Pu‘u Pua‘i Overlook Closed to Protect Nēnē

A nēnē pair. NPS photo/Janice Wei.

The Pu‘u Pua‘i overlook at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is temporarily closed to protect breeding nēnē (endangered Hawaiian geese) in the area.

The gate is secured at the entrance to the Pu‘u Pua‘i parking lot, near the intersection of Chain of Craters Road and Crater Rim Drive.

Visitors are able to hike about 0.4 miles of Devastation Trail from the Devastation Trail parking lot to a trail sign marking the closure.

In 1952, only 30 nēnē remained statewide. Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park began efforts to recover the species in the 1970s.

The Nēnē Recovery Program continues today, and more than 250 birds thrive in the park from sea level to around 8,000 feet.

More than 2,500 nēnē exist statewide.

Pu‘u Pua‘i is a massive reddish-brown cindercone that formed during an eruption at Kīlauea Iki crater in 1959. It is visible from many areas along Crater Rim and Kīlauea Iki trails.