Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park · Hawaii

Devastation Trail

0.5 mi of trail, end to end · Devastation Trail: 1 mi round trip in the Service's write-up · about 40 ft of climbing · 3,715 ft–3,758 ft · native surface · trail class Highly Developed · hiking

3,715 ft 3,743 ft · 0.5 mi high 3,758 ft

Devastation Trail 1 mi round trip · the Park Service's write-up

30-60 Minutes · no dogs

Start Puʻupuaʻi or Devastation Trailhead

Two people holding hands on a paved path through a cinder-covered landscape

Stroll on a paved path through a starkly beautiful recovering landscape that was buried by falling cinder from the spectacular lava fountains of the 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption. Witness life returning to this once devastated area.

Difficulty: Easy - Wheelchair and stroller accessible, though there are sections of this paved trail that have grades greater than eight percent (8%).

Distance and hiking time: 1 mile (1.6km) round trip, approximately 1.0 hour.

Trail begins: Either at the Pu'upua'i parking lot or the Devastation Trail parking lot, both off of Crater Rim Drive.

Stay on the paved trail. Do not climb the Pu‘upua‘i cinder cone.

Bring: Water, hat, sunscreen and rain gear. Be prepared for hot, dry, wet, windy weather conditions.

The threatened and federally protected nēnē (Hawaiian geese) frequent this area. Please use caution when parking. Don't feed the nēnē.

Accessibility Wheelchair and stroller accessible, though there are sections of this paved trail that have grades greater than eight percent (8%).

This hike on nps.gov

On the parks map

All 50 trails in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National ParkFind a trailOn the parks mapPark on nps.gov

About this trail's facts

The lines are the National Park Service's public trails layer, the trailheads and the waterfalls, views, peaks and historic places along them the Service's public points of interest, read 2026-10-16 and simplified for the map; the length is the line's, end to end. The write-ups are the Service's own "things to do" text, unedited. Heights come from USGS 3DEP through Terrain Tiles on AWS (Mapzen/Tilezen), read along each line and rounded; a short trail on steep ground can be off by a few tens of feet. Closures change: check the park's own site before you go.