Devastation Trail

Devastation Trail is a paved out-and-back of about 1 mile round trip, starting at either Devastation Trail parking or Puʻupuaʻi parking on Crater Rim Drive. The path between them is about half a mile; walk it and return the same way. Allow about an hour. This is a short walk to see the cinder landscape left by Kīlauea Iki’s 1959 eruption, not a segment of the longer Kīlauea Iki crater loop. Pick it for a quick, low-effort geological stop; choose a longer route if you want a substantial hike.

Kīlauea Iki erupted for 36 days in 1959, with 17 episodes of lava fountains. The highest reached 1,900 feet. Cinder and spatter built Puʻupuaʻi, whose name means “gushing hill,” while falling ash and cinder covered the surrounding ground. The trail lets you read that event at walking pace: the cone rises from the dark deposit, and patches of vegetation are returning across the landscape.

The eruption buried parts of Crater Rim Drive under several feet of ash and cinder. During the 1960–62 rebuilding, the park made a new road connection, added parking at Puʻupuaʻi, and built Devastation Trail through the damaged area. The walk is both a close look at eruption fallout and a reminder of how the park rebuilt access around it.

The surface is paved and the park describes the trail as wheelchair and stroller accessible, but some grades exceed 8 percent. It is not a flat promenade. Stay on the pavement and do not climb Puʻupuaʻi’s cinder cone. Bring water, a hat, sunscreen and rain gear; conditions around the summit can turn hot, dry, wet or windy.

Nēnē frequent the area. Watch for them around the road and parking areas, and do not feed them. Pets are prohibited on the park’s frontcountry and backcountry trails, including this one. Some visitors find the route too short; its strength is that you can see an unusual, historically important landscape without committing to a long day on foot.