Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

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Friends of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park "Connecting People with the Park" through education, volunteerism, and philanthropy. PO Box 653
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Still awake. 🌋Even when Kīlauea isn't fountaining, it's far from quiet. This gas-and-steam plume rises from the summit v...
10/13/2026

Still awake. 🌋

Even when Kīlauea isn't fountaining, it's far from quiet. This gas-and-steam plume rises from the summit vents and climbs straight into the clouds,the volcano breathing steadily between episodes.

Right now, that breathing is being watched very closely. After a shallow magma intrusion beneath the summit on September 30, HVO says the system remains pressurized and restless. The next move could be a 55th fountaining episode from the familiar vents, or lava breaking out somewhere new within the caldera. Nobody knows exactly what comes next — and that uncertainty is part of what makes watching a living volcano so extraordinary.

📌 Kīlauea is not currently erupting but remains at a heightened alert level (WATCH). Follow the latest at fhvnp.org. 👀🌺

📸 Photo by Janice Wei

10/12/2026

Friendly reminder that October through March is breeding and nesting season for the world's rarest goose, the nēnē. You could encounter these precious native birds throughout the park.

Please help protect nēnē! Drive attentively and watch out nēnē especially on roadsides and in parking areas. Never feed them. Admire these charismatic birds from a distance of at least 60 feet, about four car lengths.

Learn more about the federally threatened state bird and rarest goose on earth on the park website:

https://www.nps.gov/havo/learn/nature/nene.htm

NPS Photo/J.Wei of two lovebirds (love geese?) necking on volcanic cinder with vegetation in the background.

Today, on Indigenous Peoples Day, we honor the Native Hawaiian people and their enduring connection to this place. 🌺What...
10/12/2026

Today, on Indigenous Peoples Day, we honor the Native Hawaiian people and their enduring connection to this place. 🌺

What you see here is lava — molten rock pouring across the floor of Halemaʻumaʻu, the crater that sits within Kaluapele, Kīlauea's summit caldera. To Native Hawaiians, this is not simply a geologic event. It is the living presence of Pele, the akua of volcanoes and the creative force who shapes these islands. Every flow, every new acre of land born from fire, is understood as part of an ongoing relationship between the people and the ʻāina that continues to this day.

Native Hawaiian culture, language, and spiritual practice are not relics of the past — they are alive, carried forward by kānaka ʻōiwi who maintain their kuleana (responsibility) to this land and these traditions. We are deeply grateful to live, work, and serve within a landscape that holds such profound meaning, and we recognize that caring for this place is inseparable from honoring the Indigenous people whose home it has always been.

Mahalo nui to the Native Hawaiian community, today and every day. 🌺

📸 Photo by Janice Wei

A good morning for a walk. 🌋Blue skies, big clouds, and the steady plume of Halemaʻumaʻu drifting across the summit. Tra...
10/11/2026

A good morning for a walk. 🌋

Blue skies, big clouds, and the steady plume of Halemaʻumaʻu drifting across the summit. Trails like this one at the Kilauea Iki are some of the most rewarding — and accessible — ways to take in the sheer scale of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

A quick heads up if you're planning a visit: Kīlauea is not currently erupting, but the summit remains at a heightened alert level after a recent underground intrusion of magma. Conditions can change, so check current status, closures, and we**ams at usgs.org before you head out. 🌺

📸 Photo by Janice Wei

Small but mighty. 🌋Not every moment at Kīlauea is a 1,000-foot fountain. This is a dome fountain — lava bubbling and sur...
10/10/2026

Small but mighty. 🌋

Not every moment at Kīlauea is a 1,000-foot fountain. This is a dome fountain — lava bubbling and surging up from the vent in a churning, molten mound — captured during the precursory activity that is building up to Episode 55. These smaller features often appear in the days or hours before a full fountaining episode, as magma works its way toward the surface and the volcano builds toward its next big show. Mesmerizing in their own right, they pulse and shift with the rhythm of the magma below.

📌 Kīlauea is not currently erupting. This photo was taken during the lead-up to Episode 55. For current conditions and live we**am links, visit fhvnp.org. 🌺

📸 Photo by Janice Wei

Happy Aloha Friday! 🌺🌋Big blue Hawaiian skies, towering clouds, and the steady plume of Halemaʻumaʻu rising from the hea...
10/09/2026

Happy Aloha Friday! 🌺🌋

Big blue Hawaiian skies, towering clouds, and the steady plume of Halemaʻumaʻu rising from the heart of Kaluapele. Days like this at Kīlauea's summit are exactly what the weekend is made for — wide open, breathtaking, and impossible to rush through.

However you're spending your Aloha Friday, we hope it's a good one. And if it involves a trip to the volcano? Even better. The park is open and waiting. Check current conditions and plan your visit at fhvnp.org. 🤙

📸 Photo by Janice Wei

Follow the path. 🌿🌋A trail winds along the rim of Kaluapele near Kūkamāhuākea — the Steam Vents — where groundwater seep...
10/08/2026

Follow the path. 🌿🌋

A trail winds along the rim of Kaluapele near Kūkamāhuākea — the Steam Vents — where groundwater seeps down to hot volcanic rock and rises back up as billowing steam. In the distance, the plume from Halemaʻumaʻu drifts into a big Hawaiian sky, Mauna Loa resting low on the horizon.

This is one of the most accessible and rewarding stretches of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park — easy walking, wide-open views, and the constant quiet breath of the earth all around you. Lace up and come wander. fhvnp.org 🌺

📸 Photo by Janice Wei

10/08/2026

🌋Halemaʻumaʻu Trail and a part of Byron Ledge Trail are temporarily closed due to continued inflation and increased seismicity at the summit of Kīlauea volcano. The trail closure is a total of 1.3 miles.

📝From the park news release:

According to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, more than 200 shallow earthquakes occurred below Kīlauea summit in the last week, and six more occurred within the last 24 hours. A magnitude 3.4 earthquake at 9:52 p.m. on September 30 caused small rockfalls along the north wall of the caldera. The increased seismicity could trigger additional rock falls and presents a serious safety risk. Both trails descend from the caldera rim to the floor and have been the site of dangerous rock falls in the past.

Kīlauea volcano is highly pressurized and while forecasting is not possible due to the irregularity in inflation and deflation, changes could occur quickly at the summit. HVO scientists report that additional cracks have opened on the caldera floor between Uēkahuna and Wahinekapu (Steaming Bluff), likely due to a short-lived magma intrusion to the area September 30 to October 1.

HVO suggests lava fountains could resume within Halemaʻumaʻu crater from the north-south-west vent complex. The last eruption was August 25 and the 43 days since then represent the longest period of time without fountains since the eruptive cycle began on December 23, 2024. It is also possible that another magma intrusion could occur and cause an eruption along the weak crack system at the summit.

Viewing areas on the Keanakākoʻi side of the caldera closed for safety last week. With the closest parking about a mile from the overlooks, the area is difficult to evacuate quickly.

Visitors are required to stay out of closed areas and away from cliff edges which are unstable and can collapse without warning.

📸NPS Photo of keiki (children) hiking across Kīlauea caldera floor on Halemaʻumaʻu Trail towards Byron Ledge Trail before the closure.

10/07/2026

💇‍♂️ What is worse than a bad hair day? A bad air day.

See the volcanic fumes rolling out of Halemaʻumaʻu crater and over the bluff to the right of the vents? Lights winds from the southwest are currently blowing volcanic gas (vog) over some of the summit overlooks and the Welcome Center and could spread vog to other areas.

Volcanic gases are dangerous to everyone and include sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. People with heart and respiratory conditions, pregnant women and children are especially sensitive to volcanic gas.

Stay safe! Keep an eye on air quality through the park's Air Quality Alert page: https://www.nps.gov/havo/air-quality-alert.htm, and use your best judgment. If you are in an area affected by volcanic gas, leave the area, especially if you are sensitive. Turn your vehicle’s air conditioning to circulate as you leave the area.

NOTE: There are almost always other areas in the park with good air so be sure to monitor that link above!

Although there are no vog-related closures right now, the park may temporarily close areas that are heavily inundated by volcanic gas for your safety.

USGS HVO we**am image of volcanic gas wafting out of the vents at Kīlauea summit, 9:09 am HST 10/7/2026

Liquid rock, on the move. 🌋A glowing tongue of lava spills from a vent and snakes downslope in a molten river during one...
10/07/2026

Liquid rock, on the move. 🌋

A glowing tongue of lava spills from a vent and snakes downslope in a molten river during one of the recent precursory overflows at Kīlauea's summit. Lava like this can reach temperatures well over 2,000°F, flowing like syrup across the crater floor before cooling, hardening, and becoming the newest land on Earth.

There's nothing quite like watching rock behave like a liquid. It rearranges your sense of what the ground even is. This is Kīlauea, doing what it has done for hundreds of thousands of years. fhvnp.org 🌺

📸 Photo by Janice Wei

Address

PO Box 653
Volcano, HI
96785

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm

Telephone

+18089857373

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