Pu'u'ō'ō - Volcano Trail

This historic ala hele follows a likely prehistoric route beginning at Pu'u'ō'ō to the north, a hill named for the now-extinct black and yellow 'ō'ō bird whose feathers were once collected in this region. As ranching developed in the 1900s, paniolo drove cattle along the trail to Kīlauea Volcano and on to the railhead at Glenwood. Lava flows destroyed much of the trail, reducing it to a 7.4-mile fragment that no longer extends to Kīlauea Volcano. Along the trail are native species, old-growth koa trees, and several kīpuka, and birds visible today may include 'ōma'o and 'akiapōlā'au.

Volcano, Hawaii · United States