January Happenings And Updates At Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park

The new year starts full of activity and events at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. January is Volcano Awareness Month and USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is hosting events all month. Note that Kīlauea Visitor Center will close in February for renovations.

Here’s a list of what to expect if visiting the park in the new year. 

 
Construction Updates 
 
Kīlauea Visitor Center Closure Date Change. Kīlauea Visitor Center (KVC), restrooms, and most adjacent parking are now scheduled to close for renovation February 17, 2025 at 5 p.m. This allows park staff and contractors more time to prepare for the closure and renovation. The park film, After Dark in the Park, Nā Leo Manu and other park programs held in the KVC auditorium will be temporarily suspended. During the closure, the interior of KVC will be rehabilitated, new exhibits will be installed, the restrooms will be relocated and rebuilt, and the lānai will be replaced by an expanded covered hālau (pavilion). Where can you find a park ranger? A few days after KVC closes, limited visitor services and the Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association staff and store will relocate 1.2 miles west to a temporary welcome center at Kilauea Military Camp’s Koa Room, adjacent to the lobby. Volcano House and the Volcano Art Center Gallery will remain open with parking available. Hele-On bus will still use the KVC bus parking stalls as a bus stop.   
When: KVC will close Monday, February 17 for up to two years  (subject to change) 
Where: Kīlauea Visitor Center, restrooms and parking  
 
Construction Continues. Visitors should always plan ahead before coming to Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, especially during the holidays. Multiple ongoing construction projects continue near the park entrance, Kīlauea Visitor Center, Uēkahuna, and other areas. Surges in visitation occur between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; arrive early to avoid congestion and frustration. Bookmark this webpage for updates: https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/construction-closures.htm.  

Park Events  
 
All events are free, but park entrance fees apply. Some programs are sponsored by the Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association. Programs are subject to change or cancellation without notice. Check the park calendar for more information. 
 
Stewardship at the Summit Rainforest Restoration. If giving back is part of your new year’s resolution, we have the perfect opportunity! Volunteer to help remove invasive, non-native plant species that prevent native plants from growing in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Wear sturdy hiking shoes and long pants. Bring a hat, rain gear, day pack, snacks and water. Gloves and tools are provided. Under 18? Parental or guardian accompaniment with written consent is required. Visit the park website for details. 
When: January 11, 18, 25, & 31. Meet at 8:45 a.m.  
Where: Meet project leaders Paul and Jane Field at Kīlauea Visitor Center on the dates above.  
 
What Happens When a Comedian Walks into a Volcano? In 2023, stand-up comedian Ben Miller was the artist in residence at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.  Now he returns to Hawaiʻi after two years of developing material from his residency and turning it into an hour-long performance of volcano jokes. Ben shines a humorous light on volcanology, entomology, Hawaiian history, cats, cookies, and more.  
When: Saturday, January 18 at 11 a.m.  
Where: Kahuku Visitor Contact Station.  
 
Fee-Free Day for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. All fee-charging national parks including Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park are free to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dates for all six 2025 fee-free days are posted on the National Park Service website.  
When: Monday, January 20 all day  
Where: All fee-charging national parks in the U.S.  
 
Liliuʻokalani at Washington Place. This living history performance by Jackie Pualani Johnson commemorates the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in January 1893. A professor emerita at University of Hawaiʻi-Hilo, Jackie developed the theater arts program and taught there for 30+ years. She created this multi-media play and truly embodies the Hawaiian queen in her performance.  
When: Saturday, January 25 at 11 a.m.  
Where: Kahuku Visitor Contact Station. Turn into the park near the 70.5 mile marker on Hwy 11 in Kaʻū  
 
Ranger-Guided Programs at Kīlauea Summit. Did you know that Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park offers free guided programs nearly every day? Experience Life on the Edge, Into the Volcano and other ranger programs by checking thepark calendar for dates, times and descriptions.  
When: Almost daily  
Where: Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, Kīlauea summit 
 
Volcano Awareness Month Programs 
 
Hike the Path of Mauna Loa Volcano’s 1868 Lava Flow. USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Katie Mulliken leads this two-mile (3.2 km) guided hike along the Pu‘uolokuana Trail, which traverses the 1868 Mauna Loa lava flows. Katie will tell the story of the destructive earthquakes in 1868, as well as the landslides, tsunami, and Southwest Rift Zone eruption that occurred that year. During the hike, you learn about the eruptive history, structure, and current status of Mauna Loa, Earth’s largest active volcano. Katie will also share information on how HVO monitors Mauna Loa, which has erupted 34 times since 1843, most recently in 2022. This easy hike includes 100-ft. (30-m) elevation gain and crosses rough, uneven lava surfaces. Wear sturdy closed-toe walking shoes; bring protective gear for sun and rain, drinking water and a snack.  
When: Saturday, January 4 from 10 a.m. to around noon  
Where: Meet at the Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. Turn into the park near the 70.5 mile marker on Hwy 11 in Kaʻū  
 
How are Volcanoes in Hawaiʻi Monitored? The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) maintains a network of more than 200 devices across the Island of Hawaiʻi, which track activity above and below the surface of our volcanoes. Two of the most important monitoring datasets that help us understand where magma is accumulating or moving are seismicity (earthquakes) and geodesy (ground deformation). Come talk with HVO seismic network manager Jefferson Chang and geodesy network manager Andi Ellis as they host a table at Uēkahuna parking lot to showcase examples of monitoring devices and datasets.  
When: Tuesday, January 7 from 10 a.m. to noon  
Where: Look for the table at the Uēkahuna parking lot  
 
What Have We Learned about Kīlauea Volcano’s Summit Water Lake? The summit of Kīlauea volcano collapsed in 2018 as lava erupted at lower elevations from the East Rift Zone. In late July 2019, a water lake, unprecedented in the written record of the volcano’s history, appeared at the bottom of the deepest part of the caldera, in Halema‘uma‘u crater. The lake steadily rose, with temperatures above boiling and changing colors, until its demise when an eruption started in Halemauʻmaʻu the night of December 20, 2020. The water lake was quickly replaced with a lava lake as eruptive activity returned to the summit for the first time since 2018. What were the potential hazards associated with the water lake at Kīlauea summit? What did we learn about the water? How was it sampled and monitored? Join USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Tricia Nadeau, who is also an Unoccupied Aircraft Systems (UAS or drone) pilot, as she answers these questions and more.  
When: Saturday, January 11 at 9:30 a.m.  
Where: Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. Turn into the park near the 70.5 mile marker on Hwy 11 in Kaʻū  
 
Kīlauea Volcano’s Changing Summit. The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea saw the largest collapse of the volcano’s summit caldera, Kaluapele, in the past 200 years. In 2019–2020 the collapse pit hosted a water lake, which was replaced by lava in December 2020 during the first of a three-year series of caldera-filling eruptions. In 2024, eruptive activity returned to the volcano’s rift zones for the first time since 2018. Join Mike Zoeller, geologist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, as he describes how this sequence of events provides a snapshot into the volcano’s long-term history and the morphology of present-day landforms within Kaluapele. Mike will also provide a summary of the current status of Kīlauea and discuss what might be coming next.
When: Tuesday, January 14 at 10 a.m.  
Where: Meet at Uēkahuna parking lot  
 
Explore the Kaʻū Desert Trail on Foot. Traverse Mauna Loa volcano’s Keamoku ʻaʻā lava flow and find the footprints in Kīlauea volcano’s 1790 explosive ash deposit during this guided hike to the  in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo Geology Department faculty and geologist Cheryl Gansecki will talk about the geologic features along the trail in this unique region where Mauna Loa, Earth’s largest active volcano, and Kīlauea, one of Earth’s most active volcanoes, meet. Gansecki will tell the story of the fatal explosive eruption of Kīlauea in 1790, which deposited ash that preserves footprints of that time period. This easy two-mile (3.2 km) roundtrip hike is fairly easy but includes a 100-ft. (30-m) elevation gain, and crosses rough, uneven lava surfaces. Adventurous hikers can continue on to Maunaiki to explore vents and lava flows of the 1919–20 eruption (adds an additional moderate hike of +2 miles roundtrip). Wear sturdy, closed-toe walking shoes; bring protective gear for sun and rain; bring drinking water and a snack.  
When: Saturday, January 18 at 10 a.m. to about noon  
Where: Meet at the Kaʻū Desert Trailhead on Highway 11 in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park  
 
Visit the Whitney Vault at Volcano House. The Whitney Seismological Laboratory was established in 1912, the year that Dr. Thomas Jaggar founded the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). Constructed as the basement of the original HVO building, it followed plans provided by Professor Fusakichi Omori, who invented the Omori Seismometer to detect earthquakes. Instruments in the Whitney Vault, some of which remain preserved there today, were the first record earthquakes in Hawai’i. The Whitney Vault is the only remnant of the original HVO structures, but HVO’s volcano monitoring network has grown to more than 200 instruments located across the Island of Hawaiʻi. With frequent eruptions and earthquakes in Hawai’i, HVO is at the forefront of developing and testing new tools to monitor earthquakes, ground deformation, volcanic gas emissions, gravity, volcanic plumes and lava flows. Join USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geophysicists Ingrid Johanson and Ashton Flinders as they describe the history of HVO volcano monitoring, showcasing old and new technologies in the Whitney Vault, located beneath the ground near the present-day Volcano House hotel. Note: This program is limited to 20 participants. Tickets will be available first come first served at 9 a.m. on January 21, at Kīlauea Visitor Center.  
When: Tuesday, January 21 at 10 a.m.  
Where: Those with a ticket meet at the Volcano House hotel caldera overlook  
 
Kīlauea Volcano’s Explosive Past. Kīlauea is known for erupting lava flows, but there have also been explosive events in its past. Explosive deposits from events during the past several centuries are visible along the Crater Rim Trail, on the edge of Kīlauea caldera. Join USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory geologist Kendra J. Lynn, on a short one-mile (1.6 km) roundtrip walk along the caldera rim between Uēkahuna and Kīlauea overlooks, where you will learn about these deposits. Kendra will talk about her work investigating the magma storage conditions leading to these explosive events, which will help us to better understand what could cause such explosive events to happen in the future. Wear sturdy closed-toe walking shoes; bring protective gear for sun and rain and bring drinking water. 
When: Tuesday, January 28 at 10 a.m. to around 11 a.m.  
Where: Meet at the Uēkahuna parking lot