We went to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island of Hawaii.

We only had 2 hours, but we were able to visit 6 different locations.

We went to the visitor center, the steam vents, the Kilauea Overlook, the Uekahuna Overlook, the Kilauea Iki Overlook and trail, and the Thurston Lava Tube.

You can see that the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is located on the southeast side of the Big Island of Hawaii. We decided to drive from Kona over to that side of the island to visit some beaches and the National Park. 

As we pulled up, we went through the guard gate and used our National Parks Pass to get in. If you don't have a National Parks pass, you can pay $30 for a 7-day pass.

Our first stop was at the Visitor's Center. They have a store and a map area. We looked at the maps and they had a map with ideas of what to do if you only have 1 to 2 hours.

After looking at the map, this is what we decided to do:

From the Visitor's Center, we headed over to the Steam Vents and overlook.

They had two vents with bars around them, but you could also see natural vents that were smaller all over this area. It was cold and these vents were letting out nice warm air.

Then we headed over to the overlook. This is what it looks like.

Then we got back in our car and drove over to the Kilauea Overlook.

The Kilauea Overlook has a paved walkway and sign to show you where you are in the park and what you're looking at.

Next we got back into our car and drove over to the Uekahuna Overlook. When we got there, we found that the building was closed, but we walked down a short dirt trail and took in the views.

Next we got back into our car and drove over to the south side of the park to hike the half mile Kilauea Iki and Nahuku trail. This trail takes you to the Thurston Lava Tube. The parking lot at the Thurston Lava Tube is small and usually full so we decided that this short hike would be the way to go.

These were the views along the trail.

As we completed the hike, we came out from the trail to the parking lot area for the Thurston Lava Tube. We crossed the street on the crosswalk and saw this sign which points you to the Lava Tube.

We followed the short trail to this sign pointing to the lava tube entrance. We followed it down to a big cave looking entrance with a short bridge to get in.

As we entered the lava tube, it was really dark. They had dim lights along the way so we could navigate our way through.

At the end of the lava tube, there is a staircase to get out. We then followed the trail back to our car and headed out.

Overall, we loved our visit to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. 2 hours wasn't enough time to explore everything so next time we are going to do a full day. We highly recommend visiting this National Park and your next trip to the Big Island of Hawaii.

(Click on the map above to go to a Google Maps larger view.)

We already had a national parks pass so we used that to get in. If you don't have a national parks pass it costs $30 to get in. That gives you a 7-day pass

Total Cost: $30 or National Parks Pass

These are the checklist items I recommend:

• Bring money to get into the park or a national parks pass.
• Bring some drinks and snacks.
• Have a full tank of gas.
• Wear hiking shoes or tennis shoes.
• Bring a sweatshirt or jacket as it gets cold at the high elevation of the volcano.