Hidden Crater Hike (Cloud Forests + Lava Tube)

Explore the misty Kona cloud forests and hike to a hidden crater on private lands on the Hualalai volcano. You will be taken off-road by your expert interpretive guide, drive through multiple locked gates, and then proceed by foot to a 6,500 foot elevation to see the stunning sights of black lava flows and native dry land forest.

The landscape you will explore  was created in 1801 during the Kaʻūpūlehu eruption and boasts magnificent coastal viewpoints and stunning lava formations such as a 200 year old lava flow, spatter cones, fissures, collapse pits, and a lava tube which you get to explore yourself!

The cloud forest is quiet and serene, and are known to be a great spot for bird watching.

Why is this tour a local favorite?

his hiking tour provides unique access to volcanic sites on the upper slopes of the Hualalai volcano.  You can see Mateo, one of the expert interpretive guides that lead this tour, explain why the hidden craters hike is one of his favorite tours in the following video:

History of the Kaʻūpūlehu Crater

Hualalai is the westernmost of the three active volcanoes on the Island of Hawai’i and volcanic eruptions have occurred on average every few hundred years from its summit and rift zones. The Kaʻūpūlehu Crater formed during the last eruptive episode of the Hualalai volcano at the beginning of the 19th century from multiple vents. Many flows were produced during this eruption but only two of these were active enough to reach the ocean: the Hu’ehu’e flow (the one that you cross while driving between Kona and the airport) and the Ka’upulehu flow (coming from the Kaʻūpūlehu Crater).

Fun fact: These eruption took place slightly more than 20 years after initial contact with the Western world. Life was different then, which is interesting to reflect upon when visiting the crater.

Hawaiians still lived in villages at the Hualalai shoreline and labored in up-slope agricultural areas. Fishponds, a unique Hawaiian inventions for aquaculture, were common along the coastline. And, last but not least, Hawaii was still independent and was ruled as a monarchy under the leadership of Kamehameha.

Read more about the Hualalai eruptive history in this 1996 USGS report titled “The most recent eruptions of Hualalai Volcano, Hawai’i: an annotated bibliography”

Hawaii Forest & Trail is a highly respected local tour company that has operated on the Big Island since 1993. They have gained access to private and restricted lands and are widely recognized as a tour company that has passionate and knowledgeable interpretative guides, all of which translates into consistent stellar reviews from their past guests.

Hawaii Forest & Trail is fully certified by the Sustainable Tourism Association of Hawai’i. This means that their tours are eco-friendly, culturally educational and operate as sustainable as possible.

Knowledgeable Staff

The HFT staff are picked to have strong academic backgrounds in biology, geology, Hawaiian culture and history, and extensive natural history field experience. It’s not enough for the guides to simply “know things”, they must also have a real passion for Hawaii’s natural world and enthusiasm for sharing it.

Giving back to the community

The vision of Hawaii Forest & Trail is to share the splendor of Hawai’i and inspire a deep connection with our natural world. They donate a small amount ($1 per guest) to a fund that makes donations to non-profit organizations whose mission and work aligns with at least one of the following criteria:

• benefits the conservation of Hawaii’s native ecosystems, species and landscapes.
• promulgates the understanding and practice of Hawaiian culture and the dissemination and understanding of Hawaii’s natural and cultural history.
• promotes and facilitates an appreciation and interaction with nature, especially programs that are youth oriented.

It is the intent of the fund to give preference to entities who are based or whose work is performed in the communities where they operate tours.

We are affiliate partners with Hawaii Forest and Trail and any booking on this page you make is made directly with Hawaii Forest and Trail. We receive a percentage from the activity provider for each successful booking made through our website but this happens without any additional charge to you. (read more on the use of those links on our website here).

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