January is my favorite month to nerd out on Hawaiʻi’s volcanoes, and not just because of what Kīlauea has been doing. In January 2026, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and its partners ran the 17th annual Volcano Awareness Month. It offered free science talks, along with guided walks and talk-story tables around the Island of Hawaiʻi. The documented 2026 program gives visitors a useful reference point while they wait to see whether a 2027 calendar appears.

I’m writing about it in late August because an early-2027 Big Island trip needs some lead time. A program like 2026’s puts you in the room with people who monitor Kīlauea for a living and lets you ask direct questions. That makes for a different visit than driving the crater rim and reading interpretive signs.

This guide covers what the 2026 month looked like, how the current eruption fits in, and how to build a January trip around a possible 2027 program.

The 2026 Volcano Awareness Month program was organized by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory with Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and the County of Hawaiʻi Civil Defense Agency also took part. The program moved volcano science out of the lab and into communities around the island.

The 2026 program gives you a useful picture. HVO staff hosted a table and talk at the Pacific Tsunami Museum in Hilo. They also held Tuesday programs in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. The calendar reached Kailua-Kona and Ocean View, with another event in Waikōloa Village. The park ran ranger-guided summit programs almost daily and offered guided walks at the Kahuku Unit in Kaʻū.

For the announced 2026 park program, events were free, though park entrance fees applied to events inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Check each future listing before you go. Access details and group-size limits can change.

The January 2027 calendar has not been announced. HVO posted the 2026 lineup on December 11, 2025, so start checking the HVO news page late in the year and check again before you travel.

Volcano Awareness Month would be worth planning around in a quiet year. This has not been a quiet year.

Kīlauea’s summit eruption inside Halemaʻumaʻu began in late December 2024 and has unfolded as a long series of numbered episodes. Lava fountains rise during an episode, then the volcano can pause for weeks. By late August 2026, the count had passed 50 episodes. For current trip-planning context, use our where-is-the-lava page alongside USGS updates.

Nobody can promise lava in January 2027. Episodes start and stop on the volcano’s schedule, and USGS forecasts can change fast. As I write this, the summit is paused between episodes. What you can plan around is the crater landscape and, if it is announced, the chance to hear directly from the people studying it. Check the USGS Kīlauea update before you go, and keep our webcams page bookmarked for the live summit view.

The January 2027 schedule is not published yet. These are the formats that appeared in 2026, and they are the items I would look for when the next calendar lands:

Tuesday park programs. HVO had a different public program in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park each Tuesday in January 2026. The first three Tuesdays featured Talk Story sessions. January 27 was Visit the Vault at Volcano House, a limited program about HVO’s monitoring history and instruments. Look for a similar listing in the 2027 calendar, but do not build your trip around Tuesday until the schedule is official.

Lecture-style presentations. The 2026 program included a University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo lecture. Future topics and venues can change, so use the published calendar rather than assuming a particular speaker or series will return.

Guided walks. Rangers and scientists led walks at the Kahuku Unit and around the summit in 2026. The schedule included an ʻōhiʻa lehua hike, plus short interpretive walks. Read each listing closely for the meeting point and access rules.

Community tables. Drop-in events appeared at museums and libraries, along with community venues. Hilo and smaller communities hosted tables, while Kailua-Kona had a library lecture. Watch for these if your trip leans Kona-side and the park is only part of your itinerary.

Give the park two days if you can. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is $30 per vehicle for a 7-day pass ($15 per person on foot or bike), and the entrance station is cashless. The main park is open 24 hours, though emergency closures and access restrictions can change plans. If an eruptive episode is active, darkness can make visible crater glow easier to see when conditions and access allow. Start day one with Crater Rim Drive and its overlooks. Add Nāhuku if time allows. Use day two for a real hike such as Kīlauea Iki, which drops you onto a crater floor that was a lava lake in 1959.

Stay near the summit at least one night. A base near the park makes it far easier to catch an evening event or respond to a change in volcanic activity. Kona-side lodging can turn an evening program into a long return drive. If you choose Volcano Village, our Volcano Village guide covers the area.

Pack for actual weather. Kīlauea’s summit sits around 4,000 feet, where weather can turn rainy and chilly at any time of year. Bring layers and a rain shell. Check trail status before committing to a longer hike.

Price January instead of assuming it is cheap. Rates and availability move from year to year, even after the holiday period. Our best time to visit guide breaks down the month-by-month tradeoffs. January also falls within Hawaiʻi’s humpback season, with peak abundance generally running from January through March. Our whale season guide can help you fit whale watching into the rest of your trip.

If you’d rather not drive it yourself, some listed day tours may include transportation from Kona or Hilo. You can compare Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park tours on Viator. Verify the individual listing’s pickup area and inclusions before booking. A tour will not necessarily sync to a future Volcano Awareness Month calendar, so self-driving is the better fit if the science events are the point.

Two things to hold onto. First, safety: follow the USGS updates and park advisories. Stay behind barriers at overlooks. Take volcanic gas seriously. Vog and sulfur dioxide can create respiratory problems, especially at high concentrations, and wind changes where the gas travels.

Second, culture: Halemaʻumaʻu is Pele’s sacred home in Hawaiian tradition, and Kīlauea is a wahi kapu, a sacred area. Give people space at the crater’s edge. Follow posted guidance and leave rocks where they lie. This is not a landscape to collect from or treat as a backdrop.

Check the HVO news page as January approaches, then build your days around any sessions that fit your route. Hearing the science directly can change how you read this landscape.