Hawaii’s weirdest 17 acres are hollow lava trees hiding near Pahoa on the Big Island

Kilauea’s stone trees still stand

More than 230 years ago, a river of lava swallowed a forest whole. The trees burned away, but the rock that hardened around them never moved.

Today, dozens of hollow basalt columns stand in the middle of a tropical jungle near Pahoa on Hawaii’s Big Island, draped in moss and ferns like something out of a different century.

The park covers just 17 acres, but what you find inside took thousands of years to become what it is now, and the story of how it all happened starts with one fast-moving eruption.

A fast lava flow that drained back into the earth

In 1790, a pahoehoe lava flow from Kilauea’s East Rift Zone tore through a dense ohia lehua forest in lower Puna.

The lava wrapped around the cool, wet tree trunks, and the moisture inside released steam that hardened the rock into shells before the trees could fully burn.

Then a new fissure cracked open in the ground and the still-liquid lava drained back down. The ground level dropped, but those hardened shells stayed put.

Over centuries, the wood inside rotted away and left hollow columns of volcanic rock standing in rows.

Tree bark textures frozen inside volcanic rock

Look closely at the inside walls of these hollow molds and you can see the actual texture of tree bark pressed into the basalt.

The moisture trapped between the bark and the hot lava slowed the cooling process just enough to capture every groove and ridge in the surface.

Some formations also preserve the shapes of branches and root systems where lava pooled around them.

These are natural fingerprints of a forest that no longer exists, locked in stone and still readable after two centuries.

A paved loop through the lava columns

A 0.7-mile paved loop trail starts near the parking lot and threads through the heart of the formations. The path stays mostly flat, so you don’t need to be in great shape to walk it.

Most people finish in 30 to 60 minutes, though photographers tend to take longer.

Interpretive signs along the way explain the geology and ecology of the area, and three covered shelters give you a place to duck out of the rain, which comes through often in this part of the island.

A crack in the ground with no visible bottom

Right near the parking lot, the earth splits open into a deep fissure. You can stand at the edge and look down, but you won’t see the bottom.

A guardrail and chain-link fence keep you back from the drop.

The same volcanic forces that created the lava trees also cracked this ground open, and warning signs throughout the park point out additional cracks and subsurface voids beneath the trail.

You’re walking on one of the most active volcanic zones on the planet, and the ground reminds you.

Wild orchids blooming through black lava rock

One of the first things you notice is the contrast. Dark lava columns stand surrounded by thick, green tropical growth.

Ferns, mosses, lichens, and creeping vines have taken root in the porous cracks of the old molds. Wild orchids grow throughout the park and add color against the black rock.

Even tree saplings push up through the basalt.

The whole scene is a living example of how Hawaiian forests reclaim volcanic landscapes, one root at a time, over hundreds of years.

The sacred red blossoms of the ohia lehua

The trees the lava swallowed in 1790 were ohia lehua, the most common native tree in Hawaii and one that grows nowhere else in the world. Ohia is a pioneer species, the first to take root on new lava flows.

Living ohia trees now grow throughout the park, and some sprout directly from the hollow centers of old lava molds. The tree’s red puffball blossoms are sacred to the volcano goddess Pele and the hula goddess Laka.

Even the park’s shelters are built from ohia wood.

Honeycreepers feeding in the forest canopy

Beyond the ohia, the park supports hapuu tree ferns, one of the most common native plants in Hawaiian wet forests. The Puna district’s warm, rainy climate keeps the canopy thick with native and tropical growth.

If you walk quietly and look up, you might spot an apapane or amakihi, both native honeycreepers, feeding on ohia blossoms above the trail.

The pueo, a Hawaiian short-eared owl, also lives in the broader Puna forest, though sightings inside the park take some luck.

The 2018 eruption stopped just short of the park

In May 2018, Kilauea’s East Rift Zone erupted again. Fissure 8 opened in nearby Leilani Estates, and lava flows crept toward the park’s borders.

The flows never reached it, but earthquakes from the eruption cracked the walkway, damaged the restrooms, and broke storage buildings.

The park closed for seven months and reopened in December 2018 with the lava molds and forest still intact. You can walk a short distance from the park entrance today and see where the 2018 lava field begins.

A tropical storm knocked down the wrong trees

In August 2014, Tropical Storm Iselle slammed into the Puna district and toppled large albizia trees throughout the park.

The albizia, a fast-growing invasive species, snapped in the high winds far more easily than the native ohia. The storm damage kicked off an invasive species removal effort around the monument.

Crews cleared the downed albizia and reopened affected areas of the park, and the cleanup ended up helping the native forest more than the storm had hurt it.

A fungal disease threatening every ohia on the island

Rapid Ohia Death, a fungal disease first found on Hawaii Island in 2014, has killed large numbers of mature ohia across Puna and other Big Island districts.

The fungus clogs the tree’s water-carrying system and can kill an ohia fast.

If you visit any forested area in Puna, clean your boots and gear before and after to avoid carrying the fungus between sites.

State and federal agencies and conservation groups are working to slow the spread and protect the remaining ohia forests across the island.

Morning sun and afternoon rain change everything here

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park gets the crowds and the dramatic crater views. Lava Tree State Monument gives you something different.

The park rarely fills up, and many visitors walk the loop without passing another person. The formations shift depending on when you go.

Morning light catches the texture of the basalt and throws shadows through the columns. Afternoon rain darkens the rock and brings out the green of every fern and vine clinging to the surface.

Admission is free, and so is the reminder that Kilauea doesn’t only destroy. It also builds.

Explore Lava Tree State Monument in Hawaii

You’ll find Lava Tree State Monument off Highway 132, about 2.7 miles southeast of Pahoa in the Puna district on Hawaii’s Big Island. The park is open daily during daylight hours with free admission and free parking.

Restrooms, picnic tables, and three covered shelters are on-site, but there’s no drinking water, so bring your own. The paved trail is mostly flat, though tree roots have lifted some sections.

Wear sturdy shoes, pack a rain jacket, and bring mosquito repellent. The lava molds are fragile, so don’t touch or climb on them.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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