It is a great way to both see and experience the park. The character of the park is best discovered on foot. There are over 150 miles of trails in the park. Hike the park trails to experience the park's essence and to gain an understanding of the natural and cultural history of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes.
Day hikes as well as backcountry trips of several days duration are available.
If you only have a single day, explore Kilauea's summit trails. Highly recommended is the Kilauea Iki trail, a four mile, two hour hike, descending 400 feet through native rainforest into a crater, and across lava flows still steaming from the 1959 eruption. Thurston Lava Tube 0.3 mile Easy 20-minute walk through a tree fern forest and prehistoric lava tube. Challenging Two to three hour hike descending 400 feet through rainforest, across the crater floor, pass Pu'u Pua'i cinder cone, and return via the crater's rim. Moderate Three hour roundtrip hike over 1973 - 1974 lava flows to the top of a 150 foot prehistoric cinder cone.