Kilauea Overlook lies along the Crater Rim Drive on the north side of the Kilauea Caldera and is the nearest spot in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park to the Halema'uma'u Crater lava lake.
Near the sizeable parking area are a couple picnic benches. There is a short walk required to reach the edge of the caldera, where an interpretive sign explains the geologic history that helped form the caldera depression that stretches out in front of you.
Visitors looking for a much better view can walk a little further, slightly uphill - this is technically a part of the Crater Rim Trail - toward a different viewpoint. From the slope, the closed Jagger Museum building comes into view. This museum was built as an observatory over the crater below, however volcanic activity in 2018 destabilized the land around the building and caused damage to the building itself and there are currently no plans to reopen it.
Before the building, however, is a stone platform. This area right here is the closest visitors to the park are able to come to Halema'uma'u Crater, where much of the volcanic and lava activity has been centralized in the time since that recent eruption.
This overlook point offers some of the best views to really take in the immensity of the caldera area. The upper overlook lies .35 miles from the parking area on a paved path.
There is no water located at Kilauea Overlook. Vehicles over 25' in length are no permitted into the parking area.
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