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Volcanoes National ParkLet's face it, anyone who comes to Volcanoes National Park is coming to see lava, right? It has been my experience that most people generally get their wish and do see
lava.
However, it can be at varying degrees. Some people who come to the park are fortunate enough to see a massive lava flow; while others only manage to see some minor flows. When we took our last family vacation getaway to the big island of Hawaii, we were fortunate enough to see a moderate to minor lava flow. What kind of flow you see is complete luck, therefore you can't check the local "weather forecast" and get to know beforehand how much lava is flowing, if any. That being said, here are some tips to follow if you plan to visit Volcanoes National Park. Tip # 1: You need to have an idea of how long you want to spend in the park and then plan from there. If you only have 2-4 hours to see the park, then you should stop at the Kilauea Visitor Center first and talk to a ranger for any recommendations (sometimes a road may be getting repaired and you can't travel on it). They also show a short history video in their theater there and this is a highly recommended viewing. The hours of this Kilauea Visitor Center are daily from 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Usually the ranger is going to recommend that you do one of the drives around the Kilauea crater. 
There are two different drives: the Crater Rim Drive which is 11 miles long and has some great little scenic stops along the way (highly recommended) and the Chain of Craters Road which is 40 miles long. This drive has scenic stops along the way as well.
Tip # 2: You will get the best experience out of your Volcanoes National Park visit if you go on foot. Many of the really interesting places to see, must be walked in to, or in some cases, hiked in to. The park has over 150 miles of trails so you can see that you could spend a lot of time site seeing. But, as you can see, most of this will take time, so I recommend that you plan on a good full day in the park. If you can, try to get to the park in the late morning or around noon. This will give you enough time to watch the movie at the visitor's center, take one of the drives and stop at the scenic stops along the way. Along the Crater Rim drive, you will see the Kilauea Iki Crater. I highly recommend you take your family on this four mile hike down into this crater (you will want to get the exercise anyways). Many kids are fascinated by lava and this crater is no exception. In 1959, this area erupted, creating this crater and you can still see steam coming out of vents along the trail. The cool thing about this trail is that you descend 400 feet through a lush, beautiful rainforest into the desolate, barren lava field. It is amazing. By the way, some kids (and parents alike) worry about snakes, when they hike through vegetation as thick as a rainforest. Don't worry! There are no native species of snakes on the island. That being said, however, there have been are few introduced snakes, like the Blind snake, the yellow-bellied sea snake, the boa constrictor and the brown tree snake. Most of these snakes (other than the native sea snake) have come over on the wheels of planes or as a pet. The likelihood of you seeing one are extremely rare, and the chance of one being dangerous even more rare. Tip # 3: When you visit Volcanoes National Park (and you have a little time), you absolutely must take the trek down to the trail at the end of the Chain of Craters road.
1) Volcanic gas is mostly made up of hydrochloric acid and glass. It is extremely potent and can double you over in a coughing fit if you breath too much. It will make your throat constrict and be somewhat difficult to breath. I recommend bringing a scarf to tie over your mouth and nose. If you have small children and anyone of you is asthmatic, do not, I repeat, DO NOT go on this hike. The gases can become life-threatening to you. To learn more about volcanic gas and the fumes that you can smell in Volcanoes National Park click here. 2) You will see roped off areas warning you to stay away. Follow this advise. Lava flows can be extremely unstable. You can be walking atop an active flow, without knowing it and suddenly step through into liquid lava. These roped off areas are also around the cliff faces. Stay away from these cliffs! These cliffs are very unstable and and can and do ccollapse at any time. Most of the roped off areas were designed to prevent this, so please follow the advice put up on the signs, your life may depend on it! 3) Bring plenty water. The temperatures in Volcanoes National Park can rise to the high 90's during the day and the heat from the active lava can cause you to sweat profusely. 4) Wear good shoes/boots or shoes you don't mind throwing away afterwards. The lava is mostly glass and can destroy the bottom of your shoes. 5) Wear long pants and gloves. If you wipe out, and one of your kids will inevitably, gloves will go a long ways towards preventing glass slivers in their hands. Along those lines, bring along a pair of tweezers so that you can remove slivers immediately. Speaking from experience, they are most uncomfortable! For more information, you can go to the official Volcanoes National Park.
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I recommend you start about 2-3 hours before sunset, this will put you around the lava flow by dark, giving you the most spectacular views. Before you go, however, you will need to know some precautions first.
