The National Park Service turns 97 on Sunday, Aug. 25, Founder’s Day, and entrance is free to all 401 national parks in America, including Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
The National Park Service turns 97 on Sunday, Aug. 25, Founder’s Day, and entrance is free to all 401 national parks in America, including Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
With more than 150 miles of hiking trails, and 520 square miles that stretch from sea level to the 13,677-foot summit of Mauna Loa, the opportunity to enjoy Hawaii’s natural splendor abounds in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
A schedule of free ranger-led programs and guided hikes is posted daily outside Kilauea Visitor Center by 9:30 a.m. Visitors can enjoy programs including Explore the Summit – a one-hour walk from the Kilauea Visitor Center to the edge of Kilauea caldera, and Life on the Edge, a 20-minute talk about the current eruption from Halema‘uma‘u Crater given daily at Jaggar Museum overlook.
Two other fee-charging parks in Hawaii – Pu‘uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park and Haleakala National Park on Maui – will also waive entrance fees on Aug. 25.
Visitors can enjoy more free-entry days in 2013: Sept. 28 is National Public Lands Day, the largest single-day volunteer effort for public lands in the United States, and Nov. 9-11 is the Veterans Day Weekend.