You are here

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park Reopens Two Trails And Mauna Loa Road

Share
hawaii, landscape, volcano, national park

A view from Ka‘ū Desert Trail/NPS Photo/Greg Santos

While active volcanoes are the main draw and drivers of the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, they can also damage the site's infrastructure.

Two trails have reopened in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park after being closed last year due to impacts from tens of thousands of earthquakes that also damaged roads, buildings and other park infrastructure. 

A 7.3-mile section of Ka‘ū Desert Trail from Highway 11 to the Ka‘aha Trail intersection is now open, as is the 4.8-mile stretch to the Hilina Pali Overlook. The park also repaired and reopened  a 0.8-mile portion of Halema‘uma‘u Trail that starts at the rainforest summit of Kīlauea near Volcano House, to the steaming caldera floor. 

In addition, recent rainfall has doused the fire risk on Mauna Loa Road, at least for now. The road that leads to the 6,662-foot Mauna Loa Lookout is now open to vehicles. Drivers are reminded to follow all speed limits and watch out for other motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists.   

“We are elated to reopen these sections of the park to our visitors again,” said Acting Superintendent Laura Schuster. “We continue to make progress in our recovery efforts following the historic eruptive and seismic activity that happened last year and caused us to close for more than four months,” she continued. 

Additional assessments and repairs continue at iconic park features that sustained serious damage from the 60,000 earthquakes that shook Kīlauea between April 30 and August 4, 2018. 

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.