Return to Uēkahuna’s stunningly powerful panoramic views of Kīlauea volcano caldera

An observation deck that provides stunningly powerful panoramic views of Kaluapele, the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island, is once again open to visitors of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park 7 years after the legendary location was closed.

Called Uēkahuna, the highest point on Kīlauea is a wahi pana — a celebrated, sacred or legendary place in Native Hawaiian culture with historical significance — and steeped in centuries of Hawaiian tradition.

Standing atop the summit, looking across the caldera, you can gaze into the ever-changing Halemaʻumaʻu Crater — the site of an ongoing episodic eruption that began Dec. 23, 2024, and has produced 23 eruptive phases so far as of May 26.

Park visitors and people watching on U.S. Geological Survey livestream around the world have been awed by lava fountains reaching to heights of more than 1,000 feet at times, even higher than the crater walls.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says Episode 24 of sustained fountaining is likely to begin within the next 3 to 9 days, and Uēkahuna is definitely more than a good viewing spot if you make it to see the spectacle in person.

The observation deck also offers impressive sites upslope to Mokuʻāweoweo, the summit of Earth’s largest active volcano Mauna Loa. It covers just more than half of Hawaiʻi Island and erupted most recently from Nov. 27-Dec. 10, 2022, after being quiet for nearly 40 years.

You can also watch koaʻe kea — the indigenous white-tailed tropicbirds — soar high above Halemaʻumaʻu Crater, flying circles around the giant geysers of molten rock of each new eruptive episode and riding thermal updrafts from the lava lake that continues to rise from the lava flows they feed.

Uēkahuna has been closed since May 2018 following two large earthquakes, a catastrophic eruption and summit collapse that triggered thousands of smaller earthquakes throughout a 4-month period.

Jaggar Museum and two buildings used by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory were badly damaged and had to be removed. Deconstruction began in April 2024 and was completed 3 months later.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s iconic observation tower and the historic museum named after geologist and renowned volcanologist Thomas A. Jaggar — who introduced the notion of having a permanent geologic observatory and laboratory on the the Big Island — were once steadfast fixtures on the bluff.

Jaggar Museum stood watch over the volcano’s summit nearly a century and the observation tower its neighbor for about three-quarters of that time. While they’re gone, they’re not forgotten.

An outline of the former museum footprint includes stones from the original columns to commemorate the historic building.

A new Hawaiian Volcano Observatory field station is under construction near the historic ball field by Kīlauea Military Camp, just a little more than a mile away from the caldera rim but still inside the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

The observation deck and historic stone walls, once crumbling and riddled with fractures from the 2018 earthquakes, also are repaired — ready for the return of Hawaiian cultural practitioners and visitors alike.

“We are delighted to welcome everyone back to Uēkahuna,” said Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park Superintendent Rhonda Loh. “We deeply appreciate how understanding the community and park visitors have been during the construction process, and mahalo those who provided feedback on the options.”

A new path now connects Uēkahuna to Crater Rim Trail along the caldera rim, and the area is replanted with native shrubs, grasses and trees near the observation deck. A historic stone bench was restored, and several new benches replicating the historic look were added.

Restrooms and the comfort station will reopen once a new water tank is complete and passes inspection, which is projected for later this summer.

Uēkahuna is deeply revered by generations of Native Hawaiians who were the first to observe and interpret the volcanic processes within Kaluapele. It also has become an important site for Western science since 1912 when Jaggar founded the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Jaggar Museum will not be rebuilt. Instead, the renovated Kīlauea Visitor Center — slated to reopen in summer 2026 — will accommodate the lost visitor services.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and its staff welcome people back to Uēkahuna and encourage visitors to check out the newly reopened observation deck area.

They remind and urge those who do to stay safe while enjoying the breathtaking majesty of Kīlauea and nothing else.

Steep and unstable cliff edges along Kaluapele drop about 500 feet to the crater floor. Remain behind the stone walls and post-and-cable barriers at Uēkahuna and elsewhere along the caldera rim.