Parking
Use Devastation Trailhead on Crater Rim Drive; the Byron Ledge route starts from the north side of the parking area.
Overview
About Uēaloha (Byron Ledge) Trail
Why go
- A compact ledge walk with views of Puʻupuaʻi and occasional caldera openings.
- Connects directly to the Kīlauea Iki Trail for a longer hike.
Heads up
- The return retraces the same path, and trees hide much of the caldera.
- Its short distance still includes a descent and an uphill return.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes map
Full mapElevation3,661–3,773 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Hawaiʻi Volcanoes alerts
- ClosureStorm-damage closures at Kahuku, Kīpukapuaulu, and Sulphur BanksStorm damage and hazardous trees continue to restrict access at Kahuku and Kīpukapuaulu; the damaged Sulphur Banks Bridge is closed.Official details
- ClosureWork closures on Hilina Pali and Mauna Loa roadsRoad work is restricting motorized and all-use access on portions of Hilina Pali Road and Mauna Loa Road.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Tour Guide
Your drive to Uēaloha (Byron Ledge) Trail, narrated.
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 trailhead
Devastation: Choose Your Walk0:00 / 0:28
“Devastation Trailhead is coming up, with a choice of volcanic walks.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Hawaiʻi Volcanoes Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Puʻupuaʻi: A Quick View into Kīlauea Iki
- Luamanu: Where the Lava Stood
- Kīlauea Iki: Above the Lava Lake
- Puhimau Crater: Forever Smoking
- 58 audio storiesacross Hawaiʻi Volcanoes’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Hawaiian Goose (Nēnē), Green Sea Turtle, Hawaiian Hawk ('Io), and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 33 trails, 53 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Uēaloha (Byron Ledge) Trail
What the walk isUēaloha (Byron Ledge) is a moderate out-and-back along the divide between Kīlauea caldera and…
Uēaloha (Byron Ledge) is a moderate out-and-back along the divide between Kīlauea caldera and Kīlauea Iki. The route runs 1.1 miles one way from Devastation Trailhead to the Kīlauea Iki Trail junction, so retracing it makes a 2.2-mile round trip. Expect open volcanic cinder near the start, a forested ledge farther on, and views of Puʻupuaʻi with occasional looks across the caldera. Allow about 1 to 1½ hours with a few short stops.
Follow the right branchStart from the north side of the Devastation Trail parking area.
Start from the north side of the Devastation Trail parking area. At the split with Devastation Trail, stay left for Byron Ledge. The listed endpoint is the junction with Kīlauea Iki Trail; continuing there means joining another hike and changing the distance. Turn around for the route described here. It is not a loop, and the return retraces the same ground.
Cinder first, forest laterThe first stretch crosses open, dark cinder near Devastation.
The first stretch crosses open, dark cinder near Devastation. Farther along, the trail drops into forest on the ledge. That gives you shade, but trees screen much of the caldera, so the views come in openings rather than as one long panorama. The return climb is short but noticeable after the descent.
Puʻupuaʻi and the calderaPuʻupuaʻi is the broad cinder cone visible from the route.
Puʻupuaʻi is the broad cinder cone visible from the route. Stay on the trail and do not climb the cone. The landscape around Devastation was buried by cinder during the 1959 Kīlauea Iki eruption; the dark ground and the cone make that history visible. When the path opens, include a little of the cinder trail in front of Puʻupuaʻi to give the slope scale.
Wildlife and rulesNēnē frequent the area, including around the parking lot. Drive carefully and do not feed them.
Nēnē frequent the area, including around the parking lot. Drive carefully and do not feed them. Pets are prohibited on park trails, including this one.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes
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.
