Big Island National Parks

February 8-10, 2019 | Brian & Vanessa

We were able to visit 3 of 4 National Parks located on the Big Island:

* Covered under the Tri-Pass.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

February 10, 2019 | Brian & Vanessa
For this visit, we mainly drove through the Chain of Craters Road.

Prior to starting on the Chain of Craters Road, there is a series of craters to learn about first, which then led us to the Chain of Craters Road. We were so amazed by the different terrain we saw, that we had to pull over to capture. It was so interesting to see how the aftermath from volcanic eruption evolved overtime.

Walking Beyond Chain of Craters Road

Brian was very adamant about finding this specific road:

Can you spot him?

I have to admit, this was pretty cool and scary, to think that this can happen while driving! This was actually off the Chain of Craters Road, but because we thought it was the end, we ended up hiking 4 miles in the blazing afternoon sun with no shade. Luckily, the photos we got on this 4-mile journey was well worth it!

After walking for 2 miles, with no shade – we have unpaved roads as well.
Quite worth it to have the whole area to ourselves to explore the different formation, textures, and colors of these volcanic or extrusive igneous rock.

After about 4 hours of driving, walking, and exploring – we were so exhausted. And it was probably because we were in the blazing sun all day, that we forwent any hikes on our way back.

Taking a break on the bench, before heading back to our car.

The drive was definitely leisure and much appreciated (especially with AC!), but we felt like we also missed some historic aspects of this national park. So next time around, we would definitely love to come back and do some hikes and explore them!

Pu`ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site

February 9, 2019 | Brian & Vanessa

Distance
0.9 miles

Elevation Gain
95 feet

Route Type
Out & Back

This historic site felt very much like a walk around a park. At the entrance, there is some interactivity and reading materials to set things in perspective. The spears and rocks for visitors to touch, lift, and get a feel of how strong people were back then was a good experience – and man, they were strong!

Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park

February 8, 2019 | Brian & Vanessa

Distance
1.5 miles

Elevation Gain
36 feet

Route Type
Loop

A short, quiet walk around this historic site with some amazing structures and sculptures – they even had sculptures tucked in between rocks and water! The paths wasn’t really paved, but was mellow and clear to follow. And so we opted to be a little adventurous, and did a short climb around a manmade boulder to get a clear horizon of the sunsetting, which was amazing!