lava update

Has anyone been to Kileaua lately? If so, can you tell me what the view of lava is like? I am considering extending my stay in Hawaii by flying over from Maui and spending a day on BI to see the Volcano. Will I be disappointed?

lava update

Go here for a daily update:

hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/main.html

You can also ask at the visitor center inside the park once you arrive.

lava update

What do expect or want to see? The surface lava was not visible from the observation point at the end of the Chain of craters road on 4/8 during the day. However a huge Steam cloud from the lava entering the sea billows and glows at night. It is still a few miles away at the end of the trail. Some hike closer to get a better view. If you have never seen a volcanic area there is plenty to see, miles of shining black lava, the huge caldera, deep halemaumau crater. If you are looking for fountaining lava or surface flows - it is not happening now. You need to stay past dark to see the glow as the lava busts and lights up the steam cloud. You will also need binoculars and a flashlight. I would do it but I love volcanoes.

Aloha from the Big Island! I took the Circle Island Flight offered by Paradise Helicopters out of Kona yesterday. Part of the tour icluded a flight over Kileaua. There was lava flowing into the ocean with huge plumes of fume and some of the cones in Puu Oo were red, but not too much lava on the pali. One of the guys on my flight said that he did the hike the day before off of Chain of Craters Road and didn%26#39;t see anything. If you want to see some action, I think it needs to be an air tour. The tour that I took was really worth the money, but at $385 per person, it isn%26#39;t a ';cheap date';. Of course that was for 2 hours with a great pilot. I took the shorter tour last year and wasn%26#39;t nearly as impressed.

We were not able to see anything when we were there in October. Just the steam as others have said. I did enjoy the landscape on the trail past the end of the road. It really amazes me.

Mike in Tulsa