E-Bike Hawaii Volcanoes: Keanakakoi, Reachable Only on Two Wheels or on Foot

19-3972 Old Volcano Rd, Volcano

PICK-UP TIME: 9:30 AM. Afternoon times are available on request, and if enough riders ask, one gets added. Collect your bike at the headquarters in Volcano Village, behind the Lava Rock Cafe, in the rear car park. There is secure parking, and there are restrooms.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

A self-guided GPS audio e-bike ride through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Bikes are collected at 9:30 AM for the morning ride or 12:30 PM for the afternoon one, which needs a minimum of four riders. It is less than a mile to the park's bike trail entrance. From there the route runs along the crater rim, on scenic, less-travelled trails that most guided tours cannot use. You stop when you want and take detours when you want. The ride goes through native Hawaiian fern rainforest, past steam vents where the volcanic heat is obvious, and lunch happens at Volcano House, overlooking the crater. There is an ancient lava tube to walk through, and paved trails out to the lava viewing area, where fountains have topped 1,000 feet during an eruptive episode. The GPS audio guide supplies the geology and the stories as you go.

Costo extra

Nahuku - Thurston Lava Tube

A short 15-minute loop through native rainforest leads to Nahuku Crater, a pit crater 500 years old, filled with tall Hawaiian Hapu'u ferns and other endemic plants. The first of two GPS audio lectures covers the ecosystem on the way in. The shaded path passes endemic plants and the cultural background of the area before reaching the Thurston Lava Tube. Inside, the second lecture takes over. The passages were carved by molten lava, and the walls are smooth, with stalactites, and vegetation growing thick around the openings at either end.

The Kīlauea Visitor Center is your gateway to understanding…

The Kīlauea Visitor Center is where the park explains itself. The exhibits cover the geological forces at work on the island, the native wildlife, and the cultural weight of the volcano goddess Pele. There are interactive displays, historical artefacts and detailed maps. Park rangers answer questions, give safety updates and advise on what is open. The bookstore and gift shop carry educational material, souvenirs and local crafts.

Keanakakoi Crater Overlook

Keanakakoi Crater Overlook can be reached by bike or on foot, and no other way, which is the main argument for doing the park on two wheels. It looks across at Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, the home of Madame Pele. Fountains from there have risen over 1,000 feet during an episode, though the crater spends most weeks quiet between one and the next. The best lava viewing area sits just opposite, close enough to see the floor of the crater when there is anything on it. The two-mile trail to it runs through koa and ʻōhiʻa forest. The GPS audio guide covers the geological history, the ecology, and the stories of the ancient Hawaiian basalt quarry.