Picnic area · Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
A rain shelter and grill beside an older forest island.
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The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes audio tourRecorded for this place
Kīpukapuaulu: Forest, Birdsong and a Picnic“Kīpukapuaulu is coming up, a pocket of older native forest surrounded by younger lava.”
Plays as you drive up to Kīpukapuaulu Picnic Area in the Parkwolf Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Kīpukapuaulu Picnic Area is a small day-use stop beside the older forest at Kīpukapuaulu. It has a three-sided rain shelter, picnic tables, grills, trash receptacles and parking. A paved path reaches the shelter, and the park identifies the area as wheelchair accessible. Bring your own meal; no food concession is listed.
The shelter makes this a useful place to pause for a meal, especially when the weather turns wet. Nearby pit toilets are listed, but their current availability is uncertain.
The parking area also serves the separate Kīpukapuaulu Trail, an easy 1.2-mile loop that usually takes about an hour to an hour and a half. Its dirt path crosses a kīpuka, an older patch of vegetation left surrounded by newer Mauna Loa lava. The forest is known as a refuge for rare Hawaiian plants and animals, so the walk adds a distinct natural-history stop to a picnic.
Wildlife
600 sightingsHawaiian Goose (Nēnē)Most seen around 5 PMSighting map
35 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
36 sightingsHawaiian Hawk ('Io)Most seen around 11 AMSighting map
41 sightingsBlack NoddyMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
96 sightingsWhite-tailed TropicbirdMost seen around noonSighting map
24 sightingsHawai'i 'ElepaioMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Hawaiʻi Volcanoes. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
EasyKīpukapuaulu Trail1.2 mi · 1.3 hr · 0.2 mi awayA shaded loop through an ancient forest island in younger lava.
EasyCrater Rim Trail3.8 mi · 2 hr · 1.4 mi awayA 3.8-mile out-and-back from Kīlauea Overlook to Volcano House.
EasyHaʻakulamanu (Sulphur Banks) Trail1.2 mi · 36 min · 2.2 mi awayA short boardwalk walk past yellow sulfur and rising steam.
ModerateHalemaʻumaʻu Trail1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 2.7 mi awayA short rainforest descent opens onto Kīlauea’s caldera floor.
EasyKūpinaʻi Pali (Waldron Ledge) Trail1.2 mi · 54 min · 2.8 mi awayA short paved route to a broad caldera view
ModerateUēaloha (Byron Ledge) Trail2.2 mi · 1.5 hr · 3.8 mi awayOpen cinder, forested ledge, and views of Puʻupuaʻi.
EasyKeanakākoʻi Crater Trail2 mi · 1.3 hr · 3.8 mi awayAn easy walk on a former road reaches a 115-foot crater.
EasyDevastation Trail1 mi · 1 hr · 3.8 mi awayA short paved walk through cinder from Kīlauea Iki’s 1959 eruption.Sight · 0.2 mi awayKīpukapuauluA shaded forest island with native birds, trees, and lava history.
Campground · 0.9 mi awayNāmakanipaio CampgroundA simple in-park campground with tent sites and rustic cabins.
Sight · 1.3 mi awayTree MoldsSee what a tree leaves behind when lava moves through a forest.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayKīlauea OverlookA short walk to a huge view into Kīlauea's caldera.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayUēkahunaA caldera overlook and place of Native Hawaiian cultural practice.
Visitor center · 1.8 mi awayWelcome CenterA helpful stop for trail advice, maps and a park-store browse.
Lodging · 1.8 mi awayKīlauea Military Camp (KMC)Lodging, dining and recreation at a historic park camp.
Sight · 2.2 mi awayKūkamāhuākea Steam Vents and WahinekapuA short walk pairs summit steam with a view into Kīlauea's caldera.Parkwolf’s Hawaiʻi Volcanoes ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
