{"id":1232,"date":"2016-07-31T06:55:43","date_gmt":"2016-07-31T16:55:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hilovacationhomes.com\/?post_type=flawles_hilo_east&p=1232"},"modified":"2022-07-24T04:46:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-24T14:46:59","slug":"see-lava-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hilovacationhomes.com\/see-lava-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"How to See the Lava Flow"},"content":{"rendered":"

How Do I Find Lava! (updated July, 2022)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Go to Hawaii Volcano National Park (HVNP).<\/p>\n

In short, lava is slowly filling up the Halema’uma’u crater in HVNP.\u00a0 This is the Kilauea’s crater that you overlook when you are at the park.\u00a0 After the 2018 lava flow near the coast the crater collapsed and grew in size – by a lot. This means the funnel shaped crater is filling up very slowly.\u00a0 The good news is that the crater has filled up enough to see the small flows.\u00a0 These are just small orange sightings from about a mile away.\u00a0 But seeing it is easy.<\/p>\n

To get the latest viewing information from the park service, click this link: https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/havo\/planyourvisit\/eruption-viewing.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

As you enter the park the Visitor Center is to the right.\u00a0 The best viewing is the Devastation Trail if you go left instead.\u00a0 It is down the road a few miles and parking is very limited.\u00a0 There are less people during the day and more at night when you can see the glow better.\u00a0 You need to walk a mile each way!\u00a0 It is a lot of walking to see small orange dots of lava flow.\u00a0 The level of the lava is at the cusp of viewing from the Volcano House, right across from the Visitor Center and from the viewing area at the old Jagger Museum.\u00a0 These require almost no walking.\u00a0 You can even get a nice meal while viewing the crater at the restaurant in Volcano House.<\/p>\n

You can also view the activity by a helicopter tour, but from a distance that is so far away as to be meaningless.\u00a0 Helicopter tours area a great way to see the history of the lava flows.\u00a0 The last 40 years have seen whole neighborhoods covered in lava.\u00a0 I have booked a couple trips and I recommend them.\u00a0 But you won’t get a good view of the current flow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Island is made up – mostly – of 3 volcanos:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mauna Kea – long dead on the North side of the Island. The observatory is on top of this volcano.<\/li>\n
  2. Mauna Loa \u2013 Last erupted in 1984. About as tall as Mauna Kea with nothing meaningful on top.\u00a0 An access road, but not visited.<\/li>\n
  3. Kilauea \u2013 Located on the side of Mauna Loa it physically is hard to distinguish as a separate volcano than Mauna Loa. It is where Volcano National Park is located.\u00a0 The active lava used to be<\/strong> between 80 and 180 feet below the surface of the caldera.\u00a0 Prior to May, 2018, from the crater\u2019s edge you look down at the caldera and see the glow of the lava deep in the caldera.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    BELOW IS HISTORY FROM MY PRIOR POSTINGS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The lava comes from a vent\/crack on the side of the mountain.\u00a0 The lava is fed by Kilauea.\u00a0 Prior to May, 2018 lava flowed through a vent called Pu\u2019u o\u2019o.\u00a0 This was about midway down from the caldera and was basically inaccessible because there were no road anywhere nearby.\u00a0 This vent erupted in 1983 and been flowing out of the vent almost continuously .\u00a0 It is the only volcano in the world to flow continuously.\u00a0 What happened about May 3, 2018?A newe set of fissures\/cracks opened up much closer to the coast.\u00a0 Lava drained out of Kilauea and Pu’u 0’0 and poured out of these new fissures.\u00a0 Because this was in a residential neighborhood, it was a huge event.\u00a0 Not only lava, but vent gases vastly increased, affecting every place southwest or west, depending on wind direction.\u00a0 The area was open only to residents, making viewing by tourists impossible.\u00a0 In early June, the new lava flow started flowing into the ocean, creating new land.<\/p>\n

    This changed again on August 15th when the lava flow stopped entirely. This means there is no way to see lava at the moment.\u00a0 The Volcano National Park was closed for several reasons (air quality, road cracks and a crumbling and expanding crater now that there was no lava pool to support the sides).\u00a0 As of late September, ,2019, the park is now open!\u00a0 There has never been much to see and do there and now that there is no lava activity, there is even less to see and do.\u00a0 However, it is a popular place to go.\u00a0 Just don’t spend too much time there<\/p>\n

    How to view the active lava flow?\u00a0 Three ways:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. By boat. NEW UPDATE as of August, 2018:\u00a0 There is no ocean entry of lava so boat trips are pointless.\u00a0 In addition, the local harbor near the lava flow was somewhat destroyed.\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n
    2. As of 3\/26\/17 boats are required to be 300 meters away from the lava flow.\u00a0 That is three football fields away.\u00a0 In addition the USGS site https:\/\/hvo.wr.usgs.gov\/activity\/kilaueastatus.php\u00a0 states that there is no ocean entry.\u00a0 I do not believe boat trips are offered.\u00a0 If they are still offered, do not bother as there is nothing to see.<\/strong>\u00a0 When there was lava flowing,\u00a0 largest boat is www.lavaocean.com<\/a>.\u00a0 The picture of the boat is below.\u00a0 On January 1st, 2017 26, acres of new shelf and old shoreline collapsed into the ocean.\u00a0 This sheered off the lava tube.\u00a0 The current view is a fire hose shown below from my trip in February, 2017.\u00a0 The boat went VERY close to the lave.\u00a0 Just beyond the spattering of rocks that explode when they hit the water.<\/li>\n
    3. By bike.\u00a0 When lava did flow into the ocean, this was an option.\u00a0 Currently the road ends about 4 miles from where the lava used to flow.\u00a0 There is an access road now that runs along the coast.\u00a0 One took a bike along the access road and used to walk about 100 feet for a great view depending on the exact exit into the water.\u00a0 This allowed you more time at the lava and a vantage point above the lava drop into the ocean.\u00a0 If you wanted to get about 400 feet from the lava, this was the only way.\u00a0 The easy way to get a bike was to rent one.\u00a0 Simply drive to the end of highway 130.\u00a0 You will see a number of vendors renting bikes for $20.\u00a0 This is a great deal.\u00a0 It was pretty easy bike ride for $20 for an up close view of the lava.\u00a0 There are services that offer a hike to the lava break outs upslope.\u00a0 I would not recommend a these hikes. It is too far.\u00a0 One can also get an all inclusive bike tour.\u00a0 The cost for a bike tour is about $99.\u00a0 See www.Lavalandhawaii.com<\/a> and www.pokeastick.com.\u00a0<\/a> NOTE:\u00a0 As of January 1st you can not see actual lave from land!\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n
    4. By Helicopter.\u00a0 This is the best way to get an overview of the Big Island and the history of the lava flows.\u00a0 The rides are so stable, even those with a fear of flying will be relaxed.\u00a0 It is also the most trouble free.\u00a0 No hiking, rough seas or getting rained on.\u00a0 Lava will appear as a reddish glow below (if it starts again).\u00a0 The lava travels so slowly you won\u2019t notice the flow, only the color change.\u00a0 The time you spend looking at any one spot is very limited.\u00a0 They don\u2019t like flying low over populated areas, so often the distance to what is below isn\u2019t close.\u00a0 You don\u2019t take a helicopter ride for a focus on lava flow, but it is a great way of seeing the best of the Big Island.\u00a0 Cost is about $250.\u00a0 See www.bluehawaiian.com<\/a> but there are others.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \"\"\"\"\"bike-rentals-kapoho\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"Screen\"nov-3-lava-map\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      How Do I Find Lava! (updated July, 2022) Go to Hawaii Volcano National Park (HVNP). In short, lava is slowly filling up the Halema’uma’u crater in HVNP.\u00a0 This is the Kilauea’s crater that you overlook when you are at the park.\u00a0 After the 2018 lava flow near the coast the crater collapsed and grew in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1235,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[35],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to See the Lava Flow - Hilo Vacation Homes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Big Island vacation rentals on the Hilo side. 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