Volcanoes National Park, HI

As I was thinking of places to go on a backpacking trip, I was curious to see if there were any good locations in Hawaii. I found Volcanoes National Park, something quite different from the other parks I have highlighted so far. Volcano's National Park offers over 320,000 acres of hiking and back-country trails to discover. I visited Hawaii a number of years ago and had the privilege to take a helicopter tour over this park. The volcanos were very interesting to see from above and I would imagine it is even more interesting to see them while hiking around. Over half of the park is designated as wilderness, providing plenty of opportunity for backpackers like us that want to get into uncharted territory.

One thing that came to mind when looking up a national park centered around a volcano was the danger that could be involved with backpacking there. I looked into those concerns and it seems like the park rangers keep track of all active portions of the park and places where the ground is soft near lava. Before entering the park you must read through the backcountry guidelines and check in with the rangers. They tell you if there are any portions of your planned trip that are currently off limits and then you are free to go on your way.

This webcam provides an interesting view of the volcano currently and gives you a feel for that part of the park. As you can see from the pictures here, this is not just all volcanic rock, there are some great green spaces and oceanside views. This is a very interesting park that I hope to visit someday soon.