Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park

 Stay safe

• Wear sturdy shoes and long pants. Carry plenty of water and drink frequently. Avoid hiking after dark.

• Stay on marked Trails! Vegetation or cinders may hide deep cracks in the ground. Use caution near cliffs, cracks, and steam vents where edges can be slippery and/or unstable. Watch small children at all times.

• Hiking over cracks and holes, loose rock, and thin lava crust greatly increases your risk of getting hurt. Falling on lava may result in severe wounds.

• Volcanic Fumes (volcanic gasses) are hazardous to your health. Those with heart or breathing problems and infants, young children, and pregnant women are expecially at risk and should avoid Halema`uma`u Crater, Sulphur Banks, and other areas where volcanic fumes are present.

• Volcanic eruptions can occur at any time and can be extremely hazardous. Even from a distance, gasses and fallout (Pele's hair, pumice, and cinder) can cause lung and eye irritation.

Heed the instruction of park rangers and obey signs on roads and trails.

• Never enter closed areas. Areas of the park have been closed due to the potential for large land collapses. Please see the closed area map for more details on areas that have been closed due to very hazardous conditions.

• The park has no safe beaches or swimming areas. Expect strong winds, steep and unstable sea cliffs, and high waves.