Free Admission to Hawaii Volcanoes for Celebration

National Park Week starts this Saturday, and the folks at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park have plenty of activities on tap.

Actually nine days long, from April 21-29, the National Parks Week celebration will include waiving of park fees each day at all 397 national parks across the nation.

This year’s theme, “Picture Yourself in a National Park,” encourages visitors to share photos or videos on the park’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/hawaiivolcanoes.com. The subjects can be themselves, families or friends exploring and enjoying the park.

The celebration includes a variety of other events, including:

• A hike Saturday to a remnant old-growth forest in the park’s Kahuku unit. The 1½-mile hike will allow visitors to see some of the rare plants and wildlife that inhabit the treasured kipuka. The program is limited to 15 people and pre-registration is required. Call 985-6011.
• Also on Saturday, Puna Ohana Day will be held at the Maku‘u Farmers Market on the Kea‘au-Pahoa Highway. Children of all ages are welcomed as local practitioners share their knowledge of cultural arts and crafts. Call 985-6019 to reserve a space and lunch.
• On Tuesday, April 24, a special After Dark in the Park program will feature US Geological Survey botanist Linda Pratt as she tells the story about Hawaii’s unique flowering plants.
• On Saturday, April 28, the Kahuku Unit will again be the focus, this time for a two-miile hike through pastures, a quarry and lava fields to learn about the “People and Land of Kahuku.” Visitors will learn how people lived on the vast Kahuku apua‘aha, its history of violent earthquakes and eruptions and the people who survived them, and plans to restore native ecosystems and protect cultural sites.

Other local National Park Week events can be found at http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/events.htm.