Before your visit to Lake Tahoe goes up in smoke, take a hike to Chimney Beach - where a standing-on-its-own fireplace and chimney serve as an unsual landmark for a lovely little cove. The brick chimney is all that's left of an old cabin built in the sand between boulder-strewn points on the east shore of Lake Tahoe. If curiosity about the chimney draws you to Chimney Beach, the beautiful lake views and clear turquoise water will be what keeps you hanging around. ...Read more.

Gaze out from Route 50 as it travels along the southeast side of Lake Tahoe and you'll find nice views of the lakeshore and its surrounding mountains. Seven miles up from the state border in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada Route 50 slips through a tunnel in a tall pointed ridge of volcanic rock. The road itself is scenic, but the sight of Cave Rock should have you speculating how superb things must look from the top. ...Read more.

In the summer of 2018, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park experienced the most dramatic volcanic activity in it's more than century long history. Land considered stable was humbled and demolished. When the earth stopped exploding and when the shaking of 60,000 earthquakes ceased, Crater Rim Drive, the road that ringed Kīlauea, was ruined in many places. ...Read more.

Filled with bold volcanic features and landscapes reinvented by eruptions, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park might seem an unlikely place to find a deep-rooted forest packed with plant diversity and a thriving bird population. Kīpukapuaulu rises like an oasis, framed the less-fertile lands forged by more recent lava flows. Kīpukapuaulu Trail is a 1. ...Read more.

Trees grow big and strong, but they are outmatched by the forces of lava. A tree's last stand against a lava flow can result in a tree mold - a hole in the surface of hardened lava where a tree once stood. Tree molds provide information about lava flows and preceeeding forests. See tree molds with your own eyes at a spot near the entrance of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. ...Read more.

Kīlauea Volcano underwent major transformations when it erupted in the summer of 2018. See changed landscapes in and around Kīlauea Caldera from Steaming Bluff, where steam escapes from hot spots just below your feet! Behind the bluff, a hydrothermal area called Sulphur Banks displays colorful mineral deposits, accompanied by eggy smells. Sulphur Banks Trail – Crater Rim Trail Loop starts from Kīlauea Visitor Center, takes a boardwalk through the Sulphur Banks, stops at Steaming Bluff, and then circles back through rainforest along Crater Rim Trail. ...Read more.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park protects a changing landscape. This is true from the eruptive developments at Kīlauea Caldera all the way down to the ocean erosion at Hōlei Sea Arch. How much longer will this 90-foot tall bridge of basalt withstand the surf? Take a short walk - 100 yards each way - to Hōlei Sea Arch and see it while you can! Hōlei Sea Arch is 22 scenic miles from Kīlauea Visitor Center at the bottom of Chain of Craters Road. ...Read more.

Pu‘u Loa Petroglyphs Trail puts recent geological history and human history on full display. This level 1.4-mile hike crosses a pahoehoe lava flow to a boardwalk loop through an exciting area with thousands of petroglyphs carved by early Hawaiians. The petroglyphs honor the births of those that lived here hundreds of years ago. This short trek in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is sure to inspire curiosity in the not-so-distant past. ...Read more.

To walk through Hawaiian history, head to Pu‘uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park, located on the west coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i, south of Kona. A convenient hiking trail weaves through the park's Royal Grounds and the Pu‘uhonua (place of refuge). This half-mile long loop passes sixteen numbered markers that correspond with entries in a park brochure to put an educational spin to the scenic surroundings. ...Read more.

The Big Island of Hawai‘i is a dynamic land, where you can find a lava tube on the edge of the island's main city. An 1881 lava flow from Mauna Loa stopped just short of Hilo. Venture up and down a lava tube created by that flow. Enter through a collapsed skylight at Kaumana Caves Park and start exploring. While the entire tube may measure over twenty miles long, visitors can expect to see somewhere under two miles from the Kaumana Caves entrance. ...Read more.