Mauna Ulu Eruption Trail

Take a trip into the past or to another planet; Hawaii Volcanoes National Park offers both, or at least it leaves you feeling that way. My thoughts as we hiked to and roamed the site of the Mauna Ulu Eruption of 1969.

Self-guided tour of Mauna Ulu Eruption Trail

Our self-guided tour of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, with the help of the Shaka Guide app, let my wife and me explore at our own pace. One of our stops was the Mauna Ulu Eruption Trail, a short hike, just over 0.1 miles from the parking area, leading to the site of a 1969 eruption fissure that hurled lava hundreds of meters into the air and wiped out an entire forest. Luckily, the trail was short, as my wife had lightly twisted her ankle earlier in the day.

The Mauna Ulu Eruption trail was mostly flat and, as expected, covered in volcanic rock. With each step, the ground crunched beneath us. Surprisingly, the path wound through areas of trees, shrubs, and lush ferns, signs of regrowth after nearly sixty years since the eruption. Although the National Park Service literature described it as a popular trail, we didn’t see a single soul. The stillness added to the desolate, just-short-of-eerie feeling.

As we walked, the forest began to thin. Wind picked up, whirring in my ears and ruffling my sleeves, a clear sign we were getting close.

The lava field – surreal

The first view of the lava field was surreal. It stopped me in my tracks. It looked otherworldly, with dark gray and black rock, jagged and uneven, streaked with rusty red. I thought of Mars, or what I imagine Mars to be. Thoughts that diminished after spotting a few ferns, small trees, and some pretty pinkish flowers (pink knotweed) pushing up through cracks in the rock. Seeing it for the first time, I tried to imagine the chaos: the roar, the smoke, the heat.

What did people do when it happened? Where did the animals go?

We wandered the site, exploring the deep fissures. Ferns and other types of vegetation fill many of them. These tiny ecosystems defy the harsh environment, existing and thriving in their microclimate habitat. All around us, there were signs of lava flows, now frozen in time. Every crunchy step reminded me how unforgiving the ground was. A fall here would not be forgettable. Still, we were alone. No chatter, no footsteps, just wind and crunching rock. It was humbling. The space felt too big for two people. We eventually moved on to our next stop, still shaking our heads at how we’d had that place to ourselves, if only for a little while.

We captured some short video moments from our hike to share the sounds and feel of the Mauna Ulu Eruption Trail and the lava field: Mauna Ulu Eruption Trail video