Years ago a friend was able to walk right up to the active, bubbling lava, but when we visited, that was a several mile walk.
Even if the lava is cooled in the area where you walk, the rock is black and, if you remember your elementary science, black attracts heat. The sunlight in Hawaii is powerful! It gets very hot!

Cliffs covered with lava

Although more prepared than most in hiking boots, carrying water, wearing hats and dressed for hiking, we couldn’t have had enough sun block for the trek. My husband got beet red!

End of the trail - but many go further

 
There were people who were far less prepared and who turned back much sooner than we did. I admit it – we never got all the way to where the volcano was active!
However, we got close enough to see it through the long-range viewfinder of my camera. And, we determined that we were not going to make it all the way and back before we ran out of water. It was late spring and, did I mention that it was very hot?

Road closed - by lava!

The juxtaposition of the lava frozen in time across a paved road was my favorite image of the trek. The whole experience was surreal. With the volcanoes still erupting, is it hard to equal as an adventure when it comes to nature.
I recommend going to the Park, but plan and prepare a lot better than we did! Lots of water, sun block, protective clothing and boots and STAMINA! Otherwise, see the visitors center and museum and drive to near where the active area begins, but don’t plan to hike.

 
Use this link to find out where the volcanoes are currently erupting – there are two volcanoes in the park!

www.nps.gov/havo/