Frommer’s EasyGuide to the Big Island of Hawaii. Jeanne Cooper

Highway 137, also known as the “Red Road” (for the rosy-hued cinders that once paved it), currently dead-ends about 9 miles northeast of Kalapana, at the spooky, ironwood-shaded cliffs in MacKenzie State Recreation Area , which has picnic and restroom facilities. The surf crashes fiercely against the rocks here; stay away from the edge and watch your footing.

A new emergency access road (best suited to 4WD vehicles) crosses over the buried highway from MacKenzie to Isaac Hale Beach Park in Pohoiki, which emerged from the 2018 eruption minus its popular surf breaks, children’s playground, and water fountains, among other facilities. On the plus side: The park has four new thermal ponds and a lagoon created by a black-sand beach that formed when sizzling lava fragmented in the cool ocean water. Note: Bring your own drinking water and stay out of the warm ponds if you have any cuts or open wounds.

      The same immense lava flow, which covered almost 14 square miles (35.5 square km) of Lower Puna and add 875 acres of new land, unfortunately destroyed the main road and almost every attraction east of Pohoiki, including the beautiful thermal pool at Ahalanui Park, the marine life conservation district of Waiopae Tidepools, Kapoho Bay, the twin vacation-oriented communities of Kapoho Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots and their thermal ponds, and Green Lake, a natural reservoir inside Kapoho Crater that the lava ruthlessly turned into steam. Although it wasn’t accessible at press time, due to berms of lava on Highway 132 south of Pahoa, one surviving landmark stands as a literal beacon of hope and resilience. Marking the island’s easternmost point, Cape Kumukahi Lighthouse miraculously survived the 1960 lava flow that destroyed the original village of Kapoho and then remained untouched again in 2018. Who cares if its modern steel frame isn’t all that quaint? The fact that it’s standing at all is impressive—in 1960, the molten lava parted in two and flowed around it—while its bright-white trusses provide a striking contrast to the black lava.

      The open portion of Highway 132 from Pahoa leads 2¾ miles southeast to Lava Tree State Monument (see below), an equally fitting if eerie reminder of nature’s power in Puna. In 1790, a fast-moving lava flow raced through a grove of ohia lehua trees here, cooling quickly and so creating rock molds of their trunks. Today the ghostly sentinels punctuate a well-shaded, paved .7-mile loop trail through the rich foliage of the 17-acre park. Facilities include restrooms and a few spots for picnicking (or ducking out of the rain during one of the area’s frequent showers). Some areas with deep fissures are fenced off, but keep to the trail regardless for safe footing. It’s open daily during daylight hours; see the state parks site, dlnr.hawaii.gov/dsp/parks/hawaii, for details.

Vog & Other Volcanic Vocabulary

      Hawaiian volcanoes have their own unique vocabulary. The lava that resembles ropy swirls of brownie batter is called pahoehoe (pah-hoy-hoy); it results from a fast-moving flow that ripples as it moves. The chunky, craggy lava that looks like someone put asphalt in a blender is called ’a’a (ah-ah); it’s caused by lava that moves slowly, breaking apart as it cools, and then overruns itself. Vog is smog made of volcanic gases and smoke, which can sting your eyes and over long exposure can cause respiratory issues. Present whenever there’s an active eruption, vog drifts toward Kona (and even as far as Maui or beyond) during prevailing trade winds. The state Department of Health (www.hiso2index.info) lists current air-quality advisories for the Big Island, based on sulfur dioxide levels; since the eruption ended in September 2018, the skies have been gloriously clear.

      Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

      Before tourism became the islands’ middle name, their singular attraction for visitors wasn’t the beach, but the volcano. From the world over, curious spectators gathered on the rim of Kilauea’s Halemaumau crater to see one of the greatest wonders of the globe. More than a century after it was named a national park in 1916, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (www.nps.gov/havo; 808/985-6000) remains the state’s premier natural attraction, home to two active volcanoes and one of only two World Heritage Sites in the islands.

      Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

      In May 2018, Halemaumau was rattled by earthquakes and its lava lake started to drain. At the same time lava started coursing through fissures in Puna, the crater began expelling ash and rocks in a manner not seen since 1924, when boulders landed a half-mile away due to steam explosions caused by magma sinking into the water table. Forced to close for safety reasons, the park reopened in September 2018, but not before the seismic upheaval had caused the crater to quadruple in volume.

      Sadly, after driving about 100 miles from Kailua-Kona or 29 miles from Hilo, many visitors pause only briefly by the highlights along Crater Rim Drive before heading back to their hotels. To allow the majesty and mana (spiritual energy) of this special place to sink in, you should really take at least 2 or 3 days—and certainly 1 night—to explore the park, including its miles of trails.

      Fortunately, the admission fee ($25 per vehicle, $12 per bicyclist or hiker) is good for 7 days. Be prepared for rain and bring a jacket, especially in winter, when it can be downright chilly at night, in the 40s or 50s (single digits to midteens Celsius). Note: For details on hiking and camping in the park, see “Hiking” (p. 242) and “Camping” (p. 265).

Crater Rim Drive Tour

      Stop by the Kilauea Visitor Center (daily 9am–5pm) to get the latest updates on any lava flows and the day’s free ranger-led tours and to watch an informative 25-minute film, shown hourly from 9am to 4pm. Just beyond the center lies vast Kilauea Caldera , a circular depression nearly 2 miles by 3 miles and 540 feet deep. It’s easy to imagine Mark Twain marveling over the sights here in 1866, when a wide, molten lava lake bubbled in the caldera’s Halemaumau Crater , the legendary home of volcano goddess Pele.

      Though different today, the caldera’s panorama is still compelling, especially when viewed while enjoying drinks or dinner in Volcano House (p. 265), the only public lodge and restaurant in the park. The 2018 eruption that drained Halemaumau’s lava lake and snuffed out its decade-old plume of ash also caused wall collapses that dramatically widened and deepened the crater. The unrelenting seismic activity also cracked pavement and damaged the Jaggar Museum along Crater Rim Drive, half of which had been closed due to potentially toxic fumes since 2008. At press time, the museum had yet to reopen, with many of its artifacts and displays on exhibit in a temporary exhibition space in Pahoa, and the portion of Crater Rim Drive and its paralleling Crater Rim Trail between Kilauea Military Camp and the museum remained closed.

      Less than a mile from the visitor center, though, you’ll want to check out the several steam vents that line the rim of the caldera, puffing out moist warm air. Across the road, a boardwalk leads through