Do You Have to Hike to Get to Thurston Lava Tube?

Wondering if you have to hike to Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park? The answer is YES, but it’s more of a casual stroll.

Thurston Lava Tube (Nāhuku) is an easy, fun, and quick walk and is a must visit for first-timers in the park.

I’ll show you what to expect so you’ll feel prepared to take this hike yourself no problem!

Exploring Thurston Lava Tube

Length: 0.5 miles
Time: 10-15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Handicap Accessible? Yes

Besides Kilauea Crater, I would argue that Thurston Lava Tube is the most popular stop in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

It’s an easy, quick walk with minimal decline/incline, great for lazy hikers like me.

You get a fascinating look at Jurassic-sized ferns and tropical foliage, enjoy the songs of endemic birds, and walk through a natural tunnel formed by flowing lava.

From the trailhead, the loop trail offers a choice to go left or right. Technically going to the right is the entrance, but you could go left if you wanted.

I recommend going right to move with the flow of traffic and to get the (minimal) decline/incline out of the way first.

This direction takes you on a paved path that winds gently downhill and then slightly uphill through a lush tropical forested pit crater.

Strollers and wheelchairs can make it down.

The trail is flanked by towering ferns that, for some reason, makes me feel like a velociraptor will pop out at any moment.

After only a couple of minutes you come upon the large entrance to Thurston Lava Tube.

A wooden bridge crosses over a pit and into the heart of the lava tube.

💁‍♀️ Tab’s Trip Tip: This the best, and most common, place to take your group photo with the lava tube as the lighting inside won’t be bright enough.

Once inside, the now dirt trail is illuminated by dim orange lights that cast a soft glow on the path. I always feel like I’m walking in the ride line for Indiana Jones at Disneyland 🤠.

As you’re walking through the lava tube, you’ll realize two features that differentiate it from a limestone cave:

• They don’t have stalagmites or stalagmites
• Because lava is porous, it absorbs sound so there are no cave echoes.

Another thing to be aware of is because lava is porous, there are always puddles along the trail from drips coming from the ceiling. I can usually see and avoid most of them except for one at the very end that gets me every time because it’s in a spot that the light doesn’t shine on.

The walk through the lava tube is relatively short.

I feel like just as soon as my eyes start adjusting to the light and I start to embrace the cave-y feeling, the outside light is shining down on the stairs leading back up to the real world.

If you have a stroller or wheelchair, you’ll need to backtrack the way you came instead.

Once you walk up the stairs out of the cave, you’re back to a paved, flat trail through the forest that returns to the trailhead within a few minutes.

When there are no other people around, I find this section of the trail to be a good place listening to the birds.

At this end of the trail you’ll find relatively clean restrooms off to the right (open 9am-5pm).

Preparing for Your Visit

Best times to visit Thurston Lava Tube

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is open 24/7 so you can visit Thurston Lava Tube whenever you want.

The best times to visit are early in the morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the crowds.

If you want a more unique experience, you can experience the lava tube in the dark. 

From 8:00am to 8:00pm Thurston is illuminated, but between 8:00pm to 8:00am the lights turn off and you can walk through with your own flashlight.

Entrance fees

Thurston Lava Tube is located inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. There is an entrance fee to get into the park, which contributes to the maintenance and preservation of the park’s natural and cultural resources.

• Private Vehicle – $30.00 (good for 7 consecutive days)

If you arrive at the park entrance and find it unstaffed, you can either purchase an online pass or pay at the entrance at a later time.

Other passes that work:

• America the Beautiful Pass
• Hawai’i Tri-Park Annual Passes 

What to Bring

From the Nāhuku Thurston Lave Tube trailhead, the path is only about a 0.5-mile loop, and most of the trail is paved, so not much gear is needed.

However, things to consider bringing would be:

• Walking shoes – the trail has paved inclines and Thurston Lava Tube itself is gravely and puddley, so wear shoes you can walk confidently in and don’t mind getting a little wet.
• Camera – obviously you’ll want to take pictures of and with this famous lava tube
• Flashlight – if you explore at night the lights are turned off so you’ll need light. But even then, the lights inside the tube are quite dim. If you already have poor eyesight, you might want to consider bringing extra light anyways.

Basically, whatever you are wearing and bringing for the day is all you need to be wearing to walk this easy path.

Parking

Parking for Nāhuku Thurston Lave Tube can be a little daunting and confusing.

Most guides will tell you to park at the Kilauea Iki trail parking lot because that is the first parking option and because of that, this parking lot tends to get full. But, you have the option to wait for someone to pull out or circle around until spot opens up.

The best option is parking at the Nāhuku Thurston Lava Tube trailhead. There are a ton of diagonal parking spots on the road side.

I’ve rarely had issues with this.

🎲 But Here’s the Gamble: if all those parking spots are full, you can’t easily wait for a car to pull out or easily circle the area. It’s basically a one way.

You’ll have to drive about a mile down the road to turn around at the Pu’upua’i driveway, drive back, pass Thurston trailhead, and turn around at Kilauea Iki trail parking lot and try again.

Your other option is just continue on down Chain of Craters Road and then hit Thurston Lava Tube on the way back.

Beyond Thurston Lava Tube – Other Attractions in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

Of course, there are a ton of other attractions besides Thurston Lava Tube to make your visit to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park a lot more worthwhile.

Other must-see spots in the park

Steam Vents – the warm volcanic activity below warms up rain that seeps through the ground and turns it into steam where it escapes through vents

Kilauea Crater Overlooks – look into the crater that’s living and breathing; hopefully there is active lava when you visit

Kilauea Iki Trail – a popular 4-mile roundtrip hike around and across Kilauea Iki Crater (different from the main crater)

Chain of Craters Road – an almost 20-mile road down to the ocean with many stops at various volcanic craters and hiking trails

Pu’u Loa Petroglyphs – short hike across lava to a boardwalk to see ancient Hawaiian petroglyphs in etched in the rocks

Holei Sea Arch – at the end of the road the last attraction in the park to see is the sea arch that is slowly eroding and won’t be around forever

There are many various trails for hiking and other sites to explore and you could easily spend a full day (or more) inside the park.

You Might Also Be Interested In:
The Kahuku Unit in Naalehu offers more hiking trails that are also part of HVNP, but entrance is free.

Visitor Information

Accommodation options near Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

There’s a variety of accommodations in and around the park to suit every budget.

• Volcano House – sleep on the rim of Kilauea caldera, with views of lava (when it’s erupting) right from room!

• Bamboo treehouse – sleep 14ft above the ground surrounded by ohia trees, huge ferns, tea leaves, banana trees, liko lehua, and colorful flowers waking to the sweet sound of tropical birds in the morning.

• Namakanipaio Campground – Pitch a tent or rent a rustic cabin directly across from the park.

Dining recommendations in the area

There are a few dining options in the Volcano area, both in the park and in the nearby village.

• Uncle George’s Lounge – casual dining at Volcano House with views looking into Kilauea Crater

• Kilauea Lodge Restaurant – island infused menu sourcing from at least 17 local growers and farmers

• Tuk Tuk Thai Food Truck – to-go Thai curries, stir fries, appetizers and more