Visiting Hawaiian Volcanoes

When visiting Hawaii, tourists often visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It is not often that individuals get to see active volcanoes up close and personal, so it can be a dangerous thrill to go and visit while on vacation. There are different ways to explore the Hawaiian volcanoes in the park. There are some visitors that want to see what they can by car in a short amount of time. There are others that want a more personal view and will explore by hiking or biking in the park. Others will go to places where they can camp and spend more time exploring over the course of several days, and still others that will participate in different lava viewings and ranger programs that the park offers.

Time Constraints

Whenever visiting the Hawaiian volcanoes, it is a good idea to check the website for the park to see if there are any closings due to hazardous fumes or eruptions. A tourist with a short amount of time does not want to plan on visiting one place and then find that it is closed and have to see if he can reroute to another part of the park.

If a person only has a few hours to visit the Hawaiian volcanoes, there are ways to do a drive through the park to see some of the sites. One of these is the Crater Rim Drive, which gives individuals an opportunity to go for eleven miles through the summit of the volcano. One caution with this drive is that it can be closed during certain times when there is volcanic activity going on. However, when it is open, individuals are able to see much of the summit, the rain forest and also opportunities to stop and take short walks through the scenery as well.

If the person has a little more time to cruise through the park they can take the road that goes by the East Rift of the Hawaiian volcanoes. This road goes by the coast line of the region and explores twenty miles of the Chain of Craters road. This road also has to be checked for accessibility since there are active lava flows in the area which mean that the landscape is always different when tourists visit, but also that parts of the road may close at times for safety reasons. One precaution on this road is to fuel up, not only the car but also with any water or snacks that the tourists require since there are not any stops to get these things along the course of the road.

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