As long as volcanic activity continues to subside, more areas of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park should be open to the public by September 22/USGS

Barring any major impacts from Hurriane Lane or the Kīlauea Volcano, officials at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park hope to reopen more areas of their park by September 22, National Public Lands Day.

Exact details of what will be open are pending, but visitors should expect limited hours, limited visitor services, and that only some areas in the park will be open for safe visitation. Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando shared the news at a community Talk Story event Tuesday afternoon in Volcano, at the Volcano Art Center’s Niaulani Campus. Nearly 125 people attended.  

“We have the difficult task ahead of us of identifying what we can safely open. Our first step will be bringing staff back into the park, while getting assessments done,” Superintendent Orlando said. “National Public Lands Day is our goal but not definitive."

The theme for this year’s National Public Lands Day, a fee-free day when outdoor enthusiasts turn out to give back and enjoy their favorite outdoor places, is Resilience & Restoration.

Superintendent Orlando and other park staff are reaching out to the community in a series of Talk Story meetings to get feedback on the direction the park should take once it reopens. Park congestion and “pressing the reset button” to examine if the park should return to serving more than two million visitors a year is one of the most passionate topics to arise.

Most of the park, except the Kahuku Unit, has been closed due to increased volcanic and seismic activity since May 11. No significant seismic or collapse-explosion events have occurred at the summit since early August.