Hiking the Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trail in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
Distance: 1.3 miles / 2.1 km
The Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trail is very different compared to the many trails surrounding the Kīlauea Caldera.
While most of the trails on the east side of volcano pass through a dense tropical rainforest, Puʻu Loa is between 3,000-4,000 ft. lower than the rest of the park, meaning that it’s not only warmer down by the coast but also significantly drier.
However, outside of backpacking and the once-flowing Kalapana 'Firehose,' the Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trail is the best hike down by the coast off the Chain of Craters Road.
Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trailhead Parking
Parking for the Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trail is located directly off of Chain of Craters Road.
That being said, be careful while in this parking area, as cars tend not to slow down for the trailhead when going down or back up the volcano.
Google Maps Directions: Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trailhead
Hiking the Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trail
The Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trail follows a mostly straight trail from the trailhead directly to the Puʻu Loa boardwalk.
While it could be easy to get lost in this vast open lava field, there should be plenty of rock cairns or Ahu to mark the trail as you go.
As you can see, there is no shade on the Puʻu Loa Trail, which is why I encourage hiking with a long-sleeved hooded athletic shirt, especially if you’re planning on doing multiple hikes over the course of your time in the park or on the Big Island.
Even though the Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs Trail isn’t nearly as forested as the upper elevations of the park, there are still a number of different native Hawaiian plants along the trail, which I’ll talk more about at the end.
Puʻu Loa Petroglyphs
After about 0.6 miles, the Puʻu Loa Trail ends at this boardwalk around the most significant petroglyphs within Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
My only advice is to walk the boardwalk slowly, as there are a number of Hawaiian petroglyphs surrounding the trail that can be easy to miss if you’re moving too fast.
Native Plants on the Puʻu Loa Trail
Regardless that Puʻu Loa is not in the same wet forest environment as other areas in the park, there are still a number of low elevation dry forest species to look out for.
Some of these include ʻUhaloa, ʻAʻaliʻi, and ʻIlima, to name the most prominent three.
To learn more about these as well as tons of other native species from across the Hawaiian Islands, you can read more in my separate post.
Read My Separate Post: Native Hawaiian Plant Guide
