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  1. Intro

    Intro

    Show transcript
    You're about to drive the rim of Kīlauea, an active volcano where steam rises straight from the ground. The caldera floor resurfaced itself less than ten years ago. Forest grows inside craters from eruptions people still remember. The south rim closed after the 2018 collapse, so we'll do two out-and-backs from the welcome area. Conditions shift. Eruptions happen. Earthquakes move things. Stop at the Welcome Center for today's map of what's open, and ask before you commit to a stop. We'll skip ahead if you hit a barrier. Plan two to three hours minimum, mostly out of the car. Let's go.
  2. 0 min from previous stop · 0.1 mi
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    Volcano Art Center

    1877 wood-frame structure, the SECOND Volcano House on this rim. Built by William H. Lentz to replace the 1866 lodge where Mark Twain stayed (now gone). Sawn off and relocated back from the cliff edge in 1921 when a bigger hotel went up; that bigger hotel burned in 1940, and the current Volcano House across the way is the 1941 Charles William Dickey replacement. Refurbished and converted to Volcano Art Center Gallery in the late 1970s. Sources verified via Wikipedia + volcanoartcenter.org/about/history.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the right in about a quarter mile—the Volcano Art Center, housed in a historic 1877 wood-frame building. Free to look around, and a few minutes inside rewards the visit. Parking lot's small, so grab a spot if you see one.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're standing in front of a wood-frame building from 1877. The floorboards creak under foot, and they carry the footsteps of everyone who came before you. Mark Twain rode up by horseback to see Kīlauea when the original lodge stood here, but that building is long gone. This one replaced it. In 1921 it was sawed apart and moved back from the cliff edge when a bigger hotel took the original site. That hotel burned in 1940. Today this structure houses the Volcano Art Center Gallery and shop, run as a nonprofit with rotating exhibits of Hawaiian artists—paintings, prints, ceramics, woodwork, jewelry responding directly to the volcano and the park. The wooden floors and the quiet here make it the most human stop you'll make today. Volcano House, the current hotel, sits right across the way makai, toward the ocean.

    Full page on Volcano Art Center →

  3. 1 min from previous stop · 0.1 mi
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    Volcano House

    1941 Charles William Dickey building, fourth lodge on this rim. Best easy caldera view from the back lanai. Restrooms, coffee, gift shop. Optional drive-by — doesn't require a long stop.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the left in about a quarter mile—Volcano House, a long lodge right on the caldera rim. Park out front and walk through the lobby to the back lanai for an easy caldera view. Restrooms and coffee inside if you need them.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're standing in front of a low, sprawling building with a wide roof that presses hard against the ground. Charles William Dickey designed a lot of Hawaiʻi's territorial buildings, and this lodge shows his style—the hipped roof, the weight kept down. This is the fourth Volcano House to occupy this rim. The one before it burned in 1940, and this replacement opened in November '41. Walk straight through the lobby to the lanai out back, and you're looking down into Kīlauea Caldera—Kaluapele in Hawaiian. Inside that massive depression sits Halemaʻumaʻu, the active vent where most of the last few decades' eruptions have focused. Depending on what the volcano's doing today, you might catch steam rising, a glow at night, or nothing at all. Three minutes gets you through to the back and out again. Grab coffee, use the restrooms, then head up the road. Sulphur Banks is next.

    Full page on Volcano House →

  4. 3 min from previous stop · 0.5 mi
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    Sulphur Banks

    Boardwalk loop, Haʻakulamanu in Hawaiian. Hot fumaroles, sulfur deposits, hydrogen sulfide smell. NPS warns away pregnant visitors and those with respiratory/cardiac conditions. Wheelchair-accessible boardwalk.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the right in about a quarter mile—Sulphur Banks, or Haʻakulamanu. Short boardwalk loop with active fumaroles and sulfur deposits. Expect the smell of rotten eggs. NPS warns pregnant visitors and those with respiratory or heart conditions to skip it. The boardwalk is wheelchair-accessible.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You'll smell it before you really see it—that rotten-egg sharpness of hydrogen sulfide rising off the ground. That's real volcanic gas venting straight up through the soil at Haʻakulamanu, or Sulphur Banks. The boardwalk here crosses directly over the vents. Where the steam hits the air, sulfur drops out and coats the rocks in pale yellow crystals. You can watch them form if you look closely. What's happening underground matters: rainwater seeps down through cracks, hits hot bedrock a few hundred feet below, flashes to steam, and comes back up loaded with sulfur and other gases. This is one of the easier places to feel that the volcano is something happening, not something that already happened. Stay on the boardwalk—the ground beyond it is fragile. If you're pregnant or have any heart, lung, or breathing condition, the park asks you to skip this one. Otherwise, linger a while, watch the crystals, then head back to the car. Steam Vents is a few minutes up the road.

    Full page on Sulphur Banks →

  5. Currently closed
    1 min from previous stop · 0.4 mi
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    Steam Vents

    Why closed: Past Kilauea Military Camp closure line; tephra fallout from March 2026 eruption.

    Wahinekapu in Hawaiian — "sacred woman," referring to Pele. Roadside pullout, short walk to ground vents. Currently closed (April 2026) — sits past KMC in the closed zone. Authored for post-reopening use.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the left in about a quarter mile—Steam Vents, a roadside pullout where you can take a short walk to see ground actively venting steam. The name Wahinekapu means "sacred woman" in Hawaiian, referring to Pele.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You'll see steam rising straight out of the grass. Rainwater seeps down into hot bedrock, vaporizes, and comes back up. The gas here is clean water vapor, no sulfur like you'd smell at other vents, which means no smell and no crusty mineral deposits. You can stand next to a crack and feel the heat through your shoes. Wahinekapu—the sacred woman—is tied to Pele and the volcano's legend. It's a wahi pana, a legendary place. Treat it with respect, the way you would any sacred ground. The vents have steamed for as long as anyone's watched. This isn't temporary. This is what the ground does here. A short paved path past the parking continues to Steaming Bluff, a caldera-edge overlook about five minutes on foot. You'll see the full crater from there. Take your time here, then walk that path.

    Full page on Steam Vents →

  6. Currently closed
    8 min from previous stop · 1.8 mi
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    Steaming Bluff

    Why closed: Past Kilauea Military Camp closure line; tephra fallout from March 2026 eruption.

    Caldera-edge overlook, accessible from Steam Vents parking by a short rim walk. Currently closed (April 2026) — same closed zone as Steam Vents.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the left in about half a mile—Steaming Bluff, a short rim walk with caldera views. You can also drive to the next pullout for the same view. This area is currently closed.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're standing on the caldera rim, and the floor drops straight away in front of you. Kaluapele — Kīlauea Caldera — spreads out beneath you mauka, toward the mountain, with Halemaʻumaʻu Crater visible to the southwest as a darker ring nested inside it. What you're looking at is essentially a brand-new caldera floor. After the 2018 collapse, Halemaʻumaʻu more than doubled in width and the deepest part dropped over 1,500 feet. Steam rises from the cliff face just below where you're standing; the vents you just saw on the road side run all along this whole edge. The wind on the rim is steady and the view is open. Take your time. Kīlauea Overlook is about a mile up the road.

    Full page on Steaming Bluff →

  7. Currently closed
    Connector · HAVO 12 min drive · 3.3 mi

    Steaming Bluff to Kīlauea Overlook Connector

    Why closed: Both ends of segment are past KMC closure line.

    Show transcript
    You're riding the edge of the caldera now, along an active fault zone. Steam rises straight up through the trees all along here, not just where they've built the pullouts. The ground vents constantly and quietly. You'll see a thin column of white disappear into the forest and realize it's just the earth breathing. The endangered nēnē live in this stretch too—our state bird, with no traffic sense. Keep an eye out for them crossing the road.
  8. Currently closed
    12 min from previous stop · 3.3 mi
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    Kilauea Overlook

    Why closed: Heaviest tephra fallout from the March 10, 2026 eruption. Closed indefinitely while NPS clears debris.

    Main caldera overlook since the 2018 earthquakes condemned the Jaggar Museum. Big paved pullout, viewing platform with interpretive panels. Closest open viewpoint to Halemaʻumaʻu when accessible. Currently closed (April 2026).

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the left in about half a mile—Kīlauea Overlook. This is the main caldera overlook with a big paved pullout and parking lot. You'll see crowds.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're standing at the rim looking straight at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, the active vent inside Kīlauea Caldera, and that wind hitting you right now is real. When the volcano erupts, the lava lake inside is what you're looking at directly. The 2018 earthquakes damaged the old Jaggar Museum and the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, which sat closer to the rim slightly to the south. This new viewing platform with its interpretive panels replaced what the museum used to offer. The late-day light on the caldera wall is some of the best in the park if you came for sunset. Uēkahuna, the highest point on the rim, is just ahead about half a mile. Hold onto hats and sunglasses—the wind can hit hard depending on the day.

    Full page on Kilauea Overlook →

  9. Currently closed
    2 min from previous stop · 0.7 mi
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    Uekahuna

    Why closed: Heavy tephra fallout from March 10, 2026 eruption + ongoing deconstruction and overlook repairs (NPS estimates two-year timeline).

    Highest point on the caldera rim (~4,090 ft). Closed for years after the 2018 collapse damaged the cliff edge; reopened in 2023 with new viewing area and railing; closed again after March 2026 eruption fallout. Cultural significance — wahi pana of Kaluapele, used for Native Hawaiian ritual and cultural practices. End of the open west section when accessible, turnaround point.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up in about half a mile on the mauka side—Uēkahuna, the end of the open road on this side. There's a viewing platform with pull-through parking.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're standing at the highest point on the rim—about 4,090 feet up—and the wind here is real. You can feel the elevation and the scale of the place. This is Uēkahuna, a wahi pana, a legendary place with deep cultural significance to Native Hawaiians. People climbed here for ceremony and practice long before anyone called it a scenic overlook. The caldera spreads beneath you wider than from the lower pullouts—more floor visible, more of the eastern wall, and on clear days Mauna Loa fills the western horizon. This ground matters. This is the turnaround for the west side. Take a minute here. View, wind, perspective. Then head back past Volcano House and the welcome area. The east section of the rim drive picks up from there, and we'll meet you at the next stop.

    Full page on Uekahuna →

  10. Connector · HAVO 10 min drive · 4.1 mi

    Uēkahuna to Kīlauea Iki Connector

    Show transcript
    You're moving along the back of the same caldera now, trading those volcanic blacks for the greens and browns of the surrounding forest. The road traces the rim from this side—a different angle on what you've been watching all morning. Past Volcano House and the welcome area, the east side starts almost right away. That's where Kīlauea Iki sits, the crater that erupted spectacularly in 1959.
  11. 10 min from previous stop · 4.1 mi
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    Kilauea Iki Overlook

    View into Kīlauea Iki Crater, the satellite crater that erupted spectacularly in November-December 1959. Trailhead for the Kīlauea Iki Trail (4-mile loop, descends to crater floor). Crater is roughly a mile long, ~3,000 ft across. Currently open (March 2026 reopening). 1959 eruption details verified via USGS — 17 episodes from Nov 14 to Dec 20, max fountain height 580 m / 1,900 ft on episode 15.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the right in about a quarter mile—Kīlauea Iki Overlook. You get a straight-down view into the crater that erupted in 1959. Big paved pullout, and if you're up for it, the Kīlauea Ili Trail is a 4-mile loop that descends to the crater floor.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're looking into a crater that erupted in late 1959—see that flat black floor down there? That's not old rock. That's a lava lake that hardened in place during seventeen eruptions over thirty-six days. The fountains reached 1,900 feet during the fifteenth episode. Some of that lava is still warm underneath. Kīlauea Iki—Little Kīlauea, toward the mountain—sits off the main caldera, about a mile long and 3,000 feet across. The Kīlauea Iki Trail starts right here and descends to that crater floor on a loop that crosses it. You walk on the actual surface of that 1959 eruption. If you're not hiking, take in the scale and move on. Nāhuku, the Thurston Lava Tube, is just up the road.

    Full page on Kilauea Iki Overlook →

  12. 2 min from previous stop · 0.5 mi
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    Nahuku

    Nāhuku, also known as Thurston Lava Tube. Approachable from Crater Rim Drive East; Escape Road approach from Hwy 11 is currently closed (March 2026 storm/eruption damage). Short loop walk through tropical rainforest to the tube entrance. Tube is roughly 500 years old, ~600 ft long, walkable, lit. Wheelchair accessibility limited.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the right, about a quarter mile — Nāhuku, also known as Thurston Lava Tube. Short walk through rainforest takes you to a roughly 500-year-old tube that's lit and walkable. Heads up: the Escape Road approach from Highway 11 is currently closed, so this is your only way in.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    The air is thick, green, alive. That's the hāpuʻu fern forest wrapping around you, tree ferns twenty feet tall mixed with ʻōhiʻa lehua, their red blossoms bright against the canopy. You're standing on top of an active volcano, and it grew a rainforest. The walk down reaches Nāhuku — Thurston Lava Tube — a hollow tunnel through lava that's roughly five hundred years old. Lava tubes form when the surface of a flow crusts over while molten rock keeps moving underneath. When the eruption stops, it drains out and leaves you this: six hundred feet of walkable passage with electric lights strung through. The floor stays slick from constant drip, and the ceiling drops in places, so watch your head. Native birds move through the fern forest if you stay quiet. Take your time here. The path is short. Coming back up, Devastation Trail is next.

    Full page on Nahuku →

  13. 3 min from previous stop · 1.4 mi
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    Devastation Puu Puai

    Combined stop. Cinder field from the 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption. Puʻu Puaʻi ("gushing hill") is the cone built by those 1,900-foot fountains. Devastation Trail is a 1-mile out-and-back paved walk through the cinder field. Easy, accessible.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up on the right in about a quarter mile: Devastation Trail and Puʻu Puaʻi Overlook. Park here for an easy one-mile paved walk through the cinder field from the 1959 eruption—you'll see Puʻu Puaʻi, the cinder cone built by 1,900-foot lava fountains.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're standing in a cinder field so black it swallows the light. Look around—those bleached tree skeletons jutting from the volcanic ash are the remains of ʻōhiʻa rainforest that stood here until 1959, when Kīlauea Iki erupted with fountains shooting 1,900 feet high. Trade winds carried the hot cinder and ash east for 36 days straight, burying everything. The trees died on impact, still rooted where they fell. Walk the paved Devastation Trail—it's a mile out and back, easy—and watch seedlings, ferns, lichens colonizing the black cinder. Forests rebuild themselves on a scale you can see here. That steep red-black cone makai—toward the ocean—just above the trail, is Puʻu Puaʻi, "gushing hill." It grew entirely during those 36 days of fountaining in 1959. When you're ready to move on, Keanakākoʻi is your next stop.

    Full page on Devastation Puu Puai →

  14. Connector · HAVO 2 min drive · 0.9 mi

    Devastation Trail to Keanakākoʻi Connector

    Show transcript
    The road dips and curves south, leaving the cinder field behind. You're heading into the open south flank of the caldera now. The south rim collapsed in 2018, and that changed things here. The cracks and drops along the rim are real hazards, not something you can ignore. That's why the park has the closure barriers where they do. Watch the road surface on this stretch—the ground is unstable in ways it wasn't before, and the park knows it.
  15. 2 min from previous stop · 0.9 mi
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    Keanakakoi Crater

    Pit crater on the south rim. Name means "the cave in which adzes were made" — references an ancient quarry of dense basalt used for Hawaiian stone tools. Newer overlook, post-2018 view into the active caldera from the south. Reopened to vehicles March 18, 2026 after eruption-related closure.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Keanakākoʻi crater overlook coming up on the right in about half a mile. Pull in for views straight into Kīlauea Caldera from the south. Short walk from the parking area to the rim.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're standing on ground that cracked open in 2018. Feel the fractures under your feet — they run through the basalt here, traces of the collapse that broke the south rim. This is Keanakākoʻi, named for an ancient quarry where Hawaiians carved dense basalt into adzes and tools. The pit crater itself has been here far longer than that. The view from this spot didn't exist before the eruption. The road ran all the way around the caldera, but there was no overlook on the south rim until the 2018 collapse made one. Now you're looking straight north across Kaluapele, Kīlauea Caldera, toward Kīlauea Overlook on the opposite rim — mauka, toward the mountain — two miles across as the crow flies. Much of that caldera floor is fresh ground, less than a decade old in places. Watch how the light moves across the crater. Down the road you'll hit the closure barrier marking the end of the open section.

    Full page on Keanakakoi Crater →

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    Closure Barrier End

    Permanent closure barrier on Crater Rim Drive East — south rim is impassable due to 2018 collapse damage. Pre-2018 the road continued around to connect with Chain of Craters Road at the Devastation/Mauna Ulu junction. That loop is gone.

    Approach Cue (~12-15 sec)
    Show transcript
    Coming up ahead in about half a mile—the end of Crater Rim Drive. There's a closure barrier and a small pullout where you can turn around. Park for a minute, then head back the way you came.
    Arrival Narration (~45-60 sec)
    Show transcript
    You're looking at a steel barrier and a road that just stops. This is the end of Crater Rim Drive East—the pavement past here either doesn't exist anymore or sits on unstable ground. In 2018, the south rim of the caldera collapsed, and the loop that used to connect all the way around to Chain of Craters Road is gone now. The park prioritized safety and the active geology over driving convenience. There's no way forward from here. Head back the way you came—past Keanakākoʻi, Devastation Trail, Nāhuku, and Kīlauea Iki. You'll loop back to Volcano House and the welcome area. If your day still has room, Chain of Craters Road starts just up that way. That's the half-day drive we mentioned at the start.

    Full page on Closure Barrier End →

  17. Outro

    Outro

    Show transcript
    You've now seen what's open on the rim of Kīlauea today. The route changes as the volcano changes. Stops close, stops reopen, nothing's permanent. What you've experienced is the most accessible window into an active volcano caldera anywhere. Steam rising feet from the road. A caldera floor that resurfaced itself less than ten years ago. Forest growing back inside craters from eruptions in living memory. None of this is finished. If you've still got a half-day, Chain of Craters Road takes you down to the sea. If you're done driving, the Volcano House lanai is a good place to sit and watch the caldera in the late afternoon light. Coffee, fresh air, no phone signal worth speaking of. We'll see you next time. The volcano isn't done.

AI-narrated audio voiced by Hoku (feminine) and Honu (masculine). Both are AI narrators, not native Hawaiian speakers. Some pronunciations may land slightly off — mahalo for your patience as we refine.