Our experience seeing the Kilauea eruption in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was incredible. Along with our daughter, and our friends Jack, Lisa and their kids, this is an experience we will never forget. From the time we first saw the volcano to the last, see it through our eyes!
Make sure to check back regularly for all of our adventures in Hawaii at: Destination – Hawaii.
Seeing Kilauea for the 1st Time from Volcano House
We arrived at the Volcano House lodge after a long drive from the western part of the Big Island. To see how we got here, check out our separate post, Scenic Drive to the Volcano on the Big Island. We had booked 2 nights at Volcano House 9 months ago, before it started recently erupting. So, at the time we didn’t know if we would be seeing the Kilauea eruption at all. But the reports have been saying Episode 29 could erupt at any time. We found the best place to get updates at: Kīlauea | U.S. Geological Survey.
After checking in, we go outside to get our 1st glimpse of Kilauea. Right out the back door of the Volcano House, is the Crater Rim Trail. And here it overlooks the Kilauea summit caldera and in the distance the Halemaʻumaʻu pit crater within it. We can see steam coming out of the main vent, but no lava yet.
We go back inside to the lodge bar to have a drink and order dinner to go. After our drink we have to wait for our food, so we head back outside. It’s now after sunset, and we can start to see a glow from the crater. According to Hawaiian mythology, Halemaʻumaʻu is home to Pele, goddess of fire and volcanoes. And it appears she is getting closer to showing herself. After about 10 minutes, we head back in to grab our dinner and eat in our room.
Seeing Kilauea after Dark from Volcano House
After dinner, we decide to head back outside to see what’s going on. At this point it is dark, and we can see some of the stars. But we want less light pollution, and decide to walk along the Crater Rim Trail to get a better view. Once you leave the Volcano House, the trail becomes pitch black. And all we hear are the eerie calls of Coqui frogs along the way. But, luckily I have a headlamp and we walk toward a designated eruption viewpoint.
You would think the Crater Rim Trail is always on the edge of the crater. But we had to walk through a forested area before it opened up to the viewpoint. We can only assume this is the Kūpinaʻi Pali (Waldron Ledge) viewpoint. There’s a fence railing here and a clearer view of the crater. After a few minutes, we head back. It’s been a long day, so we try to get sleep before tomorrow.
Seeing the Kilauea Eruption Start at Night
Since the Volcano House has no air conditioning, the windows are left cracked open to let in the cooler air. So when someone outside walks by repeating “Volcano House, we have an eruption!”, we wake up. We look at the clock, and it’s only 4:15AM. But our daughter is still sound asleep. So, we decide to go check 1 at a time. And Becky goes first.
About 10 minutes later, Becky has clothes on and heads outside. Even before she makes it outside, she can see the glow of the lava. Though it is just starting to bubble out, the whole caldera is aglow. So after a little bit, she comes back and it’s my turn.
There’s already a crowd of people both in the lobby and outside behind the lodge. But I find a spot outside to view the glowing crater. From Volcano House, it’s hard to see much at night other than the bright orange glow. But when I go back inside, some people are standing around a monitor at the front desk. It’s got the live webcam on, and you can see lava coming out. But we’ll hope to see more of it later when the sun comes out.
Not seeing the Kilauea Eruption over Breakfast
Our plan was to get breakfast in the dining room when it opens at 7:00AM. But after being awoken in the middle of the night, we are late. We make it to the dining room at 7:30AM to see a line out the door. But the good news is, we can’t see anything yet.
Between the steam and the clouds settling in the crater, it looks like a deep morning fog. So, we wait in line for the breakfast buffet. After 35 minutes we are finally seated. And we’re starving so we head to the buffet.
On the buffet, they have a lot of options including an omelet station. They also have sweet bread from Punalu’u Bake Shop we stopped at yesterday. And it’s delicious toasted with butter. While eating we’re sitting by a window and we finally see a break in the clouds, and a rainbow!
After about an hour taking our time eating and drinking coffee, we are ready to pay our bill. We see another break and a rainbow closer to us this time. We can see a little bit of smoke and a very faint glow. But after we pay, we go outside for a better look.
After breakfast, it’s now almost 9:30AM. And our friends Jack and Lisa are almost here. They’re checking in here until today, and what a day to do it. But before they get here, I go back outside to see the clouds starting to clear. I can now start to see the lava flowing. And once back inside the others are here, so we ride together to get a better look.
Seeing the Kilauea Eruption in the Morning near Keanakakoʻi Overlook
We heard the viewing site near the Keanakakoʻi Overlook is the best to see the eruption up-close. But everyone else has the same idea. And due to traffic, the normal 10 minute drive takes us an hour to the Devastation Trail Parking Lot. Then we have to hike a mile along the Old Crater Rim Drive Trail to the viewing area. See more at: Eruption Viewing near Keanakākoʻi Overlook.
At the end, it’s roped off with people all along the edge. We can see the eruption, but it’s hard to get a decent picture. So, we walk past the ropes to a closer area where many people are already sitting. And the views are even better.
Seeing the Kilauea eruption up-close is incredible. Not only can we see the whole summit caldera, but we can clearly see the eruption. And we can hear it. Becky thinks it sounds like a jet engine.
Every angle we see something a little different, including seeing the river of molten lava spewing on the crater floor. And being closer, we can also feel the warmth from the volcano.
As we zoom in even closer, we can see that Episode 29 is different from the past ones. The previous episodes fountained over 1,000 feet. But this time part of the vent collapsed allowing lava to spray in different directions. And multiple lava streams are covering the crater floor.
After almost 1.5 hours seeing the Kilauea eruption up-close, we are ready to head back. It’s already after noon and we’re starting to get hungry. But we have to stop somewhere first.
Seeing the Kilauea Eruption in the Afternoon from the Crater Rim Trail
The visitor center across from Volcano House is closed for renovations. Though a Welcome Center is open in the Kilauea Military Camp building a mile down the road. And there are also multiple eruption viewing sites on that side of the crater. So at the Welcome Center I talk to a ranger. He tells us the Kilauea and Uekahuna overlooks have partially-obstructed views. And the best views are taking a trail from across the street from here. So, after lunch that’s where we go.
From the parking lot, we walk to a trail opening. Here it goes through the woods to connect to the Crater Rim Trail. We then walk to the left to find a spot with open views. And then we can see the eruption is still going strong in the afternoon.
We definitely feel a little farther away than when we were on the other side. But, it is neat to see it from a different viewpoint. And we see more of the lava lake forming. So after about a 10 minute stop, we head back to Volcano House.
Seeing the Kilauea Eruption in the Afternoon from Volcano House
Since it’s now almost 3:00PM, we head back to the Volcano House. Lisa and Jack still need to check-in since they came today. So while they’re checking in, we go outside to see the eruption again.
The view here is amazing now that the clouds have cleared. We can see much better into the crater and can clearly see the lava flowing from the Kilauea eruption. We’ve been watching the eruption for about 12 hours at this point. But, Becky wants to drive the Chain of Craters Road. So, make sure to check back for our next post to read about it. But we’ll be back tonight.
Seeing Kilauea before Sunset from Volcano House
After exploring other areas of the park, we make it back to Volcano House before dark. And when we go outside, we are surprised at what we see.
The eruption has ended, but most of the caldera is glowing. Earlier in the day we could see lava flowing throughout the crater floor. And now that it is getting dark, we can see it is still hot and glowing.
Last night at this time, all we saw was steam from the main vent. But after over 13 hours of continuous lava fountaining, we can see lava. And It is so much easier to see than just a few hours ago.
Zooming in even closer, we can see the lava fountaining has stopped. Because of the partial vent collapse, the lava flowed out into the crater more than in past episodes. So, we feel really special to get to see this.
Out back with the kids, we continue to admire the glowing lava lake. I tell the kids to get together for a picture and pretend they are touching the lava. Perfect…
Seeing the Lava Lake at Night from Volcano House
After we eat dinner from the lodge bar again, we decide to head back outside one more time. At this point it is completely dark, except for the glowing lava lake. And we decide to walk out to the viewpoint again.
In the darkness, the lava lake glows even brighter. The orange, red and yellow colors can easily be seen miles away. Seeing the Kilauea eruption end in a glowing lava lake is unbelievable.
Even with the glowing lava, the stars can still be seen shining brightly in the dark sky. Though the difference in 24 hours is amazing to see. And after about 20 minutes, we head back to Volcano House to get some sleep.
The Next Morning from Volcano House
After a good night’s sleep, we go through the empty lobby to go outside. Volcano House was so packed the last 2 days, but now that the eruption is over it is empty. And even going outside, there’s no one around this morning.
This morning the fog is not as bad, so we can actually see into the crater. But the glow is gone, and all we can see is some steam coming out of the main vent. It’s very similar to what it looked like when we arrived 2 days ago. But, now it’s time to check-out and head to the airport for our next island.
Summary
When we arrived Saturday night to check-in to Volcano House, all we could see was steam coming from Kilauea. But at sunset, we started to see a glow. And at 4:15AM Sunday morning we had an eruption, which was just the beginning. Though after sunrise, we couldn’t see anything due to the thick fog. But afterwards we drove to the Devastation Trail Parking Lot, and hiked to the viewpoint near the Keanakakoʻi Overlook. This is the best spot for seeing the Kilauea eruption up-close, and we spent more time here than anywhere.
We did get to see the eruption from the other side, too. We walked to the Crater Rim Trail near the Welcome Center to get a different perspective. But Volcano House was in the middle of the action. Staying there we got to see the eruption from the beginning to the final phases. And seeing the glowing lava lake at night was really special. Then Monday morning it was gone. We realize how lucky we were to book 2 nights not expecting to see the Kilauea eruption at all. And being here from beginning to end of episode 29. It’s an experience we’ll never forget!
Make sure to check back regularly for all of our adventures in Hawaii at: Destination – Hawaii.
What a stroke of luck booking ahead for these dates! Fine narrative with pix and links interspersed.
Yes it was! Thanks for reading.