Skip to content
Lava Tree State Monument, Pāhoa, HI

Photo: Scott Carpenter, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sightseeing

Lava Tree State Monument

A small Puna District park where hardened molds mark where trees once stood in a forest buried by lava.

Pāhoa, HI

About Lava Tree State Monument

This state park on the Big Island, about 2.7 miles southeast of Pāhoa, protects a stand of lava molds shaped like tree trunks. According to the park's page, a lava flow passed through this wooded area and left these molds behind. A 0.7-mile loop trail lets visitors walk among them, and the 17.1-acre site also has picnic opportunities. A recent park notice says the monument is closed because of storm damage, so check current status before visiting.

  • #lava molds
  • #volcanic landscape
  • #loop trail
  • #picnic area
  • #Big Island

What's around here?

The closest stops to Lava Tree State Monument, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Nani Mau Gardens

    Check prices

    Commercial botanical gardens in Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii, known for tropical plantings and event hosting.

    16 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Shopping

    Prince Kuhio Plaza

    Check prices

    A large enclosed shopping mall in Hilo on Hawaii's Big Island, with many stores and restaurants.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    18 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping

  • Museums

    Pacific Tsunami Museum

    Under $25

    Hilo museum focused on tsunami history and public tsunami education, especially the 1946 and 1960 waves that hit the Big Island.

    21 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Iconic

    Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park

    $25–$50

    Drive and hike around Kīlauea's summit caldera, then follow Chain of Craters Road down to the sea.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    23 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Kīlauea

    $25–$50

    See one of Earth's most active volcanoes and its summit caldera inside Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.

    25 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Akaka Falls State Park

    Under $25

    Walk a short paved loop through rainforest to see ʻAkaka Falls drop 442 feet into a gorge, plus Kahūnā Falls along the way.

    30 mi awaySwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors