Over several hundred years, the people of Hawai‘i cultivated traditions that were passed on through generations and continue today. Visitors to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park can discover windows to the past through places such as Pu’u Loa, one of the largest petroglyph fields in Hawai‘i, or Kaʻauea, a site referenced in Hawaiian chants and oral histories, now featuring a reconstructed hula platform and hale, a traditional style Hawaiian house.

If you love adventure and have five days to explore the Island of Hawaiʻi, consider driving down to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Larger than the entire island of Oʻahu, there’s a lot to do and see in the park, from checking out the Kīlauea Iki Overlook to exploring the Nāhuku lava tube. Of course, visiting the lava lake located in the Halemaʻumaʻu crater is a must.

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park shows the sheer power of volcanoes ability to shape and re-shape our land. Coupled with the special human history and rare ecosystems found here, this park is a special place in America to be sure. Over half of the park is designated wilderness and provides unusual hiking and camping opportunities.

Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park protects some of the most unique geological, biological, and cultural landscapes in the world. One part of the park, Kahuku, preserves one of the oldest cattle ranches on the island. It’s hard to imagine the conditions the paniolo, Hawaiian cowboys, endured in this remote location where seventy five percent of the land was bare lava. The Kahuku Ranch and its talented paniolo raised cattle here for about 150 years.

We live on a constantly changing earth with Mother Nature rearranging her furniture (i.e. mountains, rivers, entire continents, etc.) as she pleases, while we can only stand back in awe and watch. Nowhere else is this fact more salient than at Volcanoes National Park—a landscape displaying the evidence of 70 millions years of Hawaii’s evolution through volcanism. The park features 323,000 acres of diverse landscapes—from wet rainforests to barren deserts—and, of course, volcanoes.