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Kilauea Iki Trailhead
Leading through lush vegetation and its namesake crater, Kilauea Iki Trailhead offers you the chance to hike through one of Hawaii's most famous volcanic areas inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. This 6.4 km (4 mi) round-trip trail will take you from the crater's rim and eventually lead you across the bottom of the formation. Be sure to keep an eye out for native birds and animals as you trek the rainforest. You'll find that the residual heat from subterranean lava causes water to evaporate and rise in clouds of steam from the crater floor. Keep in mind that the trail itself is considered moderately difficult and the 122 m (400 ft) descent down from the crater rim is quite steep and rocky, so be sure to wear comfortable footwear. PutKilauea Iki Trailhead into our Hawaii Volcanoes National Park trip builder website and find out what's close by, where to stay, and where to head next.
Tours to Kilauea Iki Trailhead
Kilauea Iki Trailhead reviews
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This travel can be circumnavigated in either direction. We read its best to hike counter-clockwise, and yet we were disoriented and followed the trail clockwise. Doesn't matter. Coming from Colorado..... more
This travel can be circumnavigated in either direction. We read its best to hike counter-clockwise, and yet we were disoriented and followed the trail clockwise. Doesn't matter. Coming from Colorado..... more »
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We drove the crater rim drive and stopped here to do a little hiking. Very cool with lots of things to see. Got plenty of pictures for the collection.
We drove the crater rim drive and stopped here to do a little hiking. Very cool with lots of things to see. Got plenty of pictures for the collection. more »
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Nice loop trail that is manageable for a wide range of physical conditions. We followed conventional wisdom and went counterclockwise, which took us through the forest along the rim and then we descended down more stairs. The walk along the lava lake is fun and filled with diverse geological features. We had a nice breeze to stay cool, but bring water. The ascent took us to the lava tubes and then we took a last .5mi trail to where we parked. Parking does get tight, google also overshot the entrance to the lookout, enter the parking lot .1mi before google says otherwise you’ll have to loop around a few miles later.
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Best trail in the park. Not even close. One of the best hikes I’ve taken in any national park. So if you do only one thing in the park, make it this. Hike starts off, admittedly, kinda boring. You walk along the rim, but with the vegetation you only get passing views of the crater. But about a mile in, you start descending into the crater and the hike becomes absolutely awesome. We combined this trail with Thurston Lava Tube. If you do that, it’s right at 4miles round trip. HIGHLY recommend going counterclockwise on the loop.
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