Hiking the Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) Trail in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Distance: 0.4 miles / 0.6 km
Nāhuku, formerly known as the Thurston Lava Tube, is one of the highlights of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park!
Overall, the lava tube is one of the most beautiful and quick adventures in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes, making it a great short adventure, whether rain or shine.
Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) Parking
Parking for the Thurston Lava Tube is located directly off of Chain of Craters Road, in a small parking area along both sides of the road.
Since Nāhuku is so popular, parking for the lava tube can be difficult by midday, especially since the trailhead can also be used for the Kīlauea Iki Trail.
Therefore, if the parking area is too difficult or full, you may need to park at the Kīlauea Iki Overlook located 0.5 miles (0.8 km) up the Crater Rim Trail. To learn more about this small hike in order to reach Nāhuku, see the photos at the very end.
Google Maps Directions: Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube) Trailhead
Hiking the Nāhuku Trail
The Nāhuku Lava Tube Trail is one of the most beautiful, unique, and biodiverse places in all of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
I encourage you to take your time on the trail, as many of the plants are found nowhere else on earth, sometimes not even elsewhere in Hawaiʻi.
Nāhuku Loop Trail
At the first split immediately after the trailhead, go right to continue on the most common direction around the loop.
Nāhuku-Crater Rim Junction
Then, the Thurston Lava Tube Trail will split once again, with the Crater Rim Trail that continues on to the Keanakākoʻi Crater located 3 miles (4.8 km) down the trail.
I think it’s worth mentioning that this section of the Crater Rim Trail, past Nāhuku, is my favorite section of the entire 7.6-mile (12.2 km) hike, and if you’re interested in seeing more, I encourage you to read about the full trail in my separate post below.
Read My Separate Post: Crater Rim Trail
After the Crater Rim junction, the Nāhuku Trail descends a few switchbacks before reaching the lava tube shortly ahead.
Nāhuku (Thurston Lava Tube)
Before entering, know that the Nāhuku Lava Tube is longer than you might think. It has a low ceiling in parts of the cave, and it’s slightly windy, meaning that you can’t see daylight on either end of the lava tube when you’re in the middle.
This is true even on a bright sunny day as shown here.
On the far end of Nāhuku, the trail climbs up a few steep flights of stairs to get out of the lava tube.
After the lava tube, the paved trail simply loops back around to the initial split from earlier in this post.
Nāhuku Loop Junction
This is where the short 0.4-mile (0.6 km) trail completes the loop.
Kīlauea Iki Overlook
Distance to Nāhuku: 0.5 miles / 0.8 km
If the Nāhuku parking area on the side of Chain of Craters Road is full, you may need to park at the Kīlauea Iki Overlook and hike along the rim to reach the lava tube.
The hike is only 0.5 miles (0.8 km) each way, but if you’re interested in learning more about the full Kīlauea Iki Loop Trail, I encourage you to read more in my separate post.
Read My Separate Post: Kīlauea Iki Trail
This is where the Crater Rim/ Kīlauea Iki Trail meet with the Nāhuku Lava Tube parking area.
Native Plants on the Nāhuku Trail
The native forest surrounding Nāhuku is one of the best places to enjoy a ton of different native Hawaiian diversity in just this one small concentrated area.
Some of these native plants on the Nāhuku Lava Tube Trail include ʻŌhiʻa, Kōlea, Hāpuʻu, Akaʻawa, Māmaki, ʻŌhā, and ʻŌhelo, to name only a few.
That being said, if you are curious about trying the native Hawaiian Māmaki tea, I kindly ask that you don’t harvest Māmaki from our native forests but, instead, buy from one of the local reputable vendors, such as those listed below.
To learn more about these and other native plants from around the park and across the islands, be sure to check out my separate post written entirely about native Hawaiian plants.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
