Lava Tree State Monument
Pahoa, HI
A short loop through a rainforest full of standing stone chimneys, each one a mold left where lava hardened around a living tree.
Lava Tree State Monument preserves one of the more curious sights on Hawaii Island: a forest of standing stone chimneys, each one a hollow cast of a tree that once lived here. In 1790 a fast lava flow swept through this rainforest, pooling around the trunks of ʻōhiʻa trees. The wet, living wood chilled the lava against it into a hard shell, and when the flow drained away and the trees later burned out, these upright molds were left behind.
The result is a short, shady loop through what feels like a petrified grove, dozens of rough black pillars rising from a floor of ferns and fresh forest. It is an easy walk with an outsized payoff, a clear and vivid record of the moment fire met forest, frozen in stone.
What Guests Love
- Walking among dozens of standing lava tree molds, like a stone forest
- An easy, flat loop trail shaded by tropical rainforest
- A vivid, hands-on lesson in how lava and forest collide
- The quiet, off-the-beaten-path feel of rural Puna
Worth Knowing
- The loop is short and mostly flat, a quick and easy stop rather than a long hike
- Puna is one of the rainiest parts of the island, so expect showers and slick spots and bring bug protection
- Watch for cracks and uneven ground off the paved path, a reminder of the area's volcanic ground
- There is little in the way of services here, so come prepared
Details
Learn about Lava Tree State Monument
How a lava tree forms
A lava tree mold is made when fluid lava floods through a forest and surrounds a living, water-filled tree. The moisture in the trunk cools the lava touching it, hardening a shell of rock around the wood before the rest of the flow can drain away.
When the lava level drops, that hardened collar is left standing, and the tree inside eventually burns or rots away, leaving a hollow stone chimney in the exact shape of the trunk. Some of the molds here even preserve the texture of bark on their inner walls.
It is worth noting the difference between this and a lava tube: a tube is a drained channel underground, while a lava tree is an upright mold above ground. Both record the movement of lava, but in very different ways.
The flow of 1790
The molds at this site date to a lava flow in 1790, part of Kīlauea's long and restless history. The flow was fast and fluid, exactly the conditions needed to race through a forest and cast its trees before draining onward toward the sea.
Hawaii Island is the youngest and most volcanically active of the main Hawaiian Islands, built by five volcanoes of which Kīlauea and Mauna Loa remain active. In Puna, fresh flows are not ancient history but a recurring fact of life, most recently in a major 2018 eruption not far away.
In Hawaiian tradition, the volcano's creative and destructive power is embodied by Pele, goddess of the volcano, whose presence shapes the land here again and again. The lava trees are one small, frozen chapter of that ongoing story.
A rainforest reclaiming the rock
Puna is one of the wettest districts on the island, and its abundant rain has draped the old flow in green. The loop trail passes through lush rainforest where ferns, vines, and new ʻōhiʻa grow among the stone molds, a picture of the forest steadily reclaiming the lava.
The ʻōhiʻa lehua, the tree that was cast here, is a keystone of Hawaiian forests and one of the first plants to colonize new lava. Its red blossoms are sacred in Hawaiian tradition, associated with the volcano goddess, so the pairing of ʻōhiʻa and lava here runs deep.
The contrast of dark rock and vivid greenery is much of the monument's appeal, a place where destruction and regrowth stand side by side within a few steps.
Season by season
There is no wrong season to visit, but Puna is rainy year round and wettest in the winter months, when the forest is at its lushest and the trail at its slickest.
Summer tends to be a little drier and brighter, though passing showers are common in any month, part of what keeps the grounds so green.
Whatever the season, mornings often bring the calmest, clearest window before afternoon clouds and showers build over this rain-fed coast.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Things to Do Near Pahoa
Pahoa
About 10 minutes north
A small, funky Puna town with wooden boardwalks, local eateries, and a frontier feel, the hub of the district.
Kaimu Black Sand Beach at Kalapana
About 25 minutes south
A new black sand beach forming where lava buried the old village and beach of Kalapana in 1990.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
About an hour west
The national park protecting Kilauea and Mauna Loa, with the vast Kilauea caldera and lava landscapes.