is the old road that used to be up on the rim.

For our excursion to the park, we were able to hire a guide for the morning to introduce us to the area and give us information and what we should be looking for. As it turned out, she worked for the University of Hawaii as a volcanologist (what a job) and was around for the 2018 activity. I won’t try to recreate how she described it but, for a volcanologist, it was a dream come true (thankfully with no lives lost). We found out that her husband worked for Volcanoes National Park in a supervisory role - definitely she knew the inside track on what had happened and what could happen going forward. I highly recommend this type of ½ day introduction if you only have 1 day for the park.

The blue line on the map shows where we were able to drive and then a short walk along the rim (after which the road was literally gone). This is were the caldera panoramas were taken.

While we were watching, a helicopter was flying around. Normally they are allowed but with restrictions. This one was breaking the rules and flying down into the massive caldera. Our guide was not happy with that as not only could it be dangerous (which is why it was against the rules), even her research group had not yet been given permission to fly that close to the crater floor. Out came her phone and a quick call to her National Park contacts - suspect (hopefully) that helicopter pilot was in big trouble when they landed.

A close by crater housed the Kilauea Iki Trail which I was able to hike on in my 2008 trip. This time we only viewed it from the top but it was still open and had not changed much since the last visit.

Our guide then took us down through a fern forest to the Nahuku Lava Tube (used to be called Thurston’s). They have lighting in the tube so flashlights are not needed. It is a must visit for anyone in the park.

Back on top, unlike the very wet side of the Island at Hilo, along the caldera rim it is actually a desert with very little rain. One of the neatest plants we saw was the ʻŌhiʻa Lehua Tree which can grow in this desolate rock/lava strewn land. It has the iconic red flowers which are featured a lot in Hawaii art. We also learned that some of the other native trees in this desert are at risk from, if I recall correctly, an invasive fungus - despite the fact that they have evolved to live in occasionally acidic air on tough stone in super dry conditions.

After our guide left us, we headed down the Chain of Craters Road to the coast that follows some old lava flows and, as is obvious by the name, parallels a series of craters along the old lava fissures. In addition to the craters, it was incredible just walking out on the massive lava flows. It is impossible to give a scope of how large the lava fields are unless you experience it yourself. The final picture I have from the road is overlooking the cliff dropping down to the ocean (one of our cars followed the road down the cliff all the way to the shore). It was a sunny day when we were there and there was no active lava in the area. But again if you revisit my 2008 trip, you can see it in an entirely different light around sunset and with steam in the air (the lava flow into the ocean was not far from that point).

Our day ended by eating at the really plush Volcano House restaurant which overlooks the main Kilauea caldera. As it got darker we were able to see faintly in the distance the red glow from the live lava lake. Oh yes, the food and service were an amazing complement to the view and atmosphere.

Our guide from the morning had given us one more tip for great night viewing. Some of us walked a short way along a rim trail from the Volcano House (paralleling the road we were on earlier) and found a great spot for a dramatic view of the active lava lake at night. Not exactly pictures one can get every day (they were not possible on my 2008 trip unless you wanted to book a helicopter).