Travel Through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Without Leaving Your Couch On This Virtual Tour
With more than 323,000 acres to explore, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii is the state’s largest national park — and it’s still growing! The park is also home to Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and Mauna Loa, the world’s most massive subaerial volcano, and several stunning geological gems just waiting to be explored. The lava generated by these volcanoes help the island and national park continue to grow year after year.
If you love everything volcanoes, but can’t make it to the Big Island, we can help! Explore this volcanic oasis without ever leaving your home on this epic virtual tour.
Your tour will begin at the entrance to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, where you will learn about the park’s vibrant natural ecosystem unlike any other in the world.
This area is also home to some of the best hiking trails in Hawaii. Even though you’re watching it virtually, you can tell that this is an area that’s a blast to explore on foot, too.
From here, enter a lava tube formed by flowing lava. Use your mouse to explore this captivating cave structure — it’s almost as if you’re experiencing it for yourself!
This 500-year-old lava cave within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a stunning geographic feature formed when a river of lava gradually forms walls and a ceiling. When the lava flow stops, the remaining lava flows downhill, and you are left with a tunnel.
Next, you’ll head to the park’s coastal cliffs, where over the course of the last 30 years alone, more than 500 acres of new land have been added to the island.
This is due to the lava flow from the two very active volcanoes in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii. This is easily one of the best parks in Hawaii, for the active volcanoes alone!
And lava flows aren’t the only cool natural feature you’ll see while exploring.
Pictured above is the famous Holei Sea Arch, which was formed within the last 100 years and is currently 90 feet tall. Cut into the cliff of an ancient lava flow, the Holei Sea Arch has a limited lifespan, and will eventually crumble into the ocean.
And finally, it’s time to head to the heart of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park: Kilauea Caldera, where you can watch flowing lava from above.
The fiery home of one of Hawaii’s most revered gods, Pele, Kilauea is both Hawaii’s youngest shield volcano on land, as well as the most active. It recently experienced one of the most long-lived eruptions known to man, which began in 1983 on the eastern rift zone.
There’s so much more to see and explore than what we told you about on this virtual tour, so what are you waiting for? There’s no need to even put on pants to explore Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on this virtual tour!
Have you ever been to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii? What did you think? Did you see the lava in person? Let us know in the comments below!
Address: Hawai?i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718, USA
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
The OIYS Visitor Center
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii
February 10, 2022
Megan McDonald
How tall are the volcanoes at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park?
The two active volcanoes, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, tower high above sea level on the Big Island all the way to 13,681 feet.
How large is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park?
This huge national park, situated on the largest Hawaiian island, comes in at 335,259 acres, or 523 square miles. To put it in perspective, the island of Oahu is only 597 square miles large. Hawaii is a very large island, and this park is huge! And it’s growing every year, with new lava flows extending the boundary of the park.
Address: Hawai?i Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, HI 96718, USA
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
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With more than 10 years of experience as a professional writer, Megan holds a degree in Mass Media from her home state of Minnesota. After college, she chose to trade in her winter boots for slippahs and moved to the beautiful island of Oahu, where she has been living for more than five years. She lives on the west side but is constantly taking mini-road trips across the island and visits the neighboring islands whenever she can getaway. She loves hiking, snorkeling, locally-grown coffee, and finding the best acai bowl on Oahu.
