Witnessing glowing red vents, steaming seas, and billowing volcanic clouds have to be the most thrilling reasons to visit Hawaii. Recent eruptions have caught the world’s attention but Kilauea’s lava flows have been going on continuously for over thirty years! They impact less than 15% of the Big Island of Hawaii, the southernmost and largest of the island archipelago. I once climbed over rough lava fields to watch a ribbon of red run into a boiling ocean. It continues today but you’ll have to postpone that hike until the current conditions calm down. After reading through this post, you’ll know how to answer when friends and family ask “Why visit Hawaii now?”

This is the first separate map of the Hawaiian Islands. Today, the westernmost tip of the Big Island is the only area with an active volcano in the archipelago. The map was engraved and drawn by Kalama, one of the foremost student engravers at the Lahainaluna Mission School on Maui in 1837. Kalama went on to become one of the best surveyors in the islands.Â
Explore an interactive map showing the small area affected by the recent volcanic activity.Â
In conversations recently friends and family are still enjoying the best of all Hawaii offers. I wish I were with them – savoring sunset views, delicious food, slowing to the graceful rhythms of island life, and immersing my senses in tropical beauty. There are rare opportunities now too. Connecting to nature runs deep through the island’s culture and reverence for the Hawaiian Goddess of Creation, Pele, is especially strong now. In Hawaiian mythology, Pele is revered as a passionate and powerful force who created the islands and lives at the summit of Kilauea. Her fierce temperament creates and destroys. Many see her force behind the newest volcanic disruptions but locals take it in stride.

Lei offered to Pele at the rim of Kilauea. Wiki-commons
Visit Hawaii now and watch out for Pele’s playfulness
The stairs were clearly part of an abandoned trail but I was committed to the adventure. For the next half hour, I struggled up the ever steeper path, buoyed only by my resolve and evidence of other footprints in the mud. Tree roots became handholds and I kept climbing. I refused to look down or retreat. The image of emerging triumphant onto the trail at any moment pushed me on.
It was not to be. Looking up at one point I realized my folly and somehow found the energy to climb up a vertical wall of ooze. If not for roots and trunks I would’ve slid back down in defeat. Finally, I pulled up through the brush onto a plateau and discovered there was no clear path ahead. There was no way to know which direction to go and I remembered warnings about fragile, underground caves hidden by growth. Stepping on branches, I moved forward slowly and stopped to listen for voices, for any sign of civilization. The crater was somewhere behind.
Which way to go now?
Standing in the jungle with all my senses on alert, I heard a car engine. The road was nearby! I cut through the brush, stopping every minute or so until another car passed by and set course for the sound. There was nothing else to use for direction. Finally, I emerged from the dense green to stand grim and dirty on the rim road. A bicyclist came by and I shouted, “Which way to the Thurston Lava Tubes?”
He turned me around to begin the last part of my journey. I walked about a mile to the parking lot and there, relieved and more than a little angry, was my family. I apologized and teared up realizing the worry my impetuous climb had caused.
It was a foolish and dangerous move, very out of character for me. I can only say that Pele somehow got to me! I saw an opportunity and climbed, scrambled, held on for dear life, somehow found the strength in that humid undergrowth to keep going until I found my way out. Today I sit at home and wonder what possessed me? The next time a dangerous idea grabs my will, I’ll make a little offering to the spirit inspiring me and back away.
Why visit Hawaii now? It’s easier than Mark Twain’s experience.
Today, we think of visiting Hawaii as a luxury and vacation get-away. In the early days of the US involvement with the islands, a young journalist convinced his employer to send him to Hawaii for stories about the eruptions in 1866. That intrepid writer was Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who later gained fame as the author Mark Twain. The journey was long before air travel was available and his schooner set anchor at the largest of the wild Sandwich Islands (which were later named Hawaii, the 5oth State.) A two-day horseback ride took Clemens to the crater.
This passage from History.net describes his experience:
“Toward sunset on the second day, we reached an elevation of some 4,000 feet above sea level, and as we picked our careful way through billowy wastes of lava long generations ago stricken dead and cold in the climax of its tossing fury, we began to come upon signs of the near presence of the volcano,” he wrote, “signs in the nature of ragged fissures that discharged jets of sulphurous vapor into the air, hot from the molten ocean down in the bowels of the mountain.” On the pages that follow, Twain describes the “scene of wild beauty” he witnessed later that evening from a lookout house perched on the crater’s rim and his perilous trek the next day to the fiery floor of the caldera.
Had Pele taken offense at Twain’s nerve we never would have Tom Sawyer, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or his many other novels! Why visit Hawaii today? It’s a much safer, easier experience and each of the islands has so much to offer visitors.
Why visit Hawaii now? The National Park Service will show you
Many of the places that I’ve described are closed at the time I write this due to recent seismic activity but this is just one small area in the entire Big Island and the other islands remain open with clear skies, beautiful resorts, and activities. If you want to experience more of Pele’s magnificence, check out the National Park Service closure information.
Why visit Hawaii now? I hope you have a better idea of the opportunities and enduring beauty of the islands. For divers like myself, hearing whale song and watching the immense creatures sky-hop is always a lure. But the recent eruptions on the Big Island are rare and more pressing reasons. Time will tell how long the disruptions will last but when things cool down, I hope to encounter Pele’s magic again.
Read more about my first Hawaiian crater encounter.Â
Thank you for reading. Leave a comment and me know if you agree about why visit Hawaii now.
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The sound of the whale song was one of the most haunting and magical sounds I have ever heard. I’m glad to read your account of why folks should continue to visit. There is so much to see away from the volcanic activity and when tourism numbers drop it certainly hurts and economy that depends on it.I loved our visit in January. The untouched nature in Molokai really captured my heart. Which island is your favorite?
Thanks for the touching comments, Alison. Each island has such a different personality. I’ve been back to the Big Island many times and would like to return to see the aftermath of the volcano. It’s heartbreaking and thrilling at the same time. I feel for those who have lost their homes and for the critters buried in lava.
Yes, I would sure love to see the activity close up. Haven’t been to Big Island, but I’m thinking of being a geologist in my next life.
And why not a geologist?! Yes, wouldn’t it be thrilling to see the volcano close? I’d go tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself.
According to visitor bureau in Hawaii only affect 1% of the big island, but still there are so many cancellations. Today they reported that tourism is down 50%, and it looks like a great opportunity perhaps to get a great travel deal.
It sounds like your climb – alone – was quite adventurous. While I like hiking and climbing, I am not sure I would be that brave or (crazy?).
As a diver, too, I’d like to know, what time of year is best to see the whales?
It’s sadly what I’ve been reading as well about tourism dropping when there’s really no need. Yeah, I was foolish to diverge from the set trail and could’ve disappeared without a trace!! I would check with the various cities to see about where and when to see whales. Lahaina, Maui has incredible shows. You’re not supposed to dive with them but I’ve heard whalesong in the water and wished they’d been close enough to see.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your experience with Pele and hiking on the island. I have been trying to convince my husband to visit Hawaii since we first started traveling together, and I think this post might just help me convince him to finally go this year.
Glad you found it compelling, Julie. I hope you do visit. I’d go back to see the steam and lava in a heartbeat.
Great post and glad you got safely reunited during your hike. I love volcanoes and will get here soon. The NY Times has had some good and in depth coverage of the eruptions.
I was foolish on that hike but learned to be more careful. Yes, there’s been a lot of coverage. Unfortunately, people are canceling trips to Hawaii due to it. I was hoping to counter some of that with another perspective.
I just saw a piece today on CNN about how tourism is down 80-90% and it made me want to book a vacay to the big island, we went in 2016 and loved it so much. i hope the people who loses their homes can rebuild.
Yes, I hope that people will be able to rebuild, just perhaps in a better location. I was hoping to help counter the drop of tourism just a wee bit.
Wow! What an adventure Elaine. You are far braver than me. And to take off on that path by yourself. It’s been years since we’ve visited Hawaii and seen the volcanoes. Guess it’s time for visit.
Thanks, Sue. I didn’t feel brave as much as foolish and really upset my family. It could’ve ended much worse! I hope you do return. The islands have so much to offer.
I visited the Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island a few years ago! We did not hike around but we did drive to the Kilauea Iki crater and other places inside the park. I also remember taking a boat trip from the sea to the edge of the cliffs to see hot lava flowing into the ocean. The mere act of the hot lava dropping into the ocean from a height created black rocks instantly and the sight was beautiful! I don;t think I have been so much in awe of something as I was that day! Thank you for bringing back lovely memories.
I wish I’d seen the flow from a boat too but hiked in to see a bit of that same scene. What a wonder. It will calm down eventually and we’ll be able to see it again one day.
Pele made you do it! Glad you made it out safely, just the same. The volcano continues to fascinate, especially with its recent eruptions. Hawaii has so much to offer that it’s always a good time to visit. I haven’t been since I was kid and would love to go back.
She’s wily and I appreciated getting to commune with the wild side of the island but it could’ve been a true disaster. Still I’d love to return and hope you get to as well.
Hiking to a Volcano is one of my dreams. Hawai is a paradise but these volcanoes add another dimension to the place. Wish to read more such accounts about visiting volcanoes. I will surely visit them some day.
It’s amazing and doesn’t have to be this dramatic. Perhaps try visiting Haleakala on Maui one dawn. That’s an incredible experience.
You captured the spirit of Pele and the magic of Hawaii beautifully, Elaine! I’ve only visited Oahu- some 15 years back- and I can still feel the light morning mist on my skin. Reading this made me want to go back and discover more of the islands. Yes, with the seismic activity as of late, there is more of a risk, but it would be so incredible to watch the lava flow in person. I loved your story about taking the alternative route; I believe that you, too, have a feisty spirit like Pele’s. P.S. So good to see you at WITS!
Thank you for the kind words, Cristina. Hopefully, my feisty spirit is a bit wiser after that! WITS was wonderful.
Amazing place! I always thought of hawaii as a beach heaven, but your article offers a really different perspective! I love hiking and i think it’s just amazing to hike the volcano! I shall follow your tip when i go there!
Hawaii is definitely one of my fav places and I would visit anytime. I sure hope that volcano stops erupting and terrorizing the poor folks who live in its path. As you say, it’s great optics, but definitely a bit scary right now.
Elane, we are scheduled to have a big family reunion in Kona around Christmas and New Year. Would it be wise to relocate our reunion? Or the current disruptions will subside by then? My kids and grandkids are getting worried.
Carol don’t put off your trip. Look at the map to see the small slice of the Big Island that’s affected by the volcano. Stay on the Kona Coast perhaps or further north. There’s no seismic activity on the other islands so Maui or the others would be fine. Watch the Hawaii news reports and zoom out on maps to see the actual, relatively small, area in the lava zone. Tell your family that lava flow has been pouring into the ocean for nearly thirty years and was a big part of tourism before the recent eruptions. No one has been killed and seismic sophistication is doing well to warn people wherever volcanic activity is near populations well in advance of eruptions.
Yeah, Hawaii is very much in the news right now. I would love to see the lava flows too. Your experience was crazy, it was good you were safe and went home with a nice story. It’s good you wrote this post. I didn’t know it’s safe to visit there.
That sounds like an adventure! Glad you weren’t lost and found the way to your family.
It is really scary to read about the lava flow there.
Pele sounds like someone who should be taken seriously. I agree that that we shouldn’t always take everything we see on the news for granted. It is to easy to zoom in only on the small aria and exaggerate. #WeekendWanderlust
I love the attitude ‘he was here before any of us’ and they respect him. The big island reads fascinating, and I’m sure tourism is more important to them now than ever. I love diving and whales so it seems an ideal place for us to visit.
Hawaii is so beautiful! I love the adventure that Hawaii can offer, this adventure is awesome! I am a little bit afraid with the volcanoes but it is adventure, I wish I could go there too someday! Thanks for sharing!
I still can’t believe I haven’t been to Hawaii yet! I think it’s a place that once there, I’d have to be dragged back onto a plane. I honestly think I’d fall in love with the lush green jungles and beautiful beaches. I definitely want to visit Hawaii!
I can’t imagine not having ever visited Hawaii — it is an incredibly beautiful, diverse, and exotic place to be. I haven’t visited the volcanoes, though. I didn’t realize there was so much lore surrounding Pele and the offerings left for her.
“Stones and artifacts often arrive back at Hawaiian Park Service offices with notes about the misfortune and bad luck that followed after removing them!” (Guess I won’t be taking home any souvenirs from the volcano when I visit!)
I’ve always been drawn to volcanoes – though I’ve never had the fortune to see actual flowing lava as you described as seeing streaming into the ocean. Years ago I hiked Mount Saint Helens and was able to witness the pure destructive power that a volcano can possess. Would be fascinating to see the current lava flows in Hawaii!
I’m one of those who wouldn’t be scared to visit, even now that the Kilauea has been this active! Living near a volcano, I loved to read about Pele: we also think that nature can be destructive and that we still love it anyway. Maybe it has something to do with living in dangerous areas! 🙂
Love the story about how people send back the rocks and pebbles they removed after being hit by a stroke of bad luck- also interesting to see how places that are home to nature at its most raw and unforgiving, have so much greater respect for the land and the energy of the earth.
Hawaii is the stuff that dreams are made of. Usually, Hawaii conjures up images of exotic beaches and secluded islands. But you have given a fresh and different perspective of the place. The wild beauty of the place seems equally tantalizing. Loved reading Mark Twain’s experience there. Never knew that as a young journalist he had been there and was probably the first to document the volcanoes of the place.
Thanks for the comment. Hawaii is many things to different people and this wild side, the lava that created the islands is one of the most powerful.
Stunning photos and very nice story. Volcanoes are really magical, the Earth’s power and force is amazing. It is good to know that so much of the island and the rest of Hawaii are still open for business, this is essential to keep everybody going since I am sure tourism is essential for Hawaii
You’ve caught one of the inspirations for this post. The current eruptions are impacting a relatively small area of one island yet people are canceling trips!
I visited Hawaii many years ago and was awed by Kilauea’s raw strength. Hubby took a helicopter ride over the crater and he said he could feel the heat radiating from the lava flow. When I visited the crater lookout, things were mostly calm. The current eruption sure is a sight that I see daily on the news.
The lava makes great optics, so I’m not surprised that you see this on the news. It’s a rare experience to be close and feel the heat!