A question about Volcano National Park and Hilo

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

I think Ann-Marie has said a couple of times that she won't be hiking. Sounds like they were just going to drive down the Chain of Craters road as far as they could to see if they could see anything.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I think Ann-Marie has said a couple of times that she won't be hiking. Sounds like they were just going to drive down the Chain of Craters road as far as they could to see if they could see anything.

Correct - but there are people besides the OP who read threads for info.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I think Ann-Marie has said a couple of times that she won't be hiking. Sounds like they were just going to drive down the Chain of Craters road as far as they could to see if they could see anything.

Correct - but there are people besides the OP who read threads for info.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Correct - but there are people besides the OP who read threads for info.

Okay, I got it, you don't have to tell me twice.

It just looked liked all the responses were directly to what Ann-Marie had said. Frank quoted her last response, and then you quoted his. Just didn't want her to think she needed to add all that additional walking/hiking time since she wasnt' planning on doing any of that.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I think Ann-Marie has said a couple of times that she won't be hiking. Sounds like they were just going to drive down the Chain of Craters road as far as they could to see if they could see anything.

Correct - but there are people besides the OP who read threads for info.

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Luanne, thanks for the response. I was trying to figure out how I get my point across that I Will not be hiking So, are we waisting our time driving down Crater Road at night if we Do Not Hike?

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

Luanne, thanks for the response. I was trying to figure out how I get my point across that I Will not be hiking So, are we waisting our time driving down Crater Road at night if we Do Not Hike?

But remember, other people read these posts.

You might, or might not, waste time driving down Crater Road at night. It all depends on how active the volcano is at that time. You might just have to play it by ear, check with the rangers at the visitor center earlier in the day. But, I'll tell you one thing, you will not be disappointed if you have dinner at the Kilauea Lodge (broken record here ). We're staying there for two nights in August and already have our dinner reservations for both nights.

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Luanne, what I was trying to figure out is if we won't really see much at night, then maybe we would just head out of the park towards Hilo for the night instead of staying at Volcano House.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

I mentioned your question, and dilemna, to my dh. He said even if you don't see the lava flow it's just kind of magical to be out on the Chain of Craters road at night. You said that you are planning on staying in the park, right? You could still play it by ear, see what the rangers say about the flow and visibility if you don't want to take the hike. Then, if there will be nothing to see you could drive into Hilo for the evening (you'd be coming back to Volcano to sleep, or are you thinking of staying in Hilo instead?).

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Last time we decided to spend an evening in Hilo, we wandered into the Barnes and Noble to browse, and saw the staff moving displays around to create an open area in the center of the store. Then they started setting up chairs around the edge of the open area. Next they set up microphone and sound system.

About half an hour later, we found ourselves in the middle of a free Keola Beamer concert. Auntie Nona Beamer, his mother, was with him, and she did authentic hula during a couple of his songs.

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Luanne, thanks for your help. You have been great. I think you are the only one that seems to understand that we will not be hiking. I just thought it would be more convenient to stay in the park if we do the Crater Road trip. If there is not enough of a reason for us to stay in the park, then maybe we should go to Hilo for the night. Then start from there in the AM to see Hilo and waterfalls. Or, if we start out early enough, and again if there is no reason for us to stay at all, we could drive back to Kona. However, my DH will not do that at night.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Luanne, thanks for your help. You have been great. I think you are the only one that seems to understand that we will not be hiking. I just thought it would be more convenient to stay in the park if we do the Crater Road trip. If there is not enough of a reason for us to stay in the park, then maybe we should go to Hilo for the night. Then start from there in the AM to see Hilo and waterfalls. Or, if we start out early enough, and again if there is no reason for us to stay at all, we could drive back to Kona. However, my DH will not do that at night.

You can do Hilo and some falls on your way back to Kona. The most impressive of these, imho, is Akaka Falls, which does require a walk, though not a rugged hike, through a spectacular garden/forest and is well worth it. There is a paved path, but it does incline in spots so should probably be avoided if that's a problem.

We are going back to Kona this summer, and honestly I don't think we are going to bother with VNP... we got rained out there last year after walking a few miles on the lava to a viewing point. If we did go back, we would drive through, and wouldn't stay in the park. But we did really enjoy Luanne's restaurant

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

We're not big hikers at all. Small, short walks are our speed. But, if we are going to be on the Big Island we always manage a trip to Volcano National Park. Since we like Kilauea Lodge so much we spend at least one night there. Two summers ago we were at Kilauea Lodge for three nights and to be honest we spent a lot of time in Hilo. While in the park we generally drive around the rim of the crater and maybe out Chain of Craters road a bit. We did attempt the "walk" out to the lava flow at night one year and turned back pretty early. I was lucky enough the first time I was on the Big Island in 1968 to be able to see the caldera when it was still active and we had a great view of the lava from the restaurant at the Volcano House.

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Luanne, so do you suggest that we stay in Hilo instead? Will I be disappointed if I were to think that we will see a lot more at night in the park. Am I correct in thinking that we will really need to hike if we want to see any activity at night? If that is the case, then maybe we should go to Hilo for the night.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Luanne, so do you suggest that we stay in Hilo instead? Will I be disappointed if I were to think that we will see a lot more at night in the park. Am I correct in thinking that we will really need to hike if we want to see any activity at night? If that is the case, then maybe we should go to Hilo for the night.

Not Luanne, but there is a site or two quoted in this thread that monitors lava flow activity, and you can contact the park service for more info. It seems to have been moving further and further away from accessible road, when we were there last summer we couldn't see much from the road but some flow in the far distance, as pictured in T.R.'s first photo.

If you are going to explore VNP by car, whether by day or night, you can stay near the park, or in Hilo, or in between. There were a few threads both here and OY last year about places to stay.