A Trip to Mordor: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

After a gorgeous drive around the southern rim of the island (See Black Sand, Sea Turtles, and Soda Bread), we were ready to stretch our legs and explore the only actively erupting volcano in all of the United States. We were at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, set on the summit of Kilauea Volcano at a misty 4,000 feet above sea level. We could see Mauna Loa, another active (but not erupting) volcano on the Big Island) stretched out above us, peaking in and out of the clouds. There was a surprisingly lush rainforest in the park, despite the rocky soil, magma-heated earth, volcanic gases and ash.

It cost us $10 to get into the park (priced per vehicle for a week pass). The visitors center had rangers on hand to give advice on conditions, what trails were open, and what you could see and do in the park that day. Since the volcanic activity makes conditions at the park a bit unpredictable, it is smart to check in with the rangers to see if any areas are off-limits. With the rain coming down, we decided not to do the 4 mile Kilauea Iki Trail that would have taken us down into the steaming crater. Instead, we checked out the steam vents and sulfur banks.

Steam Vents

Steam rolling into Kilauea Caldera

We didn’t need the sign to tell us we had arrived at the steam vents. The rain we’d been hit with meant that the steam vents were in full force as rainwater trickled down onto the hot rocks below and then came spewing out of cracks in the earth as big puffs of steam that were whipped away by the wind. From the parking lot we walked to the viewpoint along a gravel path through a meadow full of small wild orchids.

Meadow full of wild orchids

Kilauea Caldera with Halema’uma’u Crater smoking in the distance

Steam rolled off the cliff on either side of us as we looked out onto a barren volcanic landscape  and Halema’uma’u Crater smoking in the distance. Halema’uma’u Crater was formed when the crater floor collapsed, revealing a lava lake below. Now it smokes continuously and at night you can see the magma glowing below.

Sulfur Banks

Across the road from the parking lot, the sulfur banks trail took us into a bizzarre dinosaur land of steaming earth crevices, miniature tropical plants, and bright orange, yellow, and white crystal-covered patches of earth. The bright colors are an effect of the volcanic gases coming up through the cracks that extend down to the magma layer. The ground in this part of the park, even just a few feet down, is very hot, which limits root growth of the plants, stunting the ferns and red-flowered Ohia trees surrounding us. We were careful to stay on the trail here. One step into one of those cracks could have left us seriously scalded!

Sulfur Banks

Sulfur Banks Trail

Sulfur Banks Trail

Sulfur Banks

Steam vents along Sulfur Banks Trail

Sulfur Banks Trail

Accessibility Note: The steam vents viewpoint and the trail from the steam vents to the sulfur banks are wheelchair accessible and less than a mile long. To get back, don’t do the loop, just head back the way you came (1.2 miles roundtrip). It can get kind of stinky here, due to the sulfur gases, so if you have a respiratory or heart condition, stay away from the sulfur banks area. All I noticed was a mild headache.

After the sulfur banks, we were ready for some dinner, so we decided to check out the local Thai restaurant in Volcano, aptly named Thai Thai. The food was pretty good, and there were lots of locals (including the park rangers we had talked to earlier) that packed the place full.  The Thai basil eggplant stir fry was incredible! Fueled and ready to go, we drove back to the park before the sun set so we could see Halema’uma’u Crater from the best viewpoint – outside the Jaggar Museum.

Halema’uma’u Crater

Although we weren’t there to see the sunset, we were immediately struck by the beautiful the sunset over Mauna Loa behind us.

Mauna Loa sunset from Jaggar Museum

I ran off to snap a few pictures and joined the group at the crater viewpoint to see the last bit of daylight shine on the crater. I was fine with that, because I wasn’t there to see the crater by day – I wanted to see it at night! Halema’uma’u Crater is a crater within a crater, and inside the inner pit is a hot lava lake that makes the entire crater glow at night. When I got there, it was just starting to light up a bit, so I staked out a good spot, set up my Joby gorillapod tripod and waited.

Halema’uma’u Crater starting to glow

The rest of my family went into the Jaggar museum, which had lots of fun and interesting displays on how scientists monitor the volcanic activity, and was a good place to pass the time until it got dark enough to see the glow. By about 8pm the crater was spewing smoke and glowing in full force. It looked like a constant stream of fireballs were bubbling out of the earth. I had a strong urge to hike out there and toss a gold ring into the lava, but I tapped into reason and kept snapping photos instead. Sitting there watching it fume made me realize how incredibly powerful the earth is and how hostile an environment it could be. It is an experience I will never forget.

Halema’uma’u Crater glowing at night