Volcano Parks — These National Parks are Explosive!

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Podcast Episode Overview

Let’s talk about volcanoes in the national parks! 

In this episode of Exploring the National Parks, we are talking about one of the Earth’s most powerful forces – volcanoes! 

We are so excited to dive into this topic and discuss the coolest volcanoes and where you can see them. Join us as we share some of the most underrated places that have the best volcanoes. 

Join us as we cover: 

• The king of all national parks when it comes to volcanoes
• Our favorite things to do when we are visiting Hawaii Volcanoes
• What we love about Mount Rainier
• The incredible Cascade Mountain Range
• Fascinating facts about Mount Mazama 
• What we love about Lassen Volcanic National Park
• The volcano you can drive to the top of in Maui

We hope you enjoy this episode! We love visiting these national parks and standing in awe of these fiery giants, and we hope you get the chance to as well. 

Do you have a favorite volcano site? Let us know! And if you want to hear more about the Yellowstone supervolcano, be sure to check out Episode 12: Yellowstone Fun Facts to find out more. 

Volcano Parks Overview

It’s not every day you get to hike across the hardened surface of a volcano, stand on the rim of a caldera, or stare into the crater of one of Earth’s fiery giants. But in the national parks, you can do all that and more. Volcanoes have shaped some of the most spectacular and diverse landscapes in the National Park System, and in this post, I’m sharing five of the best volcano-related parks we’ve explored, each one a unique peek into Earth’s raw power and its many volcanic features.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

You can’t talk about volcanoes in the national parks without starting with the crown jewel: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Located on the Big Island of Hawaii, this park is home to the most active volcanoes on Earth, Kilauea and Mauna Loa.

When we visited Kilauea in June 2021, the volcano was oddly quiet. The gift shop staff even told us, “It’s usually smoking… I don’t know why it’s not today.” Just a few months later, in September, it erupted again. That’s the thing about this park, it changes constantly. The landscape is always shifting, with lava flows altering roads, closing viewpoints, and dramatically reshaping the terrain.

One of the most powerful volcanic eruptions happened in 2018. Kilauea’s crater collapsed from 280 feet deep to a whopping 1,600 feet. The width grew from half a mile to a mile and a half, and the famous Jagger Museum had to be closed because it ended up perched precariously close to the new edge of the caldera.

Mauna Loa, also in the park, is the largest active volcano in the world. It makes up over 50% of the Big Island and, when measured from the ocean floor, is taller than Mount Everest. While it had been quiet since 1984, its most recent eruption proved that this massive shield volcano still has plenty of energy.

This park offers some of the most hands-on volcanic activity experiences in the country. We loved hiking the Kilauea Iki Trail, which drops you down into a cooled lava lake. There are steam vents, lava tubes like the Thurston Lava Tube, and scenic drives like the Crater Rim Drive and Chain of Craters Road that take you through old and new lava fields all the way to the ocean.

The park is incredibly dynamic, and the lava viewing opportunities change constantly. Before your trip, check the official National Park Service website to see where lava is currently visible. Some of the best views are at night, when you can see the red glow reflecting off the steam.

Mount Rainier National Park

Mount Rainier is one of the most iconic peaks in the Cascade Range, towering over the landscape at 14,411 feet. It’s a composite volcano, which means it’s built from layers of hardened lava, ash, and volcanic rocks, and these types of volcanoes tend to be explosive.

Most people don’t think of Mount Rainier as a volcano park, but it’s actually the most hazardous volcano in the Cascades because of its proximity to major rivers, cities, and the amount of glacial ice on its summit. If it erupted, the lava, ash, and especially the mudflows from melting glaciers would be catastrophic to the surrounding areas.

Despite all that, it is one of the most beautiful hiking parks in the country. Some of our favorite moments were along the Nisqually River, where signs tell the story of past mud pots and debris flows. Even when the summit is covered in clouds, you can feel the immense size of the mountain from its glacial valleys and deep gorges.

You won’t find active lava or pyroclastic flow here, but the volcano’s massive presence is unmistakable. Trails like those near Paradise and Sunrise give you stunning views of glaciers and alpine meadows, and standing at the base of this majestic mountain is awe-inspiring.

Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake is unlike any other place in the National Park System. It’s a vivid blue lake that fills the caldera of a collapsed volcano, Mount Mazama, which erupted around 7,700 years ago.

Before the eruption, Mount Mazama stood over 12,000 feet tall. When its magma chamber emptied, the top of the volcano collapsed inward, forming the massive caldera that now holds the lake. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,943 feet, and it’s filled entirely by rain and snow.

Wizard Island, visible from many viewpoints, is a cinder cone, another type of volcano, that formed after the caldera collapse. Only about 2% of the island is visible above the water, with the rest submerged. Even its summit crater is whimsically named: the Witch’s Cauldron.

We loved driving the Rim Drive for panoramic views of the lake and hiking the trail down to the water. You can take boat tours, and if you’re lucky, snag a spot that stops at Wizard Island. The park also has Pinnacles Overlook, a short hike to see spires of volcanic ash that hardened into stone.

Crater Lake doesn’t feel like your typical volcano park. There are no active lava or hydrothermal features, but it’s an extraordinary look at what happens after a massive eruption.

Lassen Volcanic National Park

Lassen Volcanic National Park is one of the most underrated volcano parks in the country, and it packs a serious punch. Located in Northern California, this park features all four types of volcanoes: shield, composite, cinder cone, and plug dome.

The main peak, Lassen Peak, is the world’s largest plug dome volcano. It erupted between 1914 and 1917, and you can still see the aftermath along the Devastation Trail, where giant boulders were thrown miles from the summit.

We loved visiting Bumpass Hell, a geothermal area full of bubbling mud pots and steaming fumaroles. It’s a short hike and feels like a mini Yellowstone National Park, complete with that classic sulfur smell. If you’re short on time, Sulphur Works is right off the road and gives you a quick look at the volcanic activity beneath the surface.

There are hikes to the summit of Lassen Peak, treks up to the Brokeoff Volcano (a remnant of Mount Tehama), and even a trail to a remote cinder cone in the northeast corner of the park. But if you want to relax, Manzanita Lake is perfect for kayaking and enjoying views of the peak without breaking a sweat.

Lassen is a geology lover’s dream, and the variety of volcanic features here is unmatched.

Haleakala National Park

Back in Hawaii, this time on the island of Maui, Haleakala National Park showcases a very different kind of shield volcano. Unlike Hawaii Volcanoes, this one hasn’t erupted in 400 to 600 years, so it feels more peaceful, but no less dramatic.

Haleakala means “House of the Sun,” and a drive to the summit at over 10,000 feet above sea level will make you feel like you’re in the sky. You can hike into the crater on the Sliding Sands Trail, a surreal landscape filled with colorful lava rocks, cinder cones, and very little vegetation.

We recommend hiking at least a short section of the trail, just to get a sense of the scale and geological processes of this volcano. If you go all the way down, be prepared for a tough climb back out. It’s worth noting that the coloration of the rocks can tell you about the age and chemical composition of each lava flow.

The summit is also one of the best places to watch the sunrise or sunset. Reservations are required for sunrise, but we opted for sunset, which was equally magical and less crowded. It does get chilly up there, so dress in layers.

There’s a second section of the park accessible via the Road to Hana, where you can find waterfalls and lush jungle, a stark contrast to the summit’s barren lava fields.

Get ready to explore a volcano!

Volcanoes in the national parks are unpredictable, awe-inspiring, and always changing. Whether you’re hiking through a lava field, staring into a crater, or soaking in the sweeping views from a caldera rim, these parks are unforgettable.

Thanks for joining us as we explored the volcanic side of the National Park System. I hope this inspires your next adventure to one of these incredible units of the National Park System. See you out there!

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Links mentioned in this episode:

Do you want to plan a trip to one of these amazing volcano national parks? You’ll want to check out these can’t-miss lists:

Hawaii Volcanoes

Mount Rainier

Crater Lake

Lassen Volcanic

Are you hoping to visit all of the national parks? Sign up for your FREE NATIONAL PARKS CHECKLIST so you can easily see where you’ve been and where you still need to go!